The Tests
Since the inception of TargetPC, I use and recommend
Eric Deppe’s CDspeed
& DVDspeed. Let’s see if Pioneer’s
specs match the test results.
CD audio ripping test using
80 minute media
Never dropping below 12X, this 40X rated DVD
drive can work with 8X CD burners rather well. Just make sure you’re not multitasking
your brains out and the burner’s buffer shouldn’t fall to zero. Pioneer’s
70mS seek time is slightly out of spec but I suspect that their engineers
meant this for data, not audio tests. What surprised me is the CPU utilization.
At 8X, the speed of many current CD-R’s, just over one third of the system
capabilities are being used. Audio ripping may have been an after thought
for the DVD-104S.
CD data ripping test using
649MB media
Data transfer was top notch. An almost full 650
CD-R returned excellent results. Results that should be considered great for
any CD-ROM let alone one that doubles as a DVD player. Pioneer’s minimum CD
spec of 17.2X is exceeded but the seek time is still slightly below spec (rated
70mS, tested 83mS). CPU utilization is very good, equaling a SCSI-2 based
Plextor 40X unit.
