Plextor PX-W4012S (SCSI)

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Author

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

Scratched/Low Quality Disc

 

It happens to all of us sooner or later: a disc is scratched and cannot be read properly anymore… In this test we took a CD-Recordable and (heavily) scratched it with some fine sandpaper. We then did a surface scan with Nero CD Speed and you can see the results below. First off let’s start with the ATIP information from the used CD-Recordable:

  • ATIP: 97m 15s 11f
  • Disc Manufacturer: Ritek Co.
  • Reflective layer: Dye (Long strategy; e.g. Cyanine, Azo etc.)
  • Media type: CD-Recordable
  • Recording Speeds: min. unknown – max. unknown
  • Nominal Capacity: 702.83MB (79m 59s 74f / LBA: 359849)

Now for the achieved results. We read the disc with the Plextor PX-W4012S drive and then read the same disc with various other drives for comparison. You can see the result of the Plextor drive in the screenshot below. Please note that damaged sectors can still be read. The important percentage is the one of the unreadable sectors. Of course the less, the better:

Plextor PX-W4012S Scratched Disc Test
Plextor PX-W4012S reading scratched disc

In the table below we’ve summed up our test results comparing them to other drives we’ve previously reviewed. Again, keep in mind that the important percentage is the one of the unreadable sectors. Of course the less, the better:

Scratched
Disc		  Good   Damaged   Unreadable 
 VisionTek 
Xtasy 48X		 36.89% 44.41% 18.70%
 PleXCombo 
 PX-320A 		  64.58%  - 35.42%
Mitsumi
 CR-480ATE 		  59.87%  - 40.13%
 Plextor 
 PX-W4012S 		  42.63%  11.91% 45.45%
 Plextor 
 PX-W4012TU 		  35.95%  8.78% 55.28%
 Yamaha 
CRW-F1		 37.72% - 62.28%
 The grey area’s indicate the least amount of unreadable sectors 
- : drive cannot report damaged sectors

Low Quality Disc:

To add a little more to our scratched data reading tests we’ve added another test for you. We wrote a low quality 74 minute CD-Recordable using the VisionTek Xtasy 48X drive and Nero Burning Rom. We disabled its SMART-BURN feature so errors would probably be created. The ATIP information from the used CD-Recordable:

  • ATIP: 97m 31s 01f
  • Disc Manufacturer: unknown
  • Reflective layer: Dye (Long strategy; e.g. Cyanine, Azo etc.)
  • Media type: CD-Recordable
  • Recording Speeds: min. unknown – max. unknown
  • Nominal Capacity: 656.69MB (74m 45s 00f)

We then scanned the disc with Nero CD Speed using various drives we’ve previously reviewed. You can see a screenshot of the Plextor PX-W4012S drive reading the low quality disc below

Plextor PX-W4012S reading low quality disc
Plextor PX-W4012S reading low quality disc

In the table below we’ve summed up our test results again, comparing them to other drives we’ve previously reviewed. Again, keep in mind that the important percentage is the one of the unreadable sectors. Of course the less, the better:

Scratched
Disc		  Good   Damaged   Unreadable 
Plextor
 PX-W4012S 		  99.89%  0.11% 0.0%
Plextor
 PX-W4012TU 		  99.44%  0.56% 0.0%
 VisionTek 
Xtasy 48X		 59.44% 40.56% 0.0%
 PleXCombo 
 PX-320A 		  89.49%  - 10.51%
TEAC
 CD-W540E 		  66.21%  11.75% 22.03%
Mitsumi
 CR-480ATE 		  60.34%  - 39.66%
 Yamaha 
CRW-F1		 48.81% - 51.19%
 The grey area’s indicate the least amount of unreadable sectors 
- : drive cannot report damaged sectors

That concludes the reading part of our review. Now it’s time to see how the Plextor PX-W4012S performs when writing discs…

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

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