|
By
Luckee
Company:
AOpen
AOpen
is a manufacturer known not only for the manufacturing of motherboards, but also
of a wide array of high quality multimedia products that are seldom offered by its
traditional competitors. In fact, the only manufacturer to even approach AOpen's
sheer range of offerings is Asus. In this article, we'll be taking a look at
AOpen's new CRW-1232, a CD-RW drive capable of speeds of 12X when writing in
CD-R mode, 10X in CD-RW, and 32X when reading CD-ROMs.
Can you say
welcome to the world of burners equipped with faster speeds, new burn technology
and bigger cache. Today burners are popping up in many households around the
world as many systems sold now come standard with burner.
I was
fortunate enough to be able to meet the people from Aopen America at the 2000
Comdex show in Las Vegas, showing off their new, hot releases for 2001. I
recently received the Aopen
CRW1232 12x10x32x JustLink CD-rewriter. Aopen is known for producing budget ROM drives with their
CD-writers being one of the best on the market. The price is great too at around
$179.00. This competes with likes of Plextor and Yamaha, without having to pay
$300 to $400. I must say that for half the price, this drive packs a punch and
can compete with other 12x drives on the market today. Let’s take a look at the specs to see what makes this
drive worth owning.
-
Model:
CRW1232
-
Interface:
ATA-33(33MB/sec)/E-IDE/ATAPI
(SFF8020)/PIO Mode-4 (16.7 MB/sec)
-
Data
Buffer Memory:
2MB
-
Data
Transfer Rate:
Write CD-R: 2X,4X,8X,12X
Write CD-RW: 2X,4X,10X
Read: Up to 32X (1X=150KB/s)
-
Average
Access Time: 120ms or less
-
Mounting
Orientation: Horizontal or
vertical (eject button must be
upside)
|
Key
Features
|
Just
Link
Technology
Writes
CD-R at 12X and
CD-RW at 10X
speed
Reads
at up to 32X
speed
Firmware
upgradable
Digital
auido output (SPDIF)
supported
Industry
standard E-IDE (ATAPI)
interface
Mounts
both vertically
and horizontally
OPC
technology
boosts recording
reliability
New
improved
anti-heat design
2
MB data buffer
memory provided
|
|
|
|
Benefits
|
High
Speed
AOpen's
CRW1232Pro CD/ReWriter
drive offers
unprecedented
performance to
handle today’s
demands by reading
CD's at up to 32X
speed, writing CD/R
disc at super 12X
and CD/RW discs at
10X speed. CRW1232Pro
writes a 650 MB disc
in about 6 minutes.
High
Versatility
The
CRW1232Pro is an
ideal all-in-one
solution for reading
CD's, copying
audio/software CD's,
creating
photo/audio/video
CD's, or acting as a
storage drive for
archiving or backup.
The drive comes
complete with
everything you need
to make CD's right
away, including
bundled software and
blank CDs. You can
write and read large
data files as easily
as you would from
floppies.
High
Reliability
An
improved anti-heat
design and the OPC
design boost
recording
reliability. Optimum
Power Control
continually monitors
signal levels during
recording and
adjusts laser power
to compensate for a
dirty disc. This
feature ensures a
flat signal,
significantly
enhancing
reliability.
High
Compatibility
The
CRW1232Pro supports
all major CD
formats, offering
the user full
backward-compatibility
through the huge
installed base of
CD/ROM drives and
media. What’s
more, reordered CD/RW
media can be played
in a DVD player,
maintaining future
compatibility.
|
|
|
Specifications
-
Interface:
E-IDE/ATAPI
(SFF8090),*ATA-33
(33MB/sec), PIO
Mode 4
*Default
factory jumper
setting is DISABLED.
-
Data
Buffer Memory: 2MB
-
Data
Transfer Rate:
Write:
2X, 4X, 8X,
12X/1.8MB/sec
(CD-R);
2X,
4X,
10X/1.6MB/sec
(CD-RW)
Read: Up to 32X
(1X=150KB/s)
-
Average
Access Time: 120ms
or less
-
Mounting
Orientation: Horizontal
or vertical
(eject button
must be upside)
-
Supported
Formats: CD-Audio,CD-ROM
(mode 1 and 2),
CD-ROM/XA
(mode2, from 1
and from 2),
CD-I, Photo-CD
(single and
multiple
sessions), Video
CD, CD Extra, I-Trax
CD, CD Text, and
High Density
(80-min) CD.
