Plextor PleXWriter 16/10/40A

The Plextor 16/10/40A is an impressive CD writer by one of the most reputable names in the business. Generally, you can't go wrong when you buy Plextor, although you do pay a little for the name.

That aside, the drive is easy to install and configure, and the manual provided with the device lays this out in simple, easy-to-follow steps. My box contained the drive unit, an IDE cable, software CDs, manual, and warranty card. One nice item in the box was a tool specifically for operating the emergency eject hole on the front of the drive. Rather than resorting to bent paperclips, or bits of wire, Plextor actually supply an 'L' shaped rod for ejecting media from the drive if the power should cut off. Bonus points to Plextor with that!

Once you get the drive installed, it is automatically recognised, and can be used without any drivers as a normal CD-ROM. However, you need the supplied authoring software, (or another similar package, unless you use Windows XP), in order to actually compose and write CDs.

My drive was supplied with WinOnCD, which, unfortunately, I found very poor in terms of quality and features. It is a very simplistic package, which seems to have problems when you get into the more advanced tasks required of a CD-writer. Frequent crashes, and a lack of features eventually prompted me to purchase Nero 5.5, which did the job much better. Plextor do offer their own CD mastering software on their website, and it is available for free download. However, I still found this a little 'dry' on features which is why I eventually opted for Nero.

The drive is generally very quiet in operation, and only gets noisy when operating at high speed, or after a lengthy burn operation. The drive has a small 30mm fan in the rear of the unit, which attempts to remove some of the accumulated heat inside the drive. In real terms, I have found that this fan only adds to the noise of the drive, and also pulls dust into the drive mechanism. The CD media still comes out of the drive fairly hot, even when the fan has kicked in.

Although slow in comparison to some of the modern CD writers, the Plextor is an extremely reliable drive, and hasn't failed me yet. The only 'coaster' that the drive has ever produced was when we experienced a power-cut in the middle of a burn operation. This is added evidence that the drive sports superior burn-proof technology, to ensure that buffer under-runs are clearly a thing of the past.

The Plextor PleXWriter CD writer is fast, very reliable, doesn't make coasters, good software, reliable name and is overall excellent.

Simply the best CD Writer on the market and that's no exaggeration.

Speedy at writing, no annoying under-burn errors and great value for money.

Keep an eye out for the equally looking and more impressive 24X Write 10X ReWrite 40X Read PX-24/10/40A.