detail information

Test machine:

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

Hardware:

⋅         Motherboard: ASUSTeK A8N-SLI DELUXE (nForce 4 SLI chipset)
⋅         Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (Toledo) Dual Core
⋅         RAM: 2 GB Corsair TWINX 2CL DDR
⋅         GFX: Leadtek Winfast 6600 TD (PCI Express nVidia)
⋅         Sound: SoundBlaster Audigy 2
⋅         Hard disk: 2X Seagate Barracuda (SATA2)

System set-up:

The Samsung SE-W164L was connected to one of the mainboards USB2 connectors and identified itself as TSSTcorp CD/DVDW SH-W162L. Autorun was enabled on all drives.

Firmware Update:

The Samsung SE-W164L firmware can be updated using the supplied 'live update" software; all that is required is an Internet connection. The drive was shipped with firmware TS01 and was during the course of this review updated to version TS02 and TS03. See the screenshots below on the firmware update process.

Software:

Windows XP Professional is installed on the computer along with Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. We will be using the following software in this review:

• Nero Burning ROM
• Nero CD/DVD Speed
• Nero Info Tool
• Slysoft CloneCD
• Exact Audio Copy v0.95 beta 4
• K-Probe

Features and techniques:

The Samsung SE-W164L is based on the new Mediatek MT1888LE chipset.

The Drive also features 'Double Optimum Power Calibration Technology". The Double OPC constantly monitors the sensitivity of the media and adjusts the laser strength to achieve the best possible results. It does this by analyzing the reflection from the media's surface.

Disc Quality Scanning:

With a small edit to the Windows system registry, the Samsung SE-W164L can be used along with Nero CD-Speed for 'Disc Quality Scanning".

Scanned at 12x

Below are two scans made by using KProbe:

Scanned at 8x

Scanned at 12x

BookType (bitsetting):

The Samsung SE-W164L supports bit-setting, and is capable of writing DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD+R DL media with DVD-ROM book type.

This feature can be changed with the Bitsetting option in Nero CD-DVD:

Or in Nero Burning ROM under the Choose Recorder option:

Here is how you could check if your discs are really written with DVD-ROM book type:

Start Nero CD-DVD Speed and click the Disc info button and you should get something like this:

DVD+R DL with book type DVD-ROM

DVD+RW with book type DVD-ROM

DVD+R with book type DVD-ROM

Another quick test is to start Nero CD-Speed and look at the disc information:

This should say DVD-ROM.

Now it's time to take a closer look at the write technology used by the Samsung SE-W164L:

CD-Recordable:

The Samsung SE-W164L uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 48X. This gives an average speed of 37.30x and a total writing time of 2 minutes and 52 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

As we can see from the table, the Samsung SE-W164L is on of the fasted drives when it comes to writing CD-R's.

CD-Rewritable:

The Samsung SE-W164L uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) writing technology to write at 32X for CD-RW discs, the average speed is 28.28x and the total time 3 minutes and 38 seconds.

For a better overview we present the following comparison table:

As we can see from the table, the Samsung SE-W164L performed below average on writing CD-RWs.

16X DVD+R/-R Writing speed:

The Samsung SE-W164L uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at the maximum supported speed of 16x. This gives an average write speed of 11.79x and a writing time of 5 minutes and 56 seconds.

The Samsung SE-W164L uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD-R at its maximum speed of 16x. This gives an average write speed of 11.77x and a total writing time of 6 minutes and 05 seconds.

Below are some write graphs from some other drives for comparison:

The NEC 3540A uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. This gives an average writing speed of 11.81x and a writing time of 5 minutes and 58 seconds.

The Philips DVDR16LS uses CAV, (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. The average speed is 11.33x and total writing time is 6 minutes and 8 seconds. The average speed is lower and the writing time is higher than it could have been due to the Walking OPC generation 2 using some time to constantly adjust the writing quality, we could see this as constant dips in the speed curve.

The LG GSA-5160D uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R at 16x. The average speed is 11.60x and total writing time is 6 minutes and 12 seconds. Below, we made a comparison table:

8X DVD+R DL writing speed:

The Samsung SE-W164L supports 8x writing speed on DVD+R DL media.

The Samsung SE-W164L uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+R DL at 8x. The average speed is 6.39x and total writing time was 19 minutes and 6 seconds.

4X DVD-R DL writing speed:

The Samsung SE-W164L supports 4x writing speed on DVD-R DL media.

The Samsung SE-W164L uses CLV, (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-R DL at 4x. The average speed is 4.00x and total writing time is 27 minutes and 12 seconds.

8X DVD+RW writing speed:

The Samsung SE-W164L uses Z-CLV, (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+RW at 8x. The average speed is 6.99x and total writing time is 8 minutes and 40 seconds.

6X DVD-RW writing speed:

The Samsung SE-W164L uses CLV, (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RW at 6x. The average speed is 5.65x and total writing time is 10 minutes and 55 seconds.

Included software:

Now it's time to look at the included software and to comment if needed. Notice that we may not use the included software in our performance testing part of the review.

Nero OEM suite:

Now that we have finished examining the drive and its writing strategies, it's time to head on to next page, which is reading performance test…