DVD vs. CDRW Drives

[Clyde]

In the computer I'm building, I have been thinking of getting just a CD-
RW drive. They are fast and not too expensive. There are plenty of them
that are 52/32/52x or 52/24/52x.

DVD drives that will write all formats cost about twice as much and seem
much slower. Normal seems to be 4/2/4x or 4/2.4/4x. Since my only reason
to get a DVD is ease of backup (I don't deal with movies on my
computers), I'm wondering if that is worth it.

My real question is: What is the real speed difference? The "X" speed is
relative to the original and not to the other format. So, how would the
real world transfer rate differ between backing up to rewritable DVD and
CD-RW? If the transfer writing speed is much higher on the DVD, the slow
X speed would somewhat be overcome.

Real world examples would be nice.

Thanks,
Clyde

 

[John McGaw]

In the computer I'm building, I have been thinking of getting just a CD-
RW drive. They are fast and not too expensive. There are plenty of them
that are 52/32/52x or 52/24/52x.

DVD drives that will write all formats cost about twice as much and seem
much slower. Normal seems to be 4/2/4x or 4/2.4/4x. Since my only reason
to get a DVD is ease of backup (I don't deal with movies on my
computers), I'm wondering if that is worth it.

My real question is: What is the real speed difference? The "X" speed is
relative to the original and not to the other format. So, how would the
real world transfer rate differ between backing up to rewritable DVD and
CD-RW? If the transfer writing speed is much higher on the DVD, the slow
X speed would somewhat be overcome.

Real world examples would be nice.

Thanks,
Clyde

I'm in the final stages of burning in a Shuttle mini system that I just
built. I put in a Plextor PX-708A CD/DVD R/RW drive since it only has a
single 5-1/4 slot. Not slow at all! CD-R write is 40X as is the CD read. Of
course the numbers don't seem as flashy in DVD mode but you have to remember
that the base 1X mode in DVDs is very much faster than that for a CD. I
don't think that I'll miss having a dedicated CD drive at all. And I
probably won't miss having a big noisy box sitting on my desk either -- this
system is seriously quiet (much quieter than my present notebook).

http://www.plextor.com/english/products/product_708Advdrw_drives.html

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]

Return address will not work. Please
reply in group or through my website:
http://johnmcgaw.com

 

[Ruel Smith (Big Daddy)]

In the computer I'm building, I have been thinking of getting just a CD-
RW drive. They are fast and not too expensive. There are plenty of them
that are 52/32/52x or 52/24/52x.

DVD drives that will write all formats cost about twice as much and seem
much slower. Normal seems to be 4/2/4x or 4/2.4/4x. Since my only reason
to get a DVD is ease of backup (I don't deal with movies on my
computers), I'm wondering if that is worth it.

My real question is: What is the real speed difference? The "X" speed is
relative to the original and not to the other format. So, how would the
real world transfer rate differ between backing up to rewritable DVD and
CD-RW? If the transfer writing speed is much higher on the DVD, the slow
X speed would somewhat be overcome.

Real world examples would be nice.

We're talking serious apples and oranges here. First of all, ignore the
2x,4x thing. It's not the same between DVD and CD speeds. Those numbers are
multiples of transfer rates of the original specification. CD's had much
slower transfer rates in their original incarnations than did DVD's. So, if
CD's originally burned data at 240 KB/s, then 52X would be something like
12 MB/s. However, if DVD's originally burned data at 4 MB/s, then 4X would
be 16 MB/s. These are not realistic numbers, but only given to outline that
52X CD speed does not equal 52X DVD speed.

For backups, CD's would really tax your patience if you have a lot of drive
space to backup. At a maximum of about 1GB (overburning) per CD, backing up
20GB worth of HDD space would require 19 swaps and a bit of your attention.
However, burning to 4.8 GB per disk would require only 3 swaps with space
left to spare.

Personally, I opted for a secondary HDD for backup. The external ones work
well, though I went with an internal one. Get a backup application that can
do incremental backups like Dantz Retrospect too.


--
Big Daddy Ruel Smith

My SuSE Linux machine uptime:
8:01pm up 38 days 4:46, 2 users, load average: 0.26, 0.40, 0.20

My Windows XP machine uptime:
Something less...

