ASUS DRW-1604P Dual Layer DVD+/- R/RW ATAPI Drive

CD/DVD Write Performance Testing CD-R & DVD-R

Nero CD-DVD Speed - CD Write Test:

Next, we're going shift to write testing.  To start, we inserted a blank CD-R and used Nero CD/DVD Speed to measure performance.

ASUS DRW-1604P

Plextor PX-712SA

Here we see dramatically different pictures when comparing the way the two drives complete the process.  The ASUS DRW-1604P uses Z-CLV (Zoned Constant Linear Velocity) where the drive appears to shift gears as it progresses through the test.  This results in the drive reaching it peak speed faster, hitting 32X roughly 2/3 into the test.  On average the drive ran at 24.92X, starting at 16X and topping out at its rated 32X.  The entire process completed in 3:46 minutes, where as the Plextor drive peaked at 48X and completed the test in 2:37 minutes, averaging 36X.

Nero CD-DVD Speed - DVD-R Write Test:

With our next test we repeated the process with DVD-R media in both drives.

ASUS DRW-1604P

Plextor PX-712SA

With DVD-R performance, both drive performed identically, with each averaging 4X while completing the process within mere seconds of each other.  Both drives used Constant Linear velocity, running at 4X through out while buffering data as needed.