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Brand new firmware for Plextor 40x Wide SCSI CDrom: Now up to snuff?

K

Kwad Guy

Diamond Member
The Plextor 40x SCSI WIDE (68 pin, as opposed to the more common
50 pin version) has been at a performance disadvantage for some
time now due to inferior firmware on the 68 pin variant. It's still
a very good drive, but the 50 pin variant (with BIOS chip v1.10 or
higher) does better DAE...

Plextor JUST (Dec 17, 2001) released a new version for firmware
for the WIDE version of the drive. Has anyone loaded this and
figured out if it improves the performance to the level of its
50 pin brother.

BTW, no matter what anyone tells you, these CDroms are still the
absolute BEST CDROMs out there (better than any other CDrom, any
CDRW, etc.). Great DAE, able to deal with just about any disc you
throw at them, very well built, etc...

Kwad
 
Having used both the 68-pin and 50-pin units, I can say there never was a "major" performance difference. I haven't tested the new firmware yet, but will in the near future. It's still the finest DAE drive out there.
 
FreshPrince:

Did you actually see any improvement? In particular, did
you run CDspeed (or the Nero equivalent) on the upgraded
drive to see if the DAE maxes out at a higher level?

My recollection is that the wide drive capped out at some
point, whereas the newer non-wide drive kept going and going
and going...

I've been using the Max (not wide) for a couple of years now,
and it is WITHOUT A DOUBT the best CDrom in existance
(having used just about every one known to man at one time
or another). Way better, all around, than the Kenwood high
speed drives, for example. And better than the Plextor IDE
(CDRW) drives (way better ability to extract data from non
pristine discs, for example).

Kwad
 
Well, I went ahead and answered my own question...

I ran Nero CDSpeed on both a Plextor UltraPlex 40x (not wide) and
a Plextor UltraPlex Wide 40x drive. Firmware on the not-wide drive
is v1.12, firmware on the wide drive is the new flash, v1.05.

Looked at the DAE for a pressed music CD in perfect condition.
The not-wide drive started at a rate of 19.36x and increased at
essentially a linear rate, ending at a rate of 43.03x (yes, faster
than the rated speed), with an average extraction rate of 32.65x.

The wide drive, on the other hand, started at 18.90x, quickly reached
24x, and then flatlined at 24x for the rest of the extraction (for
an average rate of 23.77x). I am not sure why Plextor chose to
limit the extraction rate for this drive to 24x but allowed it to
go unthrottled on the not-wide drive, but the conclusion is clear:
If you are getting one of these drives for audio extraction, the
not-wide drive is your choice...

Kwad
 
ahem. =)

it has been known for a while, at least by me, that wide can only hit 24x DAE. why? cuz i own one. =) nevertheless, the firmware update i can tell no difference. now who wants to trade a wide for a MAX!? i would rather have the latter.
 
Yeah, I knew about that 24x limit, too. I was hoping that maybe
they'd "fixed" that with the latest firmware revision. Alas, no.

If you do a lot of ripping, the difference in the two drives is
substantial. (Though I'd still take the wide drive over just about
any other drive in existance EXCEPT the non-wide/Max).

Kwad
 


<< Firmware on the not-wide drive
is v1.12, firmware on the wide drive is the new flash, v1.05.
 >>


There is a newer firmware out for the UltaPlex 40XMax (50pin), 1.13
 
Yeah, I know about the newer Max (non-wide) firmware. Was too lazy
to flash it before I ran the test. I have since flashed the drive, and
can't see any difference in read speeds...

Kwad
 
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