 

[Ralph Wade Phillips]

Howdy!

In the computer I'm building, I have been thinking of getting just a CD-
RW drive. They are fast and not too expensive. There are plenty of them
that are 52/32/52x or 52/24/52x.

DVD drives that will write all formats cost about twice as much and seem
much slower. Normal seems to be 4/2/4x or 4/2.4/4x. Since my only reason
to get a DVD is ease of backup (I don't deal with movies on my
computers), I'm wondering if that is worth it.

My real question is: What is the real speed difference? The "X" speed is
relative to the original and not to the other format. So, how would the
real world transfer rate differ between backing up to rewritable DVD and
CD-RW? If the transfer writing speed is much higher on the DVD, the slow
X speed would somewhat be overcome.

Consider that 1X on a CD is 74 minutes for 650M.

And that 1X on a DVD is 60 minutes for 4.5G ...

So a 1X DVD burns at about 8.5x CD speeds.

So a 4X DVD is effectively 34x CD speed.

8X would then be 68X CD speed ... at this point, your average user's
brain goes "FOOM" <B-)

Don't forget that in backing up you also don't have to sit there and
change DVDs out as often, for the same storage.

Real world examples .. How about 4.5G of data in under 24 minutes on
a 2.4x blank?

RwP

 

[Bob Knowlden]

The basis rates are different.

The 1X CD standard is 150 kb/s. The 1X DVD rate is roughly 9X that. An 8X
DVD burner is roughly the equivalent of a 72X CD drive. (As far as I know,
no CD burner is available at that rate.)

I own a Plextor 708A drive. It's a nominal 8X driver (for DVD+R). That's not
a fixed rate - it's as low as 6X on the inner tracks - but it will still
burn a 4.5 GB DVD+R in less than ten minutes. It's more convenient than
using six or seven CD-R disks. The drive also supports 40X CD-R burning, and
24X CD-RW, for those little 650 MB jobs.

The Plextor has one feature that isn't universal on all 8X drives: it'll
burn some 4X media at 8X. (8X DVD blanks are not yet commonly available.)
I've had good luck with TDK 4X DVD+R media, which I've gotten for as little
as $30US for a spindle of 25.

The main problem with DVD drives is that the technology is rapidly changing.
8X drives were scarce six months ago; now, they are common and becoming
relatively inexpensive. (The media makers haven't kept pace.) 16X drives
should be on the market this year. Dual layer drives (8.4 GB) are
forthcoming, but the first models may only support 2.4X on write-once media.

Blue laser drives are also being developed, but I doubt that any ones will
be on sale in 2004 for the consumer market.

I can't speak to the suitability of DVD drives for backup. I've done some of
that, but whether the disks keep the data for sixty days or sixty years, I
have no idea.

HTH.

Bob Knowlden

Address may be altered to avoid spam. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[JAD]

<<<<Personally, I opted for a secondary HDD for backup. The external ones work

Absolutely agree, if you can get an external.. 1394 man its the best.

 

[Phisherman]

In the computer I'm building, I have been thinking of getting just a CD-
RW drive. They are fast and not too expensive. There are plenty of them
that are 52/32/52x or 52/24/52x.

DVD drives that will write all formats cost about twice as much and seem
much slower. Normal seems to be 4/2/4x or 4/2.4/4x. Since my only reason
to get a DVD is ease of backup (I don't deal with movies on my
computers), I'm wondering if that is worth it.

My real question is: What is the real speed difference? The "X" speed is
relative to the original and not to the other format. So, how would the
real world transfer rate differ between backing up to rewritable DVD and
CD-RW? If the transfer writing speed is much higher on the DVD, the slow
X speed would somewhat be overcome.

Real world examples would be nice.

Thanks,
Clyde

Sorry I don't have any examples. Basically, if you are dealing with a
lot of CDs, having a DVD burner will make more sense. I can burn a CD
with 150 songs on it and play the CD in my DVD player that's connected
to my TV! The "DVD standard" has been a mess. I'll wait a year or
two then the standard will be much clearer, with a lower DVD burner
cost.