Plextor PX-W4012S (SCSI)

To review archive

Author

G@M3FR3@K
Senior Moderator
Article posted 12 Feb 03 19:16

Introduction

 

Go to Plextor Europe website
Review: Plextor PX-W4012S (SCSI)
Reviewer: G@M3FR3@K
Provided by: Plextor Europe
Firmware: version 1.01
Production date: December 2002
TLA#: 0000

Plextor’s SCSI CD-recorders have, by many people, always been regarded as some of the best CD-recorders ever manufactured. Unfortunately for many people Plextor had decided to stop production of their SCSI models and the latest Plextor SCSI drive that was released was the popular PlexWriter 12/10/32S drive. As you can perhaps imagine it was quite a shock when last year in October, Plextor announced that they would release a new SCSI CD-recorder again.

But what’s the deal with SCSI (pronounced as ’skuzzy’ which stands for Small Computer System Interface)? Nowadays CD-recorders are all built to be used with the standard IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) interface and SCSI has become a bit outdated. However many people who have used a CD-recorder with the SCSI interface will almost always claim that the SCSI interface is superior to IDE when it comes to performance and stability.

As said this nowadays isn’t really the case anymore. It’s true that a CD-recorder with an IDE interface can put more stress on your computer than a CD-recorder with a SCSI interface but the current computers are more than fast enough to handle this. Still there are quite a lot of people who would prefer SCSI over IDE anytime and Plextor has now recognized this group with the release of their latest PlexWriter 40/12/40S drive.

In this review of the Plextor PX-W4012S we’ll see how well the drive performs. Is the SCSI interface really more stable and reliable than the IDE interface as some people always claim? Does this latest Plextor live up to the standards that we’re used from Plextor? Read on to find out!

Test Machine:

For the tests we’ll be using the following configuration:

Hardware:
  • Motherboard: GigaByte GA-7VAXP
  • Processor: AMD AthlonXP 2100+
  • RAM: 256MB (PC2700)
  • GFX: ASUS V8200 (GeForce 3 Ti200)
  • Hard Disks: DiamondMax 40GB (7200rpm)
  • SCSI Controller: PCI Adaptec AHA-2930CU
System set-up:
    System set-up

As you can see the Plextor PX-W4012S was hooked up to the Adaptec SCSI controller and identifies itself as “PLEXTOR CD-R PX-W4012S1.01″ in which the 1.01 stands for the firmware version the drive has installed. Autorun was disabled for every device.

Used Software:

The Windows XP Professional operating system is installed on our test machine. We’ll be using the following software to perform the various tests:

Let’s take a look at the European package of the Plextor PX-W4012S drive on the next page…

12 Comments

Nila
Posts: 691
Posted on: 26 Mar 03 10:29
This is by far the best audio ripping software out there and is acknowledged throughout the web as being so. This is used by almost ALL the groups to rip the cd's before they release them.
Lazza
Posts: 263
Posted on: 26 Mar 03 10:52
Agreed! Foe Audio nothing else comes close.
dmozk
Posts: 21
Posted on: 27 Mar 03 22:48
"For a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of 9 USD the drive is yours..." Sweet hook me up with the store selling them at that price!
G@M3FR3@K
Posts: 10654
Posted on: 31 Mar 03 19:16
Hmm it's supposed to say $ 319. It seems there is a bug in the system that deletes the dollar sign when it's followed by a number. I've corrected the error now. Thanks for noticing
JLP
Posts: 97
Posted on: 05 Apr 03 00:09
Yup this is the best you can get.
damiandimitri
Posts: 3702
Posted on: 05 Apr 03 11:46
agree...but i would like to see an update to get rid of some problems some people have
MTR
Posts: 100
Posted on: 05 Apr 03 11:52
I agree this is a great piece of rippig software, but if you have a Plextor drive, nothing beats PlexTools at DAE. Never though I'd find a program better than EAC, but it happened. :g
cerberus
Posts: 2158
Posted on: 01 Sep 04 17:56
good to make coasters
digit010
Posts: 35
Posted on: 08 Nov 06 05:16
There's not much to say about EAC apart from its the very best audio CD ripper available to date.I can tell you now,you WONT find any better than this. A downside is that some users may find it difficult to configure to begin with but if you take a look at many tutorials on various websites,it will help you to correctly configure it and begin ripping "exact" copies of your CD collection. Of course if you own a Plextor then Plextools is good competition.
RebeccaLin
Posts: 2
Posted on: 05 Jan 07 07:44
Hello, Dennis..I'm very interested in the products you posted. and I want to make several inquiries: 1) IF I make an order of two to three pcs, can you provide me certain discount? 2) Is your product brand new or second-handed? 3) You know, I'm in China, can you tell me where you are so that I can calculate the frieght, OK? 4) Can you contact me by mail for further discussion? My E-mail is power_servo_gz@yahoo.com Looking forward to your soonest reply. My Best Regards, Rebecca
guest
Posts: 15284
Posted on: 16 Jul 07 04:31
I always always use plexwriter since the old time until now, but if u ask me my reaction for "The Plex" only one... expensive hehehehe but wwwwwworrrthh it
guest
Posts: 15284
Posted on: 14 Feb 09 13:02
I always use plextor SCSI, that I would say, that is so reliable drive. IDE? No no no !! Everyone who ask me I recommended SCSI drive. PLEXTOR PX-W4012S1 Adaptec AHA-2940AU

Post a comment

Hello guest,
default
To benefit from all extra features you need to log in or sign up.
signup log in