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1. Installation

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ASUS CRW5224 CD-RW - Page 1

- Introduction

After having already tested two upcoming 52X recorders we were pleased to see another manufacturer shipping a drive with same specs (52X writing, 24X re-writing, 52X reading). The previous ASUS CRW-4816A had offered a good reading/writing performance but "suffered" in possibly the most important part called "writing quality". We are testing the new CRW5224 in our usual exhaustive tests compared with AOpen CRW5224 and SONY CRX220E1. Which recorder is the faster?

- Specifications

The ASUS CRW5224 supports the CAV recording technology for reading/re-writing and recording. The drive's features according to Nero Info Tool are the following:

The drive supports 52X maximum reading / writing and 24X re-writing speeds. The buffer is only 2MB and the reading of CD-Text and CD+G is supported. Nero Info Tool also reports that retrieving of C2 error information is supported but its accuracy would be examined later. Note that the Mt. Rainier implementation is present.

FlextraLink and FlextraSpeed technologies are present to prevent the buffer underrun problems and ensure the burning quality. In addition the DDSSII feature is an enhanced follow-up to the first generation Double Dynamic Suspension System developed by ASUS and designed to minimize the vibration caused by the spindle motor and resonance between components as well as the drive and PC case. Also the AI Auto Speed Adjustment Technology helps the drive function in the best status and adjusts its reading speed in accordance with the quality of a variety of certified media in different formats when reading them.

The following pictures show the drive's supported reading/writing speeds:

The official specifications taken from ASUS website are posted below:

Model	CRW-5224A
Performance
Data Transfer Rate	CAV write/ P-CAV rewrite/ CAV read
Sustained Data Transfer Rate	CD (Read): 52X Max. 7800 KB/sec (CAV)
	DAE: 52X Max. 7800 KB/sec (CAV)
	CD-R (Write): 52, 48X, 40X, 32X, 24X, 20X, 16X, 12X, 8X, 4X
	CD-RW (Rewrite): 24X, 16X, 12X, 10X, 8X, 4X, 2X
Random Access Time	100 ms typical @ 1/3 stroke
Writing Modes:	TAO (Disc-At-Once), DAO (Disc-At-Once), DAO-RAW, SAO (Session-At-Once), Packet Write, Multi-Session, Overburn
O/S Compatibility	Windows XP/ NT/ ME/ 2000/ 98/ 98SE, Netware, OS/2 Warp, Linux, SCO UNIX, MS-DOS, MPC level 3 compliant
Interface	ATAPI/ E-IDE (ANSI X3T9.2 90-143.)
Data Buffer	2MB
Anti-Coaster Technology	FlextraLink™
Recording Technology	FlextraSpeed™
Bundle Software	Latest CD Recording Software
Audio Outputs
Line out Output	0.7V rms typical
Headphone	0.7V rms typical
Disc
Disc Formats	CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, Photo CD, Mixed Mode CD-ROM, CD-I, CD-Extra, CD-Text, Video CD, DVCD, Bootable CD
Disc Diameters	8 cm and 12 cm
Recommended Media
CD-R	Acer, CMC, Maxell, Mitsubishi Chemical, Mitsui, Philips, Princo, Prodisc, Ricoh, Ritek, SONY, Taiyo Yuden, TDK, Verbatim, YAMAHA Hitachi Maxwell, MaxMax, CMC
CD-RW	Acer, CMC, Digimaster, Maxell, MaxMax, Mitsubishi Chemical, Plextor, Ricoh, Ritek, SONY, TDK, Traxdata, Verbatim, YAMAHA
Reliability
MTBF	100,000 Power On Hours
	Operating Duty Cycle (Read) 20% POH
	Operating Duty Cycle (Write) 1% POH
MTTR	1/2 hour
Configuration
Mounting Orientations	Vertical and Horizontal (+5o ~ -5o)
Dimensions (H/W/D)	41.5 x 149.0 x 197.5 mm (1.63" x 5.87" x 7.78" )
Weight	997g (2.2lb)

- "FlexSpeed" and "DDSS II" technologies

As ASUS explains:

., prevents users from buffer underrun problems caused by an empty data buffer, thereby eliminating the creation of unusable discs. Throughout the recording process, FlextraLink consistently monitors the data buffer status to ensure best recording quality. Once the available data drops below 1% of the total buffer capacity, FlextraLink suspends the recording and sets a marker at the last written position to avoid recording blocks. As soon as enough cache data is refilled in, the pickup head repositions itself to the marker and restarts the recording. FlextraLink uses minimal system resources so the PC remains full operational and available for other applications even during recording process.

