Sanyo CRD-BP3 SCSI CDR-W - Page 1

The buffer underrun eliminator supports 10xRW writing speed!

Introduction:
The BP3 is the first model of Sanyo, which includes HS-RW writing capabilities. We have already tested the Plextor PX-W1210A that have the same read/writing features but came with an IDE interface. Since there is no other drive out with same features yet, we decided to compare the two drives (the IDE vs. SCSI model). Keep in mind that this comparison is far from perfect since, while both drives might based on the same IC chipset, they have a different internal design, as it is shown in the test arena. But since these two drives are the only ones who support 12x writing, 10x re-writing and support BURN-Proof, we felt that the comparing them could lead us to some interesting conclusions.

History

We can't believe that there could be a person who reads our hardware reviews and still doesn't know what is this feature called "BURN-Proof" which both our drives support. Don't forget also that both drives support the new HS RW format that offers to users 10xRW-writing speed.

Package

The pre-release OEM version included only a drive. Below there is a picture of the Sanyo CRD-BP3:

Notice that the drive front and back is the same with the previous BP2 and BP900P models. Also event the drive supports 10xRW-writing speed the logo "HS RW" has not been added in the front of the drive

Installation

For installing the drive, we left the default SCSI ID to 4 and removed the termination. After booting, the CDR-W identified itself as Sanyo CRD-BP3. We unchecked the Auto Insert notification, checked Sync Data Transfer and rebooted. Sanyo CRD-BP3 was a July 2000 model with firmware revision v1.03. As we was told soon a new firmware release will come out and will upgrade DAE up to 24x ;)

Notice that Nero 5.x supports the drive. However we faced several problems with the latest 5.0.1.8 version (limits RW writing to 8x but enables Overburn) so we used Nero v5.0.1.3 that worked without any problem. All CDR Software recognises the drive as having a 4MB buffer when Sanyo states that the drive has only a 2MB buffer. This <problem> also occurred with the previous Sanyo CRD-BP2 drive..

- Reading properties: (Screenshot from Feurio v1.51)

Test Machine:
ABIT BH6
Celeron 300A over clocked to 450 MHz
164 MB SDRAM PC 100
WD 18GB UDMA 66
Quantum Fireball EX 6.4 GB UDMA 33
DAWI 2975 - PCI (ULTRA) SCSI Host Adapter
ATI AIW 128
Plextor UltraPlex 40max firmware v1.04
PlexWriter PX-W1210A firmware v1.02
Sanyo CRD-BP3 firmware v1.03