1. Installation/Package
CyberDrive
CW088D IDE CD-RW - Page
1
- Introduction
CyberDrive
increases the competition in optical recording market with the new IDE proposal
for writing at 48X. Judging from the previous models of the Taiwanese company,
we expect a fast recorder that will fairly share the leading positions with
manufacturers such as Yamaha, Asus and LiteOn, in the performance charts. Furthermore,
and of the strong weapons of CyberDrive is the attractive price..
- Features
The
CyberDrive CW088D supports 48X maximum reading speed (CAV) for CD-R, 16X re-writing
speed (CLV) and 48X writing speed (CAV). The current firmware version installed
is v.110F and of course is equipped with flash memory allowing easy firmware
upgrade.
The drive also includes a 2MB cache buffer, and the supported disk formats
are CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-ROM / XA, mixed mode, Video-CD, Photo CD, Enhanced CD,
CD Plus, CD-G, CD-Text among with the CD-UDF compatibility.
Buffer
Underun errors are avoided with the "ExacLink" adopted feature. The
drive's specifications also give the CyberDrive an 100ms average access time
and a 40X maximum audio extraction speed. The drive utilizes a High Precise
Sledge Control (HPSC) type traverse mechanism to improve access time while reducing
acoustic seek noise.
- Recording speeds
CyberDrive CW088D uses the CAV for the 48X and P-CAV for the
40X speed. Nero CDSpeed reports that the average theoretical writing speed for
the 48X category is 37.80X.
While using several media, we noticed the drive reached 50X writing speed,
increasing further the average writing speed to 38.03X:
The 40X P-CAV also leads to a 31.86X average writing speed. For the rest supported
speeds, the adopted technology is the Z-CLV, as you can see in the corresponding
CDSpeed graphs for the 32X
and 36X.
Lastly, with HS-RW media the CW088D can write up to 16X:
- Unpacking
The
European retail package includes the drive, a multilingual user's manual CD-ROM,
a quick installation guide, an audio cable and mounting screws. Nero Burning
Rom and InCD are the writing/packet writing software offered among with one
700MB blank 48X CD-R, and one 650MB 16X HS-RW disc. The price for Europe is
Euro 87 plus V.A.T.
On the front panel (tray) there are just the "HS-RW" logo, the eject
button, the operation led and a emergency eject hole. Notice that the drive
does not include the CyberDrive logo, headphone jack and volume control button,
as it is showed in the retail kit package. CyberDrive ensured that the future
shipments you will have in your hands will have a complete front bezel.
On the rear panel there are Power connector IDE interface connector , Device
configuration jumper (Master, Slave, CSEL), Analog audio line out (4P), Digital
audio out (2P)
- Installation
Windows XP recognized the drive July 2002 model as "CyberDrv CW088D".
It supports both PIO mode 4 and UDMA mode 2.
2. CD Data Tests
CyberDrive
CW088D IDE CD-RW
- Page 2
Data CD Tests
- Pressed CD results: (Click
to see the CD Speed Graphs)
In the result charts we include the results of two competitive
drives, the Asus CRW4816A and Yamaha CRW-F1E. CyberDrive CW088D is slower than
the Asus drive, due to the lowest reading speed in the beginning of the test.
The Yamaha drive follows with 32.33X, as it supports 44X max speed.
In the same test, we measured the seek time of the drive. CyberDrive is
fast, and the 104 ms result for the random seek mode meets the drive's specifications.
However the Asus drive is slightly faster with 89 msec.
- CDR Media results: (Click
to see the CD Speed Graphs)
All the drives improved their reading performance with the CDR
media. The fastest drive is the Asus again, closely followed by CyberDrive CW088D,
which reached the 49.76X speed in the end of the test.
In the seek test, CyberDrive is the fastest in all the seek
modes. The Asus drive seems to have some problems with the CD-R since it gave
higher times than in the pressed CD test, especially in the Full mode seek.
- HS-RW media: (Click
to see the CD Speed Graphs)
For the RW tests for CyberDrive we used the CyberDrive
16X HS-RW media that come with the retail kit. The Yamaha drive is the faster
HS-RW reader with 33.05X average speed. CyberDrive CW088D supports 40X maximum
HS-RW reading speed, and gave a 30.82X average, getting the second place in
the test. Asus is slower and read the disc at 21.75X.
3. CD Error Correction
CyberDrive
CW088D IDE CD-RW
- Page 3
CD Error Correction tests
In the following tests we examine the error correction capabilities of CyberDrive
CW088D. We use the built-in Nero CD Speed v1.0 CD Quality test. The reference
test media come from ALMEDIO and Philips corporations.
- ABEX TCD-714R
This test disc has been produced for measuring and adjusting the tracking servo
characteristics of the drive, against the eccentricity of compact disc. The
fundamental characteristics of this disc other than on eccentricity are compatible
with the standards in "Red Booklet".
The test examines the ability to trace eccentricity of the compact disc player.
In reference to a zero eccentricity disc, we check the following phenomena:
a. There is skipping of sound tracks
b. Requires excess time to locate or cannot locate the starting point of the
tune.
c. Mechanical noise is heard from the CD player
d. Requires excess time to read or cannot read the TOC information
e. The spindle motor runs wild
Physical characteristics of disc:
Eccentricity: 280 micro meters
Deviation: 3 micro meters
CyberDrive behaved in a very strange way in this test. The error rate is extremely
high and definitely cannot reflect the real error correction capabilities of
the drive. As it seems, there is an incompatibility between the CDSpeed implementation
of ABEX TCD-714R and the way the CyberDrive CW088D retrieves C2 errors.
- ABEX TCD-721R
This test disc is produced with the objective of measuring and adjusting the
CD player's tracking servo characteristics and error correction ability against
scratches on the disc. Artificial scratches with lengths from 1.8 mm to 3.0
mm are found on the disc. The phenomenon that may occur during playback of the
disc contents are:
a. Noise is created
b. The sound skips
c. The same section is repeatedly played
d. Start of the tune cannot be detected
e. The spindle motor rotates erratically (reverse rotation, change in revolution,
e.t.c)
The same behavior as in the previous test is showed here. This time, the drive
reduced the reading speed in some hard to read areas, but again the amount of
errors marked is unduly high.
- ABEX TCD-726
This disc is produced for measurement and adjustment of error ability and tracking
/ focusing servo characteristics of a CD player against defects included in
some discs. Three kind of defects, interruption, black dots and fingerprints
are prepared in this disc. The interruption defects are sized from 0.5 mm to
1.0 mm. The black dots are from 0.4 mm to 1.0 mm. Lastly, the fingerprints are
from 65 to 75 micro meters.
- PHILIPS SBC-444A
Another test disc that comes from Philips. The purpose of this disc is adjustment
/ checking of the CD player. Note that the disc is not within specification
concerning local defects. The defects found on the disc are interruptions of
the information layer, black dots at out-read area, and simulated fingerprint.
The situation remains the same in the ABEX TCD-726 and Philips SBC-444A. The
errors occur from the beginning of the test and we should not take these results
as a reference for the drive's performance.
4. CloneCD Reading Tests
CyberDrive
CW088D IDE CD-RW - Page 4
CloneCD Reading
Tests
- Procedure
We used CloneCD and 4 original CDs - Serious Sam 2 (SafeDisc 2), Desperados
(LaserLock 2), V-Rally 2 Expert (SecuROM 2) and NBA Jam Extreme (PSX) - in order
to test the reading time of the drives. We also tested the reading performance
with backups of the original CDs, since the reading speed varies between original
and backup media. The following pictures show the drive reading/writing capabilities
as CloneCD reports:
- PSX Pressed Media
For this test we used the PSX game 'NBA Jam Extreme' and we ripped the image
to the HD with CloneCD. Cyberdrive CW088D finished the task in 6min. The drive
was not so fast and the competitive drives, especially the Asus CRW4816A, take
the first two places.
- SafeDisc v.2 Results
Cyberdrive CW088D finished the task in approximately 6 minutes, for the
pressed disc. In the backup CD test, the drive showed a very strange behavior
and skipped the "bad sectors" very slowly. As a result , it took it
almost 3 hours to finish. Yamaha CRW-F1 lead the race, followed by Asus CRW4816A.
- LaserLock v.2 Results
With the LaserLock v.2 protected disc, Cyberdrive CW088D takes
the second best position behind the Asus drive, which is the fastest in the
test. The Yamaha drive is even slower with both pressed and backup test discs.
- SecuROM v2.0 Results
Cyberdrive CW088D takes its revenge in the SecuROM v.2 test, and gives the
best performance with 2624.18kb/sec for the pressed disc and 2604.30kb/sec for
the backup one.
5. DAE Tests
CyberDrive
CW088D IDE CD-RW - Page 5
DAE Tests
- DAE features
EAC v0.9 beta4 reports that CyberDrive CW088D does not support "caching"
of data, does not retrieve "C2" error info and gives "Accurate
Stream".
- Pressed AudioCD results
In this test we examine the speed of the DAE of the drives. CyberDrive ripped
the files to the disk at 34.9X, which is the best performance in terms of speed
among the other drives. Asus follows with 34.1X, while Yamaha CRW-F1E stays
behind with 30.6X.
- CDR AudioCD results
CyberDrive CW088D was slower in the CD-R ripping test, and gets the second
position with 31.4X, behind the Asus drive.
- EAC Secure Extract Ripping mode
EAC's secure extract ripping mode results, which ensures maximum produced
WAV quality. Note that for each drive we used the build-in detection function:
Tested Drives
|
Average DAE Speed (X)
|
Pressed
|
CDR
|
Yamaha CRW-F1
|
7.2
|
7.3
|
Asus CRW4816A
|
10.4
|
10.7
|
CyberDrive CW-088D
|
13.7
|
13.4
|
CyberDrive gave the higher DAE speed with 13.7X for the pressed disc and 13.4X
for the CD-R one.
- Advanced DAE Quality
All drives got a 100 score (best) in the Nero CD Speed Advanced DAE test.
The average speed for CyberDrive was 34.98X. The drive can also read data from
SubChannel and CD Text.
- CD-Check Audio Test Disc
Error Level
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
Yamaha CRW-F1
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
4/5
|
0/5
|
Asus CRW4816A
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
0/5
|
CyberDrive CW088D
|
5/5
|
5/5
|
4/5
|
3/5
|
0/5
|
The results for CyberDrive CW088D could be better, since the drive failed
to completely fulfill the error correction requirements of the test disc, during
playback. The problems started from the 3rd level and continued in the 4th,
with 3/5 successful playbacks. Among the other two drives, Asus is slightly
better from the Yamaha drive, but none managed to pass the 5th level.
- Bad CDR Media results
We used CD DAE software to rip the whole disc (756539616 sectors) to the
hard disk.
|
Average Speed (X)
|
Errors
|
Errors Of Total Disc (%)
|
Yamaha CRW-F1
|
6
|
61230297
|
8.09
|
Asus CRW4816A
|
Drive locks when disc inserted
|
CyberDrive CW088D
|
19.3
|
65894059
|
8.71
|
CyberDrive CW088D ripped the files at 19.3X average speed, but the 8.71% of
the disc contents were not correct. The Yamaha CRW-F1 gave an 8.09% error rate
and ripped the files at 6X.
- Ripping 90 and 99mins AudioCDs
CyberDrive CW088D did not have any problems to rip the contents of any 90min
and 99min audio CD we tested.
