Sony DRU-810A: New Chipset, New Performance
by Purav Sanghani on October 28, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Storage
The Test
Our benchmarks include a few tests to show the performance of each of our test drives. We first use Nero CD-DVD Speed to create a data disc that tests the write capabilities/performance of the drive. We then run a transfer rate test to benchmark the read capabilities as well as verify the data on the disc.
Finally, we use our Plextor PX-712A drive to read the media for PI/PO errors. According to the ECMA standard:
Our test bed:
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (2.2Ghz )
Giga-byte GA-K8NXP-SLI
NVIDIA 6600GT SLI Edition (single 128MB card)
1GB (512MBx2) Corsair XMS4400
Plextor PX-712A, Firmware v1.07
Microsoft Windows XP SP2
Nero CD-DVD Speed 4.07
PlexTools Professional XL 3.03
Again, we have taken all of your feedback into consideration and have decided to go back to focusing more on the write quality of each media instead of just the write speeds. Our results are displayed on the following pages. The screenshots are again ZIPed into packages corresponding to the type of media.
Our benchmarks include a few tests to show the performance of each of our test drives. We first use Nero CD-DVD Speed to create a data disc that tests the write capabilities/performance of the drive. We then run a transfer rate test to benchmark the read capabilities as well as verify the data on the disc.
Finally, we use our Plextor PX-712A drive to read the media for PI/PO errors. According to the ECMA standard:
A row of an ECC Block that has at least 1 byte in error constitutes a PI error. In any 8 consecutive ECC Blocks, the total number of PI errors before correction shall not exceed 280.Now, some writers may create discs with more than 208 PI errors and they are not necessarily unreadable, but they are not the best quality discs around.
A row is 182 bytes long where the last 10 bytes contain PI (Parity Inner) information. An ECC block is 208 rows long where the last 16 rows contain the PO (Parity Outer) information. This gives us a maximum possible PI error amount of 208 errors per block, and for 8 blocks after each other, this sum is of course 8 times higher giving a maximum possible amount of 1664 PI errors.
If a row of an ECC Block contains more than 5 erroneous bytes, the row is said to be “PI-uncorrectable” or PIF (Parity Inner Failures).
In any ECC Block, the number of PI-uncorrectable rows should not exceed 4.
Our test bed:
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (2.2Ghz )
Giga-byte GA-K8NXP-SLI
NVIDIA 6600GT SLI Edition (single 128MB card)
1GB (512MBx2) Corsair XMS4400
Plextor PX-712A, Firmware v1.07
Microsoft Windows XP SP2
Nero CD-DVD Speed 4.07
PlexTools Professional XL 3.03
Again, we have taken all of your feedback into consideration and have decided to go back to focusing more on the write quality of each media instead of just the write speeds. Our results are displayed on the following pages. The screenshots are again ZIPed into packages corresponding to the type of media.
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unclebud - Wednesday, November 2, 2005 - link
i was gonna say that. bought an open box yeaterday for $89. and also if benq is only $40, does it come with any software? what about paying for shipping? this version of nero (sony's) has more features than either the mad dog (nec) or microadvantage (aopen) drives i have bought this year, ie: showtime actually plays dvds and recode is included. plus it seems to work with the hp 300i in the other bay as well... full versions of nero cost $50+. i can't stand sony myself, but as long as i can get a year out of this drive i am good -- the gdr-8160 that it replaces gave out after at least three years of ripping/watching blissunclebud - Thursday, November 3, 2005 - link
i was wrong, the hp 300i is excluded form burning with this version of nero :(this is the same exact thing they did with b recorder gold (?)
and why do REVIEWERS ALWAYS leave this IMPORTANT detail out???
oh so, people are just gonna shop hot deals and only have one rewriter in each computer?
a dvd-rom costs $20! but a dvd burner costs $40 and DOES BOTH.
sony is just as cheap and stanky as ever :( (i also own a dre infested ps2)
back to the drawing board...
thanks for some of the review?
drewdc - Wednesday, November 2, 2005 - link
The review contains a couple of errors/omissions:1. In the MKM 01RD30 (DVD-R Dual Layer) graphs, the Sony drive and some of the other drives are missing.
2. Also, the CD-R section of the review has a broken link to the first graph -- It says "Click to enlarge" but there is no image to click on. The graph (Nero CD Speed CD-R write speed vs. time) is in the http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/storage/sony_d...">supplemental zip file, though.
My comments on this drive vs. its virtual twin, the BenQ DW1640:
As I see it, the only major reason to buy the Sony over the BenQ is the software bundle. The Sony includes Nero Burning ROM SE (version 6), which has more functionality than the feature-reduced Nero Express that comes with the BenQ and most other burners. I'll admit that the average user probably would be satisfied with Nero Express, but if you're a power user who doesn't already own a full-featured burning program, you might want to consider the Sony.
The retail BenQ comes with QSuite, which has a bunch of tools that are useful in their own right, but in my opinion Sony comes out ahead on software.
The Sony's blue-accented white front panel and black replacement bezel may sway those who care a lot about aesthetics. However, if you're just looking for a drive that matches your dark case, you can just get the black-faced BenQ.
Another thing to consider is that Sony is offering a http://www.sonyburners.com/media/pdfs/CDDVDdrive20...">$20 mail-in rebate on this drive through the end of the year, and that combined with other discounts may bring the drive closer in value to the BenQ. For example, this week the Best Buy in my area is advertising it for $100 with a $30 store MIR in addition to the $20 manufacturer's rebate, so it's $50 after rebates. That is quite competitive with the BenQ, especially after considering the software differences.
Prahs - Sunday, October 30, 2005 - link
From the article:"Now, Sony has changed their chipset to that used in BenQ’s DW1640 as well as Plextor’s PX-740A."
Thats interesting.
"But we all know that the performance of a drive depends on not only its hardware, but also its firmware. The DRU-810A comes with the 1.0a firmware, which is also the latest and the one that we used in our testing."
Ok, so you used the BenQ 1640 and Plextor PX-740A as the benchmark so what firmware versions were they?
"Sony has switched chipset manufacturers, yet again; this time, using not only the Philips Nexperia chipset with the PNX7860E recording engine and TZA1047HL analog pre-processor, which we found in the BenQ DW1640A as well as the Plextor PX-740A, but also the exact same circuit layout."
Exact same circuit layout. So how about exact same firmware for the test? If you examine the BenQ 1640 firmware, from the BSJB release on, you can see that they reference the SONY DVD RW DRU-810A.
mindless1 - Saturday, October 29, 2005 - link
Several references in the review to what Sony "did", but it brings up a big question:Did Sony actually do any of this, or did they merely slap their badge on yet another LiteOn drive as they have for years?
n7 - Friday, October 28, 2005 - link
BenQ DW1640 is still the king :DNothing beats it for price/performance.
vailr - Friday, October 28, 2005 - link
Could the author add a brief explanation of what a "PI error" is?And why these aren't corrected before the burn occurs?
TIA
JarredWalton - Friday, October 28, 2005 - link
PI = Parity InnerPO = Parity Outer
Both errors can occur during the burn process. The data is fine beforehand, but sometimes the burn process has errors. PI errors are almost always correctable - the media format is made to handle such errors. PO errors occur when there are too many PI errors in one area. For music, it's still usually okay, but data CDs can be useless if they have many (any) PO errors.
Ian@CDRlabs - Friday, October 28, 2005 - link
CD's don't have PO errors. They have C1 and C2 errors.Questar - Friday, October 28, 2005 - link
Another burner review.They're $30 items, do they need to be reviewed? Doesn't seem worth the effort.