Creative Labs CD-Rom Blaster 52X is SLOW!!!

[rw120555]

I just bought a Creative Labs CD-Rom Blaster 52X, model mk4108. I got it so I could make quick CD to CD copies with my Plexwriter 12-10-32A drive. My software is Easy CD Platinum 5.01 and Plextor Manager 2000. Computer is Dell Optiplex GX1P, 450 MHZ Pentium, 128 MB memory.

Creative labs says their drive does Digital Audio Extraction at up to 20X; the system tests in EasyCD say it can only reliably do 9X. Both Easycd and Plextor Manager will only copy audio CDs at 8X.

That is a little slow, but I can live with it. Much more annoying is that EasyCD says the Blaster can only read data reliably at 5X; hence a data disk can only be copied at around 4X.

I realize listed CD-Rom speeds are unrealistically high in practice, but being off by a factor of 10 is a bit much. Further, the 3 year old 32X drive that used to be in there could read data at around 18X (but could only do DAE at around 4X). With that drive, I could copy data disks at 12X without any problem.

I've tried it with DMA turned on and then off, and I've used a variety of disks for testing. And, as I said, older and supposedly slower drives actually work faster.

Is this normal behavior??? I've never seen a cd rom that was slower at reading data than it was at DAE. I passed up cheaper drives because of the Creative name, but maybe that was a mistake. Any suggestions are appreciated. RW

 

[Shudder]

It's got Creative written on it. it's normal behaviour, sorry.

 

[Dundain]

Im getting the same results with the DAE atleast. Mine can only rip at about 8.5, which kinda sucks, so I'll probably be using my new DVD or CDRW drive to rip the stuff. Or else I'll just steal my parents old Toshiba 24x...which still works perfectly, is deathly silent, and quite zippy too!

 

[GregMal]

You actually bought a Creative Labs CD Rom.......Oh, sorry....you're
new here and probably haven't read the problems people have with
them........Greg

 

[rw120555]

I discovered this site a few hours after I bought the drive...I passed up several cheaper options because I wanted a "quality" name brand. Looks like I made a mistake. Luckily, it is returnable.

Anybody have any other suggestions, e.g. I think Best Buy has an Acer drive for around $40, is it any good? I really want something that will do DAE and data reading reliably at at least 8X, and preferably 12. Even if it is only a little slower than that, like 7X, it looks like the software will slow down all the way to 4X. At that speed, it makes more sense to let the Plextor do both the reading and writing.

I wish Plextor had an IDE CDE-Rom drive, but it doesn't look like they do. Something like their 12/10/32 without the write capabilities would be perfect, if it were reasonably priced.

 

[PliotronX]

Look around for the Teac CD-540E. You can get it here for $38. It is the best IDE CDROM drive I've ever had the pleasure of using. You can see its performance here, which is not behind the Plextor UltraPlex 40 by much.

 

[Shudder]

Never used the TEAC, but for that price it seems decent.

I'd recommend a 12x or so Toshiba DVD rom drive. You can get one for roughly 55-60 bucks at most places (online)

 

[madthumbs]

Two companies I won't buy from again; Creative, and Kenwood. Out of the two I would have to say Creative is worse... much worse for everything they make.

 

[Dundain]

Yea, I finally ditched my Creative 52x drive. My 16x Toshiba DVD is SOOOOOOOOO much faster, and literally utterlly silent. I cant believe how much quieter my PC is now that I got rid of my old heatsink fan, slipped in some Panaflos, and got rid of the high-pitched squeel of the Creative!

 

[rw120555]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've returned the Creative and may give the Teac or Toshiba drives a try.

Has anybody used the memorymedia.com site that has the Teac for $38? The prices are tempting. But, when I clicked on the privacy policy, all I got was a blank page. Plus, maybe I am just missing it, but I can't find anything about return policies or any other company info. Maybe the company is fine, but those kinds of omissions make me a little suspicious of a place.

 

[blizz]

Not a very favorable rating at reseller...check it out here

G/L.

 

[rw120555]

Very useful site, Blizz, thanks. In general, I'd rather pay a little bit more than deal with a vendor who may be trouble. Of course, a lot of places will price match, which is all the more reason to stick with somebody who has better ratings. Wish I'd discovered Anandtech earlier, users here have some very helpful suggestions and information.