The DDSS II is an enhanced follow-up to the first generation Double Dynamic Suspension System developed by ASUS. The DDSS technology is designed to minimize the vibration caused by the spindle motor and resonance between components as well as the drive and PC cases. DDSS II makes tracking and focusing even more precise, and successfully reduces the vibration and noise caused by high revolution of the spindle motor.

enhances accuracy and reliability when writing/re-writing across a broad base of certified media. It continuously monitors the recording media and sets the optimal writing speeds to ensure best recording quality. The built-in proprietary AI Auto Speed Adjustment Technology helps the driver function in the best status when reading across a broad base of certified media in different formats. It not only continuously monitors the reading media but also sets the optimal reading speeds. The latter greatly saves power and prolongs driver's life.

- CAV vs. P-CAV

CAV features three main charateristics:

• Higher average recording speed
• Minimum recording time
• Constant motor speed throughout when writing data

CAV recording technology is also known as Full CAV. A CAV drive maintains a consistent rotation speed that results in different transfer rates. The linear velocity increases gradually as the read head move across the inner area of the disk to the outer area. A CAV drive also features minimum recording time and higher average recording speed.

The read head of a Z-CLV drive stops writing data, and buffer underrun happens every time when the motor changes speeds. Linking technologies, such as FlextraLink, BURN-Proof, JustLink, SafeBurn, to name a few, activates when buffer underrun occurs. On the other hand, no extra links will be produced during the recording process of a CAV drive that runs at a constant rotation speed, allowing a smooth transferal to higher speeds. Recording time is therefore greatly reduced, while average recording speed improves significantly.

P-CAV (Partial Constant Angular Velocity) Recording Technology

P-CAV recording technology is a cooperation of CLV and CAV that offers a stable and reliable way to record data. The transfer rate will continue to increases until the drive reaches its maximum writing speed, and then maintains a constant rate comparable to that of CLV technology. A P-CAV drive is considered by many to be an ideal solution for Audio CDs and pre-mastering a disk for mass duplication. The technology also brings stable recording quality since no links are produced during recording process.

- Recording/Re-writing speeds

The ASUS CRW5224 supports 52X with the use of CAV recording technology. As Nero CD Speed reviled, the drive starts writing at 23.43X and gradually ends at the 52.98X speed, giving an average of 40.10X. This result indicates that the ASUS CRW5224 could be the faster recorder but the actual recording tests were slightly different...

With other CD-R media, the drive's average writing speed is lower down to 39.75X:

The drive at 48X recording speed, uses P-CAV recording technology:

At the 32X, the P-CAV recording technology is also present:

With Imation 80min 48X media, the drive lowered its recording speed down to 32X in order to avoid write error:

When using a US-RW media, the CRW5224 will start burning at 22.09X and gradually finishes the task at 23.89X. That gives an average of 23.84X, which is an almost equal performance to other P-CAV US-RW writers (Plextor PX-W4824A and YAMAHA CRW-F1).

- The package

We got the retail package that includes: the drive, one piece of ASUS 52X CD-R (real manufacturer ACER), one piece of ASUS 24X US-RW (real manufacturer Mitsubishi Chemicals), one IDE cable and mounting screws. The recording software comes from Ahead (Nero v5.5.9.2/InCD 3.37). There is also a printed manual in two languages (English-Traditional Chinese) and a quick installation guide in 12 languages. The drive hits the market really soon at the retail price of less than $100.

On the front of the drive there are the "ASUS", the "HS-RW" and the "52x24x52" logos. Despite the fact that the drive supports the 24X writing speed, the "US-RW" log is not present on the bezel. You will also find two leds, the eject/play buttons and the headphone input jack/volume selector:

On the rear panel of the drive you can see the usual connectors (IDE interface, power), the jumpers for making the drive Master/Slave, the SPDIF output connector and the analog/digital output connectors. The 3 jumpers on the left are used to setup the drive's working mode, PIO-4Mode (default) or UDMA33. For setting up the UDMA33 mode you just have to remove the middle jumper:

- Inside the drive

After removing the bottom screws we can see the internal of the drive:

The drive is based upon MediaTek chipsets. Below are the chipsets used at the ASUS 48x and 52x drives:

ASUS CRW4816A	ASUS CRW5224

IIn case you wonder if you can use the firmware from ASUS CRW-5224A on the ASUS CRW-4816A in order to gain the higher recording speeds you will be disappointed. Despite the succeful flash, the drive will not be recognized from the OS...

