Home :: Computers :: Components :: Drives & Storage :: CD-RW Drives  

External Drives
FireWire Drives
Internal Drives
Mac Drives
USB Drives
Plextor PlexWriter 12x4x32 Internal SCSI CDRW Drive

Plextor PlexWriter 12x4x32 Internal SCSI CDRW Drive

List Price: $329.99
Your Price:
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very good, but you might miss BurnProof and HSRW
Review: I have been using Plextor PlexWriter recorders since the old days of the 412 caddy unit and have owned every model they released after that. That means the 4220S, the 820S, the 8220S, the 8432A, the 1210A, and now the 1210S. I also got the 1610A recently. (A stands for ATAPI models, and S for SCSI). I have recorded hundreds of CDR/CDRW with each of them, from CD Audio to Mode 1 Data and RAW DAO clone copies of protected software. I have had absolutely no mechanical problems with any of these units, and in general, Plextor has been quite competent releasing firmware upgrades to correct known issues. To keep it short, these are the reasons to get a PlexWriter: -Known history of great units and reliability -Excellent support when it comes to firmware upgrades to keep your unit bug-free and up to date -Always supported by every software manufacturer producing CDR apps. -Excellent digital audio extraction capabilities (usually not as perfect as with a Ultraplex unit, but still very reliable)

This unit is worth every cent, but if you can't afford it, consider the 1210A (Atapi model), it has half the buffer, no cooling fan, no play button, less LEDs, and does not take advantage of the SCSI bus, but still, it offers almost the same end results (I own both the SCSI and IDE units). Surprisingly, the latest ATAPI chipsets used by Plextor in the 1210A and 1610A have amazing Digital Audio Extraction quality. In the past, the recorders didn't do as good as the UltraPlex 40 reader.

Also, if you are thinking about getting this 12432S, consider buying the 121032S. The newer model supports high speed RW media (HSRW) for 10x rewritables and more important, the 121032 uses Sanyo's Burn-Proof technology, which basically means that the recorder will no longer abort recording sessions (rendering the CDR useless if it was a DAO mode recording) if the source media cannot keep up with the recorder (loss of streaming). This is useful when recording from slow sources (ZIP drives, old hard drives, very fragmented disks in low memory machines, or reading from scratched disks) and ends up making a big difference when it comes to the number of CDR media you waste.

I don't like Adaptec's bug-ware and would suggest using more powerful apps like Padus Diskjuggler, Ahead's Nero and even the excellent Plextor Plextools, but in any case don't worry, when you have a Plexwriter is the hardware that counts, you can later get any software you want for it...

Overall, this is a PlexWriter, you will get very reliable performance, but think wisely, since you might end up missing Burn-Proof technology and HighSpeed RW.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Quality
Review: I have had no problems with my Plexwriter Scsi 12x4x32x. It operates like it will last for ever (solid & quite). My old Yamaha sounded like a tin can. Using MusicMatch software it has made me very happy. It would be nice if the price was less.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Quality
Review: I have had no problems with my Plexwriter Scsi 12x4x32x. It operates like it will last for ever (solid & quite). My old Yamaha sounded like a tin can. Using MusicMatch software it has made me very happy. It would be nice if the price was less.


<< 1 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates