FREECOM Fx-50 DVD+/-RW- Page 2

Data CD Reading Tests

- Pressed CD results (Click for CDSpeed results)

The drive confirms the 40x maximum reading speed stated in the manufacturer's specifications. NeroCDSpeed reported that the disc was read by the Freecom FX-50 at an average speed of 31.6x under CAV mode. That value, according to the above graph, is slightly higher than LiteOn but slower in comparison with Mitsumi.

The reported seek times are quite good. The drive returned the fastest Random and 1/3 seek mode times but was slightly slower than the Mitsumi drive for a Full seek, requiring 187ms.

- CD-R results (Click for CDSpeed results)

The tested CD-R media is a clone of the previous pressed test disc and the reading performance of the Freecom FX-50 was similar for both media types. Despite the fact that the Freecom drive started the reading process of the CD-R disc faster than with the pressed disc, the start speed was slowest amongst the three drives, as shown on the above graph. Just as with the pressed disc, the CD-R disc was read under CAV.

The best seek times for CD-R media, comes from the Mitsumi drive, while the Freecom and LiteOn drive had similar times. The reported seek times for all drives are acceptable, although slightly increased for Freecom and LiteOn, especially for the Full seek test.

- ReWritable Media (Click for CDSpeed results)

For the reading test we used 32x Ultra Speed rewritable media from Mitsubishi Chemicals.

The Freecom drive started the reading process at a slightly slower speed than the other two drives. Despite this, the drive managed to bypass the manufacturer's stated maximum reading speed and the finished the test with a reported end speed of 33.52. The average reading speed with US-RW media was 25.29x but once again Mitsumi was fastest among the three.