- Installation

The ASUS CRW5224 was installed as a Master in the primary IDE BUS. The drive worked in UDMA-33 mode. After booting, it identified itself as an "ASUS CRW-5224A". We used Nero v5.5.9.17, CloneCD v4.0.1.10 and Ahead InCD v3.51.16 for the recording tests. The drive is a November 2002 model with firmware revision v1.10 installed. After all tests finished, ASUS send us a newer firmware revision (v1.16) that fixed some of the problems we had noticed. The new firmware (v1.16) was used to re-test all the negative issues.

ASUS CRW-5224A will automatically reduce the maximum writing speed (52x) when it detects lower quality media for burning. There is no way to overpass this. Other manufacturers (Plextor, Yamaha, and Sony) offer the option to write all media at the maximum speed by disabling the media check quality system. Despite a possible argument of some users, ASUS doesn't support this, but offers a safer way to burn media. The pictures below come from Nero when non-52X certified blank media was inserted.

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2. Data Reading Tests

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Data Tests

- Pressed CD results: (Click to see the CD Speed Graph)

The faster drive is ASUS with an average reading speed of 39.54X. This is the faster result ever measured from a CD-RW drive. The SONY220E1 follows with 38.25X and the AOpen CRW5224 comes last with 38.05X.

The seek times of the ASUS drive are higher than SONY's. In the random seek mode, the difference is really small, but the drive seems to be slower in the 1/3 and full modes.

- CDR Media: (Click to see the CD Speed Graph )

With CD-R media, the ASUS drive continues to lead the race, while the SONY CRX220E1 has improved its performance to 39.33X.

The ASUS drive lowered its seek times with CD-R media and got the first place.

- RW media: (Click to see the CD Speed Graph)

The ASUS drive read the US-RW media at 31.15X. The AOpen takes the lead with a full 48X CAV reading performance.

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3. CD Error Correction Tests

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Error Correction Tests

In the following tests we examine the reading error correction capabilities of the ASUS CRW5224.

- EAC CD-R Test Disc

- Test Results (Max Reading)

Errors total	Num: 36614
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)	Num: 38171	Avg:-85.6 dB(A)	Max: -53.3 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples	Num: 91	Avg:1 Samples	Max: 1 Samples
Skips Samples	Num: 0	Avg: 0 Samples	Max:0 Samples
Total Test Result	80.5 points (of 100.0 maximum)

In the maximum ripping speed, the ASUS CRW5224 showed a good behaviour and got a score of 80.5 out of 100 (perfect).

- ABEX TCD-721R

- Test Results (Max speed)

Errors total	Num: 194891
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)	Num: 219353	Avg:-79.4 dB(A)	Max: -35.8 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples	Num: 6643	Avg: 1.0 Samples	Max: 9 Samples
Skips Samples	Num: 0	Avg: 0 Samples	Max: 0 Samples
Total Test Result	74.5 points (of 100.0 maximum)

The ABEX 721R test disc is very hard for many drives and the ASUS CRW5224 doesn't seem to be an exception. The good news is that the error spikes kept below -35.8 dB(a) at several points, while there were no skip samples. The result is an average performance and the score for the drive is 74.5 points.

- ABEX TCD-726

- Test Results (Max Speed)

Errors total	Num: 11141
Errors (Loudness) dB(A)	Num: 25854	Avg:-87.3 dB(A)	Max: -53.7 dB(A)
Error Muting Samples	Num: 316	Avg: 1 Samples	Max: 2 Samples
Skips Samples	Num: 0	Avg: 0 Samples	Max: 0 Samples
Total Test Result	76.9 points (of 100.0 maximum)

The ASUS drive performed adequately and gave a few errors getting a 76.9 score.

- Conclusion

Test Disc	Reading Speed	ASUS CRW5224
		Score
EAC CD-R	Max	80.5
ABEX TCD-721R	Max	74.5
ABEX TCD-726	Max	76.9
Average Score		77.30

The ASUS CRW5224 gets an average score of 77.30 out of 100, which is lower than what AOpen CRW5224 and SONY CRX220E1 got in previous tests.

