MSI XA52P CD-RW+DVD-ROM Serial ATA Combo Drive
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Ahead software, the makers of Nero Burning ROM, have an excellent selection of free utilities to test the functions of various types of optical drives. Each of these small applications perform a number of specific tasks that show us what each drive is capable of. In this next section we ran a few of these tests on the MSI XA52P and included the results of the Plextor 52x32x52x and the Plextor 48x24x48x for comparison. Please note that in each test, the Green line represents Transfer Rates while the Yellow Line represents Rotation Speed.
Nero CD-DVD Speed - Blank CD Test:
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| XA52P | Plextor 48x | Plextor Premium |
For the numbers above, we used a blank CD to see if the drives could obtain their advertised maximum read speed. All of the drives successfully completed the tests and obtained their advertised numbers, with the exception of the XA52P. Though it nearly reached the 52x mark, the XA52P had a problem sustaining maximum read speed across the entire surface of the CD. This is clearly shown on the graph by the dips in the both the Transfer Rate and Rotation Speed. We ran this test several times, but yielded the same result in each instance.
Nero CD-DVD Speed - Data CD Test:
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| XA52P | Plextor 48x | Plextor Premium |
Replacing the blank CD with a Data disk, we ran the same test over. The XA52P achieved the highest speed of all three drives with an average of 36.43x, while the Plextor 48x produced the lowest seek time of 99ms at full stroke.
We would like to note that during our initial testing of the Plextor Premium we experience similar problems during this exact test. Observing the results above, it looks as if the latest firmware upgrade has yet to rectify the remaining bugs within the drive. Hopefully Plextor will finally resolve this issue in the next firmware patch.
CPU Usage between the three drives was close, but the MSI XA52P did have the lowest rating at 8x. However, we are not laboring heavily on this part due to the Premium's apparent issue with seek times which could skew these results.
Nero CD-DVD Speed - Audio CD Test:
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| XA52P | Plextor 48x | Plextor Premium |
Overall, this test yielded very similar results as the last. The Plextor 48x picked up first place for seek times at full stroke, the XA52P placed second and the Premium had issues once again. The real store here is the swap in positioning when comparing average speed. Unlike the last test, the MSI fell to second place while the Plextor Premium took the lead with an average of 41.07x.
