If you've tried making your own CD's, you are
probably painfully aware of the term "coaster"! A coaster is
what you end up with when the burn process goes bad. With most CD writers
or burners, the burn process will fail if the computer pauses for any
reason. A typical burner requires that a constant flow of information be
sent to the burner. If your hard disk is fragmented or you are trying to
read your email, the computer will stop sending information to the burner,
often causing a coaster.
Plextor's new line of "burn proof" CD burners solves these
problems and will virtually eliminate bad CD's. The PlexWriter has the
ability to start and stop burning without ruining the CD. The PlexWriter
12/10/32A burns at an astounding 12X and will create a CD in less than 10
minutes. If you burn CDs, this is the CD burner for you! The Plexwriter
writes at 12X for CDR's, 10X for CD R/W's, and reads CD's at 32X.
Installation was a snap, I just popped out the old CD burner and slid
in the PlexWriter. You just connect the unit to your IDE hard disk
cable and you are in business. Installing the software was a snap and only
took a couple of minutes.
I decided to put the PlexWriter to the ultimate test right off the bat.
I burned a CD with files saved on a heavily used network file server. Now
with our previous burner, it would have burned a coaster for sure. But the
PlexWriter took it all in stride. The PlexWriter burned a perfect CD even
though the data flow stopped many times due to a overloaded file server.
The average speed ended up at about 6X which is still faster than most CD
burners.
Now on more realistic tests, the burner zoomed to a finish at the full
12X speed. You can realistically assume that a CD can be burned in less
than 10 minutes. With burn proof technology, you can now browse the
Internet or check your email without worrying about burning a coaster.
Plextor PlexWriter 12/10/32A Specifications
 | Burn proof technology. |
| E-IDE (ATAPI-4) interface |
| 3-in-1 drive: 12X CD-R, 10X CD-RW, 32X max CD-ROM |
| 150ms Average Random Access |
| 2 MB Buffer |
| Records highest quality audio CDs |
| Capable of Digital Audio Extraction at 24X max |
| Supports CD-DA; CD-ROM (Mode 1); CD-ROM (Mixed Mode); CD-ROM XA (Mode 2, Form 1 and Form 2 and Mixed Form; CD-I; Photo CD; Video CD; CD-Extra; CD+G; CD Text |
| Compatible with a large number of CD-R and CD-RW media |
| Burn-Proof technology eliminates buffer underrun errors in fast write modes, allows for multi-tasking |
| Flash ROM allows for easy upgrade over the Internet
Windows 95/98/2000/ME and NT4.0 Compatible |
| Supports Disc-at-Once, Track-at-Once, Session-at-Once, Variable & Fixed packet writing modes |
| One-Year Full Warranty and Unlimited Toll-Free Tech Support |
