CyberDrive CW099D CD-RW

Review Pages

1. Introduction
2. Data Reading Tests
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. Conclusion

CyberDrive CW099D IDE CD-RW- Page 9

Conclusion

Positive (+)

Negative (-)

- Supports 52X (CAV) CD-R and 24X (P-CAV) US-RW writing speeds
- Supports "SuperLink" buffer underrun technology
- Very good US-RW writing performance
- Can return C2 error information with very high accuracy!
- Fastest DAE ripping speeds ever measured with CD-R discs
- Can rip CDS200 protected Audio discs
- Very good CloneCD reading performance only with SD2 protected discs
- Can backup SafeDisc v2.80.010 builds without any special software
- 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 <99 Euro

- Writing performance needs improvement
- Average CD error correction capabilities
- Doesn't support the Mt. Rainier format
- Cannot rip Key2Audio protected Audio discs
- Cannot finish ripping our BAD DAE test disc
- Very slow with LaserLock2 protected discs
- Reports errors when reading SecuROM2 protected discs

The CyberDrive CW099D is the second 52X retail drive that came in our labs. After having tested three 52X recorders with the exact same reading/writing speeds we could make some safe assumptions of the 52X writing platform.

The CW099D showed a good behaviour in many tests, while it didn't manage to get have the first position due to the presence of the ASUS CRW5224. The CW099D was the faster drive with Audio CD-R media and slightly slower with pressed Audio CDs. The drive can rip CDS200 protected audio discs, can retrieve C2 error information with very high accuracy, is able to rip SD2 protected discs (up to SD2 v2.80.010 builds) fast enough and of course to backup them accurately. The price is expected to be lower than Euro 99, making one of the cheapest 52X recorders. 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 stability is low, it doesn't support the Mt. Rainier format (something that all competitor drives offer), cannot rip Key2Audio protected discs and although it can read Subchannel data from SecuROM 2 discs; it reported errors with the original disc. Last, its recording performance needs improvement to reach the top performers from ASUS and SONY. CyberDrive promised a new firmware that will fix most of the problems. Lets wait and see...