Today we post two new hardware reviews with 6 new 40x recorders and one combo recorder from Plextor!

- 40x Roundup Vol. 2: After the first 40x recorder from Plextor, many manufacturers introduced other 40x recording solutions. At this time, June of 2002, almost all manufactures released their 40x recording proposals. In this roundup we attempt to examine each drive specs and compare them with the competition.

We already have compared drives from Plextor, TEAC, LiteOn, Cendyne, and ASUS and in this roundup we present six (6) new drives from CyberDrive, LG, Mitsumi, Samsung, TDK and Waitec. Which one is the faster recorder? What new recording technologies are offered in this platform? Let's find out...

PS. Sorry for TEAC CD-W540E funs, but it was nearly impossible to fit one more drive to the graphs!! :-)

- PleXCombo PX-320A: In February 2002 Plextor announced the PX-320A. This was the first ever Plextor drive that supported the DVD playback option, making combo drives again appealing to user's eye. In the past Plextor avoided presenting a DVD-ROM drive possibly due to the fact that the Taiwanese competition could always ship lower cost DVD readers. We examine if Plextor's entry at the combo market is successful and how good the PX-320A is at both CD & DVD formats.