- C2 Information accuracy

- Test Results (MAX Speed)

The C2 accuracy of the ASUS CRW5224 seems to reach the perfection with a 100% score. The results from EAC analyser seems to agree:

Test Disc	Reading Speed	ASUS CRW5224
		Score
EAC CD-R	Max	100
ABEX TCD-721R	Max	99.9
ABEX TCD-726	Max	100
Average Score		100

Below are the C2 error graphs as produced by EAC analyser software...

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4. CloneCD Reading Tests

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ASUS CRW5224 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 times of the drive. We also tested the reading performance with backups of the original CDs, since the reading speed varies between original and backup media. The following picture show the drive(s) reading/writing features 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. The ASUS drive is very fast and needs only 43 secs to finish the task.

- SafeDisc v.2 Results

The ASUS CRW5224 has an average performance but it is much faster from the two competitors of the test. The SD2 disc was read in only 6mins.

- LaserLock v.2 Results

The ASUS CRW5224 still takes the lead with LaserLock 2 protected discs.

- SecuROM v.2 Results

All drives can read SubChannel data from Data/Audio tracks. The ASUS CRW5224 completed this test faster than the other drives, the SONY CRX220E1 comes second and the AOpen CRW5224 follows with a lower performance.

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5. DAE Tests

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ASUS CRW5224 CD-RW - Page 5

DAE Tests

- DAE features

- Pressed AudioCD

The ASUS CRW-5224A is probably the faster CD-RW with pressed Audio discs. The drive goes up to 52X DAE and gives an average of 37.6X, leaving the AOpen and Sony drives the second and third positions, respectively.

- Audio CD-R media

With CD-R media, the ASUS drive is still fast enough but the AOpen CRW5224 got the first place with 35.5X. Note that with the CD-R Test disc, the ASUS drive reported 212 errors in a specific point...

- 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 built-in detection function:

Tested Drives	Average DAE Speed (X)
	Pressed	CDR
ASUS CRW5224	17.4	13.2
Sony CRX220E1	10.9	10.5
AOpen CRW5224	26.4	26.4

- Advanced DAE test

All the drives got a "100" score. The DAE speed for the ASUS drive is 37.66X, while the AOpen CRW5224 gets the second place with 35.5X.

- 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 (%)
ASUS CRW5224	Recognizes the disc contents, cannot rip!
Sony CRX220E1	Read error at 0.2% of total disc
AOpen CRW5224	8.3	177229355	23.43

The condition of the disc can be considered as very bad, so the purpose of this test is not to get the best results with any read errors, but to estimate the capabilities of the drive. The ASUS drive does recognize the disc contents but cannot rip any track at all.

- Ripping 90 and 99mins AudioCDs

Tested drives	Ripping up to
ASUS CRW5224	Can read up to 99 minutes
Sony CRX220E1	Can read up to 98 minutes
AOpen CRW5224	Can read up to 99 minutes

- Reading/Ripping Protected AudioCDs

For the test procedure we used 2 protected AudioCDs, which we tested in both recognition and ripping (with EAC BURST mode) 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
ASUS CRW5224	Cannot recognize disc contents	Rips entire disc but under burst mode several tracks reported with errors
Sony CRX220E1		Recognizes disc contents but cannot rip
AOpen CRW5224		Rips entire disc but under burst mode several tracks reported with errors

The ASUS CRW5224 was able to rip CDS200 protected Audio discs, while none of the tested drive could even recognize Key2Audio protected discs...

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6. CDR Tests

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ASUS CRW5224 CD-RW - Page 6

CDR Tests

The ASUS CRW5224 supports 4X, 8X, 12X, 16X (CLV), 24X (P-CAV), 32X (P-CAV), 40X (P-CAV), 48X (P-CAV) and 23-52X (CAV) writing speeds.

The drive's FlextraSpeed system will reduce the maximum writing speed in order to maintain the best writing quality for the inserted media. User will notice this effect within Nero Burning Rom since the maximum burning speed will be lower than the drive's maximum supported.

- Recording Tests

The amount of the data we burned was 704MB (80:01:26), for all the drives. The SONY CRX220E1 finishes the task first with 149secs (2:29mins) and the AOpen CRW5224 comes second with 151secs (2:31mins, while the ASUS CRW5224 takes the last place with 154secs (2:34mins). The CDSpeed writing test may showed 40.10X average writing speed, but the drive manages to finish last.

How can this be possible? The answer can be found when monitoring the burning process. The drive takes too much time during the lead-in area (almost 20secs). The track starts recording after 23secs so the final burning time is higher than we could expected. This behaviour wasn't noticed for the 48X writing speed. Maybe with future firmware upgrades, ASUS CRW5224 could become faster...

The above graph shows the differences of the recording performances for the three tested drives in all the supported writing speeds. The results are the best we had for each speed. As we can see the AOpen CRW5224 was the slower drive in almost all the recording speeds with an exception at the maximum (52X) where it takes the second place. The SONY CRX220E1 is the faster drive for the 16X, 24X and 52X recording speeds. The ASUS CRW5224 takes the lead at 32X, 40X and 48X.

Below is a table that shows the time differences compared to the 16X (CLV) recording speed for each drive. We also calculated the % difference for each recording speed (% gain in recording time).

Recording Speeds	SONY CRX-220E1		ASUS CRW5224		AOpen CRW5224
	Time difference	% difference	Time difference	% difference	Time difference	% difference
52X	176	54.15	176	53.33	201	57.10
48X	162	49.84	173	52.42	-	-
40X	141	43.38	163	48.48	163	46.31
32X	131	40.31	142	43.03	125	35.51
24X	96	29.54	96	29.09	50	14.20

User will notice a major performance difference compared to the 16X (CLV) at 40X, 48X and 52X recording speeds. On the other hand, the difference between the 48X and the 52X speeds is only 3secs!

- ASUS CRW5224 recording results

- Overburning Tests

The ASUS drive can overburn up to 99mins without any problems.

- CD-Text Results

Both drives can read/write CD-Text without any problems.

- CloneCD Writing Tests

The CloneCD software reports that the drive supports the DAO-RAW feature. With the use of proper media, DAO-RAW writing can be performed at 52X (CAV). For checking the drive's EFM correction status, we used 3 different game titles with different SafeDisc 2 versions with the latest software patches installed. We used the drive as reader/writer at maximum reading/recording speed. Two discs were burned for each game. One disc was burned with PadusDJ and the other with CloneCD (Amplify Weak Sectors On). The results are posted in the following table:

Game Title	Tested Drive	SD2 Build	Settings
			CloneCD (Amplify Weak Sectors On)	PadusDJ
Max Payne v1.05	Creative 52X CD-ROM	v.2.50.020	Ok
	TEAC 40X CD-ROM
	BTC DV316 DVD-ROM
Serious Sam - The Second Encounter v1.07	Creative 52X CD-ROM	v.2.60.052	Ok
	TEAC 40X CD-ROM
	BTC DV316 DVD-ROM
The Sims - Unleashed	Creative 52X CD-ROM	v2.80.010	Ok
	TEAC 40X CD-ROM
	BTC DV316 DVD-ROM

As you can see, both the Sony and the AOpen drives didn't have any problems backup SafeDisc v2.5x.xx ~ 2.80.xx builds.

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7. Writing Quality Tests

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ASUS CRW5224 CD-RW - Page 7

Writing Quality Tests

We used various media and burn them at the maximum allowed writing speed. The writing quality scores are in the following table:

- Firmware v1.10

Brand	Maximum Writing Allowed speed	C1 Errors		Average Burning Time (mins)	Comments
		Max	Average
CMC Magnetics 80min 48X	52X	28	1.1	2:37
That's 80min 48X	48X	13	1.0	2:43
SKC 80min 16X	52X	16	1.7	2:37
Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min 48X	48X	37	1.2	2:42
Ciba Plasmon 80min 48X	48X	25	1.5	2:40
Mitsui 80min 40X	40X	23	0.5	2:50
Imation 80min 48X	52X	35	5.5	2:40
TDK D-VIEW 80min 24X	52X	89	0.8	2:42	C2 errors at the end of the disc
TY 80min 32X	32X	42	1.9	3:08
ASUS 80min 52X	52X	72	2.9	2:39
RITEK 80min 48X	52X	17	0.9	2:37

The ASUS CRW5224 showed a good overall writing quality. The drive's best score comes with Mitsui SGUltra 80min 40X written at 40X. The next best result comes with RITEK 80min 48X written at 52X. The TDK D-VIEW 24X (based upon RITEK) doesn't seem to handle very well the increased 52X writing speed and had C2 errors at the end. Several other quality media are not supported for the 52X maximum speed such as:

• Hitachi-Maxell 80min 40X->32X
• Intenso 80min 40X->40X
• Fuji 80min 40X ->16X

- C1/C2 Error rate from ASUS 80min 52X @ 52X

- C1/C2 Error rate from TDK D-VIEW 80min 24X @ 52X

- C1/C2 Error rate from RITEK 80min 48X @ 52X

- C1/C2 Error rate from Imation 80min 48X @ 52X

- Firmware v1.16

Brand	Maximum Writing Allowed speed	C1 Errors		Average Burning Time (mins)	Comments
		Max	Average
CMC Magnetics 80min 48X	52X	34	3.2	2:34
SKC 80min 16X	52X	22	2.4	2:35
Mitsui 80min 48X	48X	150	28.8	2:37
Imation 80min 48X	52X	36	5.8	3:05	The drive allowed 52X speed but drops at 32X
RITEK 80min 48X	52X	22	1.1	2:37

The ASUS CRW5224 with the newer v1.16 firmware was slight faster only with CMC Mangetics media. The recording time lowered by 3 secs. The drive with Imation 80min 48X media may permitted 52X writing speed, but lowered its recording speed down to 32X. Lastly with Mitsui 48X media we had good recording timing results but not very good writing quality.

- C1/C2 Error rate from Mitsui 80min 48X @ 48X

Below is the supported list for the 52X/48X writing speeds with the v1.16 firmware revision:

Manufacturer	ID	Capacity
52X writing speed
	97 15 05	795974
	97 15 17	795973
	97 22 67	795974
	97 26 07	795974
	97 24 15	795974
	97 32 19	743001
	97 26 11	795973
	97 32 05	745900
	97 26 66	795973
	97 26 26	795973
	97 32 19	795971
	97 26 66	795971
	97 26 66	751000
	97 24 16	95974
	97 26 07	795971
	97 15 17	795970
	97 26 07	795964
48X writing speed
	97 26 56	795974
	97 26 66	795974
	97 15 12	795974
	97 26 57	795974
	97 24 01	795974
	97 32 19	795972
	97 34 23	795973
	97 34 23	795974
	97 18 67	795974
	97 27 18	795974
	97 28 15	795972
	97 17 06	795974
	97 17 16	795974
	97 27 66	741203
	97 27 66	795971
	97 31 01	744501
	97 27 58	795974
	97 18 65	795974

In the following table you can see the manufacturing details of the media we used for our tests.

Name	Real Manufacturer	ID Code	Capacity
Mitsubishi Chemicals 80min 48x	Mitsubishi Chemicals	97m34s23f	79:59.73
Intenso 80min 40x	Prodisc	97m32s19f	79:59.74
Mitsui 80min 40X	Mitsui	97m27s58f	79:59.74
Taiyo Yuden 80min 32X	Taiyo Yuden	97m24s01f	79:59.73
Ciba Plasmon 80min 48X	Plasmon	97m27s18f	79:59.74
Imation 80min 32X	CMC Mangetics	97m26s66f	79:59:74
RITEK 80min 48X	RITEK	97m15s17f	79:59:70
ASUS 80min 52X	ACER	97m22s67f	79:59:74
CMC Magnetics 80min 48X	CMC Mangetics	97m26s66f	79:59:71
TDK D-VIEW 80min 24X	RITEK	97m15s17f	79:59:73
That's 80min 48X	Taiyo Yuden	97m24s01f	79:59.72
Hitachi Maxell 80min 40X	Hitachi-Maxell	97m25s29f	79:59:74
Fuji 80min 40X	Fuji Photo Film	97m26s45f	79:59:73

- Compatibility with WSES software

The ASUS CRW5224 can work with the WSES software.

Unfortunately the drive dos not work with the C1/C2 measurement test

But it works great with the Read C1/C2 error count. Below is the test result with the written TDK D-VIEW test disc. Notice that C2 errors occurred at 78:23:04mins.

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8. RW/Packet Writing Tests

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ASUS CRW5224 CD-RW - Page 8

RW Writing Tests

The ASUS CRW5224 supports the new 24X US-RW (P-CAV) recording technology. With US-RW media, the drive supports a variety of recording speeds starting from 10X (CLV), 12X (CLV), 16X (CLV) and of course 24X (P-CAV).

With HS-RW media, it supports the 4X, 8X, 10X and the 12X (CLV) writing speeds.

For the burning tests, we burned a full 74mins disc with all the drives. The results are showed in the following chart. We used the maximum supported speed for each drive.

The ASUS CRW5224 makes the surprise and finishes first with US-RW media. The drive needed only 219secs (3:39mins). The YAMAHA comes second with 221secs while the PleXWriter PX-W4824A third with 224secs. The AOpen CRW5224 and SONY CRX-220E1 are slower due to the use of the CAV recording and cannot compete the ASUS CRW5224. With HS-RW media, we had the following results:

Drive	Writing Time
SONY CRX220E1	402
AOpen CRW5224	409
ASUS CRW5224	402

- Packet Writing Tests

We used Ahead InCD v3.51.61 for the packet writing tests.

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 more than once, to eliminate any possible time measurement faults and user errors.

The ASUS CRW5224 perfomed very good under packet writing mode with the US-RW media. The YAMAHA and Plextor drive leads the packet writing tests. With HS-RW media, the ASUS CRW5224 had also very good reading/writing performance and shares the second place with SONY CRX220E1:

Drive	Average Writing Speed (X)	Average Reading Speed (X)
SONY CRX220E1	8.58	20.45
AOpen CRW5224	8.67	24.37
ASUS CRW5224	8.58	21.41

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9. Mt. Rainier Tests

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ASUS CRW5224 CD-RW - Page 9

Mt. Rainier Tests

- InCD Tests

For testing the Mt. Rainier performance, we used was InCD v3.51.61 by Ahead Software. After the format process, we immediately started the recording process (drag & drop). When the drive finished, we started the reading process back to the HD.

Drive		Average Writing Speed (X)	Average Reading Speed (X)
YAMAHA CRW-F1DX	12X HS-RW	7.08	20.31
	24X US-RW	12.7	20.89
PleXWriter PX-W4824A	10X HS-RW	6.36	16.60
	24X US-RW	12.80	16.13
SONY CRX220E1	12X HS-RW	8.27	19.75
	24X US-RW	10.61	19.75
AOpen CRW5224	12X HS-RW	1.35	22.46
	24X US-RW	2.25	23.14
ASUS CRW5224	12X HS-RW	-	-
	24X US-RW	9.50	11.56

The ASUS CRW5224 worked only with US-RW under MRW format and not with HS-RW. The drive either locked or InCD reported an error:

- EasyWrite tests

- Introduction

The Philips Easy Write tests checks the quality level of the Mt Rainier implementation. The drive accepted the EasyWrite test suite commands so we had the chance to test its performance. However failed in all tests only few minutes after the test started...

- Basic Command Test Results

Below are the test results using MRW PartA v1.60 validation script.

	Tests	ASUS CRW5224
Mandatory Startup Basic Command Set	MRW Feature	Passed
	SMART Feature
	Supported Profiles
	Mode Sense Pages
Background Format	Minimal Blank
	Check Format Capacity for Mode 24 Hex
	Format Unit
	Read Disc Information	FAILED : Disc Type is Mode 2 Form 1 XA Disc : Failed
	Check Write Mode Page	Not Yet Implemented !
	Set Write Mode Page Parameters	Passed
Test GAA Addressing	Set GAA Area Addressing	Passed
	Write Data Outside GAA Area
	Write Data Inside GAA Area
	Synchronize Cache
	Read Data Inside GAA Area
	Verify Data Inside GAA Area
	Set DMA Area Addressing
Read/Write in Ice	Read Track Info	Passed
	Write in Iced Area (Address = 128205 - Blocks = 236)
	Synchronize Cache
	Read & Verify Iced Area (Address = 128205 - Blocks = 236)
Early Eject	Eject Disc with Background Format in Progress	Passed
	Close Track/Session
	Eject Disc
Script Validation Time		00 Hours 01 Minutes 03 Seconds 512 MSec

The ASUS CRW5224 fails to complete the test...

- Light/Heavy Rock'N'Roll Tests (Normal HS-RW Media)

Below are the test results using the Light & Heavy Rock'N'Roll validation scripts. The ASUS CRW5224 stops after performing only 4-5 actions.

