CDFreaks Poll
What would you buy for $200 / EUR 200?
A cheap Blu-ray player
An expensive DVD player
Based on 745 ratings
BenQ DW1670 DVD Burner Preview
Post reaction (16 reactions)
Stay updated on this item
Mail to ...
Print

detail information

Posted by Wesley Novack
Posted on 26/02/06 03:49
Menu
 Conclusion
 Introduction
 Features
 Reading Performance
 Writing Performance
 Final Thoughts
Text Size  Text Size
Features
 

Test machine:

For this review we will be using a computer with the following configuration.

Hardware:

  • Motherboard: ECS 741GX-M2
  • Processor: AMD Sempron 2400+ 1.66 GHz
  • RAM: 640MB PC2700 DDR
  • GFX: SiS 741GX
  • Sound: Onboard Realtek AC97
  • Hard disks: Maxtor 6Y080P0 80GB & Western Digital WDC1600JB-00FUA0 160GB

System set-up:


The BenQ DW1670 was connected as Primary Master and identified itself as PLEXTOR BENQ DVD DC DW1670. DMA (Direct Memory Access) and autorun was enabled for all devices.

Software:

Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 is installed on this computer along with all of the latest Microsoft critical patches. We will be using the following software in this review.

 

Installation:

We quickly installed the drive without any problems. Here is a screenshot from Nero InfoTool.


Our drive came shipped with firmware version 002. We upgraded to version 004 for this review article. The four pictures below illustrate the firmware update process.


Firmware update - screen 1


Firmware update - screen 2


Firmware update - screen 3


Firmware update - screen 4

After flashing successfully, we restarted the computer to ensure the drive would function correctly.

Features and techniques:

8X DVD+R DL writing speed:


MKM003

The BenQ DW1670 uses Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R DL at 8x. We tried burning two different Verbatim 8x DVD+R DL discs (MKM003) and the writing speed dropped to 6x at the start of the second layer on both attempts. The average speed is 6.33x and total writing time is 20:51 minutes.

6x DVD-R DL writing speed:


MKM01RD30

The BenQ DW1670 uses CLV, (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-R DL at 6x. The average speed is 5.68x and total writing time is 21:33 minutes.

5x DVD-RAM writing speed:


Maxell 5x DVD-RAM

The BenQ DW1670 can write to DVD-RAM at 5x CLV (Constant Linear Velocity). With verify off, this produces an average speed of 5.00x and a total writing time of 11:05 minutes.

Let us head on to the next page to examine the reading performance...
Introduction
Reading Performance
Want to submit your own review? Click here
Reactions on this item
Posted by wobble on Sunday 26 February 2006 05:02
I dont know. First a Matsushita chipset in the DQ60 and now a Panasonic in the 1670?
Like the saying goes, "If it aint broke dont fix it"!:c
Posted by Mordorr on Sunday 26 February 2006 05:10
Those Maxell +R16X media are trash!!

Neither my Benq or Plextor 716 can burn them..:S

So the problem is the media itself...

Can wait for those babies burning on the forum!:*
Posted by chok0 on Sunday 26 February 2006 11:11
the max write speed for -r9 is 6x, on the first site it says 4x. also it looks lik the 1633s produces the pif spikes in some scans, a newer firmware would be nice.
overall a nice drive, but it's too early to make any conclusion.
Posted by 4804Man on Sunday 26 February 2006 12:02
What about Quality Scans? It was a nice bonus for BenQ users.
Posted by MaxH on Monday 27 February 2006 08:33
:)
Posted by Quakester2000 on Monday 27 February 2006 09:55
Will all new BenQ drives be using a Panasonic chipset or will Philips eventually produce a new Nexperia chip that can support DVD-RAM?
Posted by D4rk0n3 on Monday 27 February 2006 09:59
very nice,mhhh panasonic in - dvd-ram burns out,nice,also "Auto BookType to DVD-ROM".
All in all for now B+
Posted by bravacentauri83 on Wednesday 01 March 2006 00:45
When should we expect the drive to be released? Anytime before Summer? Maybe earlier?
Posted by Wesociety on Friday 03 March 2006 03:14
I didn't use any Maxell +R16x media in this preview. The only Maxell media I used was the 5x DVD-RAM.
Posted by Wesociety on Friday 03 March 2006 03:16
[url=http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=168473#post1294360]click here for answer[/url]

[edit: fixed link]
[edited by Wesociety on 03.03.2006 03:22]
Posted by Wesociety on Friday 03 March 2006 03:18
Unknown at this time. Many have speculated that Philips might be against supporting the DVD-RAM format.
Posted by Wesociety on Friday 03 March 2006 03:20
I would make a guess and say late April or early March. Of course this may vary depending on your location.
Posted by adam.mt on Saturday 04 March 2006 09:55
Same company mate. Matsushita is the parent of Panasonic, National, Technics.
Posted by Blodulv on Tuesday 11 April 2006 14:28
i hope this will be out soon! When will we see a full review?:B
Posted by DeadMan on Saturday 04 November 2006 22:39
No 18x or 20x? ;)
Posted by cmddjava (guest) on Monday 05 March 2007 14:05
firmware sony dru 820a
Post your reaction
What do you think? Leave your comments!

Your message
:) :( ;) :r :d :B :X :c :o :g :+ :p :* :S

Your name
Your e-mail


Type in the code

Don't like to type in this code? Please register or login.
Post it
Related tags
A tag is a relevant keyword or term associated with or assigned to a piece of information (like picture, product, or video clip), thus describing the item and enabling keyword-based classification of information it is applied to. We use it to make searching our database easier and enable all our users to contribute to our database.

Add related tags
CD Freaks allows items to be tagged with objective specifications, no opinions or subjective descriptions. When your start typing our system will suggest tags, if this is what you mean, please use these first. Our system will also check for spelling mistakes and correct them to keep our database consistent. Finally tags are moderated by our team members.

    Related reviews/articles
    Philips DVDR1640P 16x DVD Burner
    BenQ DW1620A Dual format & Double layer DVD Burner
    Lite-On SOHW-1673S DVD Burner Review
    SONY DRU-810A DVD Burner Review
    Get the latest reviews via RSS RSS