*CD-I, Photo-CD
requires special
reader/player.
*Photo-CD
writing requires
Kodak's license.
*CD Text and
High Density
requires Nero.
-
Power
Requirement: DC5V±5%,
DC12V±10%
-
Logical
Recording
Format: UDF
and ISO9660
-
Weight:
1.0 kg or less
(accessories not
include)
-
Dimensions:
146x41.3x203mm
(WxHxD)
-
Power
Consumption: 10W
or less (normal
operation)
1.2W or less
(stand by)
-
Operating
Environment:
Temperature
(Without
cooling)
Operating: 5°C
~ 40°C
Non-operating:
-30°C ~ 65°C
Operating
Humidity: 5% ~
90% R.H.
Non-operating
Humidity: 5% ~
95% R.H.
-
EMI/Safety
Requirement:
Product
Contents:
Nero
Bonus
Pack P/N:
91.47D37.211
-
CRW1232 Drive
- User's
manual
- Audio
cable
- IDE cable
- Screws
- 1 blank
12X CD-R disc
- 1 blank
10X CD-RW disc
- Nero
Burning ROM
- Nero InCD
Packet Writing (in
the same CD of
Nero Burning ROM)
- Formosoft
Gamut 2000 MP3
Tools
|
|
|
Testing
& Conclusion
I
couldn't wait to test this drive to see what it was made of.
First I wanted to see how long it would take to burn a full
music CD at 639 meg. Just
like advertised this drive took
approximately six minutes to burn the CD and I was
pretty impressed.
That
is quite a change from my old 2x writer I owned years ago!
Here
is a Sandra benchmark of the read function, using a 12X
CDR disc showing a copy of the Giant’s file which is
about 107Mb.
Next
I wanted to see if this drive could burn any type
of media. So I decided to burn a blue and a green at 600meg.
Generally gold disks are the cream of the crop. My test turned
out to be successful with out any errors. I don’t remember
this ever happening in the past when I had my Ricoh 4x4x24.
It mostly took only gold disks. Nor did this happen
back in the day with my 2x2x16 from Memorex. This drive is the
only drive I’ve ever tested to show this type of diversity.
Hmm, Could this be due to the JustLink
technology..........what is JustLink you ask?
It is a new technology that helps drastically reduce or
eliminate the dreaded "buffer under run" error.
Essentially, when a user makes use of the system for other
tasks while the drive is in the process of writing, it is
possible that the writer's memory buffer will find itself
empty due to the hard drive's inability to supply it with
data. Normally, this causes a momentary stall in the writing 
process, disrupts the flow of data as it is imprinted on the
CD, effectively rendering it useless. Contrary to hard drives,
CD-ROMs are written-to in a single, continuous manner, and it
is in this format that CD-ROM drives expect to find the disk's
data when they access it. So, if that single, essential
writing process is disrupted due to an empty buffer, the
entire process up to the point of the data-stall is rendered
void.
To avoid this situation, manufacturers have often taken to
installing very large buffers in their CD-Rs and CD-RWs, and
have developed technologies that help them take advantage of
the increased memory.
JustLink is an example of one such technology. It constantly
verifies just how much data is available in the buffer. If the
amount of available data falls below a certain point, the
drive is temporarily halted until such time as the buffer is
re-filled. It's at this point that a small link is made in the
CD in order to mark the physical area at which writing should
resume. In this way, writing can continue normally and the
disk itself can be read without problems.
So
far the writer has been very dependable and I'm totally
satisfied with the product I received. As seen in most
other AOpen products, the 12x10x32x CD Writer is a quality
product that I would recommended to anybody because it is
definitely worth the money. I don't know how much of the
burn stability is due to the hardware, and how much is due to
Nero Burning Rom's stability of the best burning software in
the world. But in short I would have to say AOpen has
put together a very solid package at a budget price tag at of
179 bucks.
Pros:
One of the cheapest 32/12/10x burners available today.
Very solid for burning while multitasking when coupled with a
fast hard drive.
Excellent software bundle.
Does not require a cooling fan.
Supports 80 minute CD's.
JUSTLINK
BUFFER TECH
Cons:
Eject button indented a little too far from the edge.
Does not work with Easy CD Creator 4.02c. (pending new Patch)
No Burnproof.
Buy
This Product Today From www.mixpc.com
|
Add to Favorites