- Reading/Ripping Protected AudioCDs
For the test procedure we used 2 protected AudioCDs, which we
tested in both recognition and ripping (with EAC) processes:
* Pressed AudioCD with Sony Key2Audio (Celine Dion - New Day Has
Come)
* Pressed AudioCD with Cactus Data Shield 200 (Natalie Imbruglia - White Lilies
Island)
|
Key2Audio
|
CDS200
|
EAC
|
Yamaha CRW-F1
|
Rips entire disc without problems
|
Asus CRW4816A
|
Cannot recognize disc contents
|
Can recognize the disc contents but cannot
rip!
|
CyberDrive CW088D
|
Cannot recognize disc contents
|
Rips entire disc without problems
|
The only drive that can read AudioCD protected discs comes from Yamaha. The
CyberDrive can only rip CDS200 protected discs, while the ASUS drive failed
even to recognize the disc contents.
6. CDR Tests
CyberDrive
CW088D IDE CD-RW - Page 6
CDR Tests
- Procedure
We tested the drive with latest version of Nero/CloneCD. The media list we
used can be found in the Writing Quality page. Cyberdrive CW088D supports a
variety of writing speeds starting from 4X up to 48X.
Cyberdrive CW088D decides the optimum writing speed for the disc inserted.
The drive checks the inserted media and lowers the writing speed when the selected
writing speed is higher than the maximum allowed for safe and accurate recordings.
The below picture comes from Nero Burning Rom, where the maximum allowed writing
speed is limited to 36X.
Cyberdrive recommends the following media for writing at the maximum 48X speed.
As you may notice, the supported media list is pretty much limited to 9 brands.
There is no way to force the drive writing at the maximum speed, all media:
For our recording tests at 48X, we used the Cyberdrive 48X media
that came in the retail kit, Ciba Plasmon 80min 48X, and Mitsubishi Chemicals
80min 48X. We also managed to write in the maximum supported speed with SanyoDigital
(Plasmon based) 80min 24X media. The duration of each writing process is showed
below:
- CyberDrive 80min 48X : 2:40 min
- SanyoDigital 80min 24X : 2:38 min
- Ciba Plasmon 80min 48x : 2:36 min
- Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min 48x : 2:37 min
- Recording Tests
Cyberdrive CW088D is the fastest 48X writer in the test. The
drive finished the writing in 156 seconds, 5 seconds faster than Asus CRW4816A.
Note that in this test we just examine the writing speed and not the produced
quality.
The following picture is from Nero after a successful burning
of Cyberdrive CW088D at 48X.
All the writing times for the various supported speeds of Cyberdrive
are illustrated below:
The time differences between the faster recording speed of 48X
and the rest are:
- 16X: 154secs
- 20X: 105secs
- 24X: 73secs
- 28X: 62secs
- 32X: 38secs
- 36X: 33secs
- 40X: 28secs
The following picture is from Nero after a successful burning
of Cyberdrive CW088D at 40X.
We also noticed that sometimes, according to the inserted media, the drive
may enable 36X or 24X writing speed, but the actual writing will be performed
in lower recording speed. The below picture shows that 36X writing speed was
selected, but the actual recording time, indicates 20X writing speed.
The next picture shows more clearly the reduction of the writing speed from
24X->16X:
- Overburning Tests
Tested Drive
|
Writing up to
|
CyberDrive CW088D
|
99mins
|
- CD-Text Results
The drive can read/write CD-Text without any problems.
- CloneCD Writing Tests
CloneCD
reports that the drive support the DAO-RAW feature. We performed our usual tests
and we confirmed that both drives support the DAO-RAW writing mode at the following
CD protections: SafeDisc 1/2, LaserLock 1/2 and SecuROM 2. Under DAO-RAW mode,
the drive uses the maximum 48x recording speed, with the use of appropriate
media.
For checking the drive's EFM correction status, we used 3 different game
titles with various SafeDisc 2 versions. For getting the maximum of them, we
used the latest software patches. We used the CyberDrive CW088D both as reader/writer
at maximum reading/recording speed. We burned two discs for each game (Amplify
Weak Sectors On/Off) and the results are posted in the below table:
Game Title
|
Protection Build
|
Amplify Weak Sectors On
|
Amplify Weak Sectors Off
|
Emperor:Battle of Dune
|
Creative 52X CD-ROM
|
v.2.30.021
|
OK
|
OK
|
TEAC 40X CD-ROM
|
OK
|
OK
|
LiteOn LTR-32123S
+ Hide CDR
|
OK
|
OK
|
Max Payne v1.05
|
Creative 52X CD-ROM
|
v.2.50.020
|
OK
|
OK
|
TEAC 40X CD-ROM
|
OK
|
OK
|
LiteOn LTR-32123S
+ Hide CDR
|
OK
|
OK
|
Serious Sam - The Second Encounter v1.07
|
Creative 52X CD-ROM
|
v.2.60.052
|
NO
|
NO
|
TEAC 40X CD-ROM
|
NO
|
NO
|
LiteOn LTR-32123S
+ Hide CDR
|
NO
|
NO
|
As the test results showed, the CW088D drive can backup up to SD2 v2.50.020
version without the need of Amplify Weak Sectors. However with the latest v2.51.021+
builds it will not produce 100% correct playback disc. The backup did not work
in any drive, even when the backup was written with the amplify weak sectors
enabled. According to the CloneCD official website,
the drive doesn't support at all EFM correction.
7. Writing Quality Tests
CyberDrive
CW088D IDE CD-RW - Page 7
Writing Quality Tests
We used many media and burned them at various recording speeds with Cyberdrive
CW088D. We used Nero 5.5.9.6 for all the recordings. The produced CDs, were
measured from DigitalDrives
and results are illustrated in the following table
Brand
|
Speed Recorded
|
C1
|
C2
|
Average Burning Time (mins)
|
Max
|
Average
|
Max
|
Average
|
Octron 80min 24x
|
40X
|
18
|
1.7
|
0
|
3:04
|
SanyoDigital 80min 24x
|
16X
|
22
|
1.4
|
0
|
5:18
|
20X
|
23
|
2.3
|
4:21
|
48X
|
28
|
2.6
|
2:38
|
Emtec 80min 24x
|
36X
|
32
|
5.2
|
0
|
3:13
|
SmartBuy 80min 32x
|
32X
|
64
|
4.8
|
0
|
3:14
|
Aopen 80min 40x
|
40X
|
35
|
2.4
|
0
|
3:04
|
Ciba Plasmon 80min 48x
|
48x
|
26
|
1.8
|
0
|
2:36
|
CyberDrive 80min 48x
|
48x
|
57
|
4.2
|
19
|
0
|
2:40
|
40X
|
75
|
3.8
|
0
|
3:01
|
36X
|
24
|
1.8
|
0
|
3:09
|
32X
|
41
|
2.4
|
0
|
3:15
|
28X
|
23
|
2
|
0
|
3:38
|
24X
|
26
|
1.8
|
0
|
3:49
|
Mitsui SG Ultra 80min 32x
|
36X
|
33
|
1.3
|
0
|
3:10
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min 32x
|
40X
|
45
|
1.9
|
0
|
3:03
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min 48x
|
48X
|
28
|
1.5
|
0
|
2:37
|
The general writing quality of Cyberdrive CW088D is more than adequate, in
all the recording speeds. The error rate in most cases is low and no C2 errors
occurred, with just one exception with Cyberdrive 48X media. The best results
at 48X came with Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min 48X media, where the average C1
rate was 1.5. The results also show that writing on non 48X certified media,
will not always lead to low quality discs, but of course this can be considered
more as an exception and not as a rule for your everyday burnings.
Below is the C1/C2 graph from the CyberDrive 80min 48X media, where C2 errors
occured:
In the following chart you can see the manufacturing details of the media we
used for our tests.
Name
|
Manufacturer
|
Code
|
Capacity
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min 48x
|
Mitsubishi Chemicals
|
97m34s23f
|
79:59.73
|
Taiyo Yuden 80min 32x
|
Taiyo Yuden
|
97m24s01f
|
79:59.72
|
CyberDrive 80min 40x
|
Postech
|
97m26s11f
|
79:59.73
|
Plasmon 80min 16x
|
Plasmon
|
97m27s19f
|
79:59.74
|
SmartBuy 80min 32x
|
Prodisc
|
97m32s19f
|
79:59.74
|
SanyoDigital 80min 24x
|
Plasmon
|
97m27s19f
|
79:59.74
|
Octron 80min 24x
|
Ritek
|
97m15s17f
|
79:59.73
|
8. HS-RW/Packet Writing Tests
CyberDrive
CW088D IDE CD-RW - Page 8
RW Writing Tests
We used Nero for writing CDs at the maximum RW speed for all the tested drives.
CyberDrive CW088D supports 16X CLV maximum HS-RW writing speed. For the writing
test we used the CyberDrive 16X HS-RW media that came with the drive package.
The Yamaha drive is faster due to the 24X (P-CAV) maximum supported speed.
Between CyberDrive and Asus, the second is faster by 8 seconds. In the quick
erase test, both Asus and CyberDrive drives gave the same result. Below is the
screenshot from Nero, while writing a HS-RW media at 16X:
- Packet Writing Tests
We used Ahead InCD for the packet writing tests with the CyberDrive media
bulked in the retail package. The formatted disc had 534 MB of free space. We
copied a 403 MB file (403.147 kbs) from a Hard Disk (on the same PC as the writers)
to the formatted RW media using Windows Explorer (we dragged and dropped) and
we completed the test twice to eliminate any possible time measurement faults
and user errors:
The Yamaha CRW-F1 supports 24X rewriting so is the faster writer in this
test with 17.35X average speed. CyberDrive and Asus follow with 11.5X and 11.28X
respectively. In the reading part, Yamaha CRW-F1 is slower with 12.94X, slightly
faster than Asus CRW4816A. CyberDrive is faster with 17X.
9. Conclusion
CyberDrive
CW088D IDE CD-RW - Page 9
Conclusion
Positive
|
Negative
|
- Supports 48X CAV writing speed
- "ExacLink" anti-coaster technology
- 40X HS-RW reading
- Good seek times
- Very Good DAE ripping speed
- Very fast CD-R writer
- High writing quality
- Supports DAO-RAW writing mode
- Can read/write SubChannel Data from Audio/Data tracks
- Supports CD-Text (read/write)
- Supports Overburning (up to 99mins)
- Supports Ultra-DMA 33 connection interface
- Low price (87 Euro + V.A.T)
|
- Doesn't support hardware EFM correction
- CloneCD performance slower than competition
- Weak error correction/error concealment
- Cannot handle "Key2Audio" protected audio discs
- Doesn't support ,yet, Mt. Rainier format
|
Cyberdrive CW088D is easily characterized as a very fast recorder and reader.
The 48X CAV writing strategy gave the drive the first position in the writing
tests, and the interesting point is that the produced discs did not fall short
of quality. The ExacLink feature interferes to assure a safe burning process
and adjusts the maximum writing speed according to the inserted media limits.
In the data reading part, the Cyberdrive CW088D is also fast and the seek times
seems to be adequate. Especially in the HS-RW reading test, the drive reached
the 40X speed giving approximately a 31X average speed.
Cyberdrive CW088D can read / write subchannel data from audio /data tracks,
supports overburning up to 99 minutes and leads in the DAE speed with audio
CDs. However, the DAE quality is questionable, since the drive gave a high error
rate in the "bad medium" test, and the CD Check test showed that the
drive's concealment performance with audio CDs could be higher. Some indications
in the ABEX tests also could make us believe that the drive needs some improvement
in the error correction part. Of course, the possible lack of C2 error retrieving
of the drive or even some CD Speed Quality test incompatibilities with the drive
could give a faulty picture for this matter. As for all the CloneCD users, CyberDrive
CW088D is not the faster reader of protected discs, with an exception in SecuROM
v.2 titles, and the latest SafeDisc v.2 build was impossible to be overpassed
with software or hardware EFM correction feature.
Cyberdrive CW088D is available in a very attractive price for its category,
and can be found in the price of Euro 87 plus V.A.T. Therefore it gets our "Safe
Buy Award".