ASUS CRW5224 CD-RW

Review Pages

1. Data Reading Tests
2. Installation
3. CD Error Correction Tests
4. CloneCD Reading Tests
5. DAE Tests
6. CDR Tests
7. Writing Quality Tests
8. RW/Packet Writing Tests
9. Mt. Rainier Tests
10. Conclusion

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.