Tests	AOpen CRW5224	SONY CRX-220E1	ASUS CRW5224
Light R&R	Ok!	FE	FE
Light R&R Test Duration	02 Hours 54 Minutes 31 Seconds 522 MSec	00 Hours 17 Minutes 29 Seconds 429 MSec
Heavy R&R	FE	Ok!	FE
Heavy R&R Test Duration	00 Hours 47 Minutes 12 Seconds 216 MSec	02 Hours 20 Minutes 13 Seconds 849 MSec

Remarks:
Time: hours:mins:secs:msecs
FE = Fatal Error

- Light/Heavy Rock'N'Roll Tests (Defect HS-RW Media)

Below are the test results using the Light & Heavy Rock'N'Roll validation scripts. The ASUS CRW5224 stops after performing only 4-5 actions.

Tests	AOpen CRW5224	SONY CRX-220E1	ASUS CRW5224
Light R&R	Ok!	FE	FE
Light R&R Test Duration	02 Hours 10 Minutes 28 Seconds 178 MSec	00 Hours 29 Minutes 36 Seconds 815 MSec
Heavy R&R	FE	Ok!	FE
Heavy R&R Test Duration	00 Hours 47 Minutes 11 Seconds 152 MSec	03 Hours 41 Minutes 53 Seconds 354 MSec

Remarks:
Time: hours:mins:secs:msecs
FE = Fatal Error

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10. Conclusion

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ASUS CRW5224 CD-RW- Page 10

Conclusion

Positive (+)

Negative (-)

- Supports 52X (CAV) CD-R and 24X (P-CAV) US-RW writing speeds - Supports "FlextraLink", "FlextraSpeed" and DDSSII technologies - Supports Mt. Rainier format - Very good US-RW writing performance - Good writing quality - Drive is less noisy than others 52X recorders - Can return C2 error information with very high accuracy! - Fastest DAE ripping speeds ever measured with pressed discs - Can rip CDS200 protected Audio discs - Very good CloneCD reading performance - Supports DAO-RAW writing and can backup SafeDisc v2.80.010 builds - Supports reading/writing of SubChannel Data - Supports CD-Text (reading/writing) - Supports Overburning (up to 99mins) - Supports UDMA33 connection interface - Retail package contains Nero, 52X CD-R, 24X US-RW media at the price of <$120

- Takes too much time during the lead-in area resulting higher burning time - Average CD error correction capabilities - Mt. Rainier performance with HS-RW needs improvement - Drive doesn't pass EasyWrite test suite tests - Cannot rip Key2Audio protected Audio discs - Cannot rip our BAD DAE test disc

The ASUS CRW5224 is the first 52X retail drive that came in our labs. We had already tested two other 52X recorders but they were engineer samples. So we were curious how the real 52x recorder would perform. The answer in general can be concluded in one word "satisfactory". The ASUS CRW5224 is the faster reader we ever tested either with data/audio pressed discs. The noise was lower than we had seen with other 52x recorders due to DDSSII system. The FlextraSpeed seems working correctly since we didn't have a single coaster while at the same time the writing quality was kept at good levels. With specific media, the drive even allowed 52X writing speed after started recording dropped down to 32X to maintain the writing quality. That's a major improvement over the previous CRW-4816A series.

Continuing mentioning the positives, the drive can rip CDS200 protected audio discs, can retrieve C2 error information with very high accuracy, is able to rip protected discs fast enough and of course to backup them accurately, up to SD2 v2.80.010 builds. Audiophiles will find CD-Text and overburning features useful and its superb DAE performance with pressed discs (and slight lower with CD-R) will lower the ripping time. Lastly, the retail package contains all the necessary items for someone to start recording (CD-R, US-RW media, etc.).

On the negative side, the burning times are higher than other 52X recorders at the maximum speed by few seconds, but that's not a real problem. Users who have damaged any CD-R media may face problems reading them since the drive denied ripping our DAE CD-R test disc, while it also refused to rip Key2Audio protected discs. Lastly, the drive won't work properly with HS-RW under Mt. Rainier format neither passes the EasyWrite test suite tests.

Concluding we can say that we are satisfied with ASUS's CRW5224 despite the various glitches. We hope that ASUS engineers will fix the remaining issues with a new firmware upgrade for the future buyers. The drive is already sold at a price of less than $125. If you are looking for a fast and fairly priced recorder then you have a good choice. The ASUS CRW5224 gets our "SAFE BUY" award for its performance/price ratio.