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“I purchased this terrific Lite-ON 52 X 24 X 52 CD-RW...”

written by trevormcg on 06/08/2003

Good Points
*Lightning fast--almost too fast
*Buffer Underrun Technology --i will discuss in review
*Excellent Burning Software (Ahead NERO)
*Audio Cable
*IDE Cable
*Comes With 2 Blank Cd's

Bad Points
*IDE Cable was not color coded, nor was it long enough for my system [however, i do not know if all are not color coded a.k.a mine might have been a fluke]
*Audio Cable was not long enough either
*No 3.5" mounting bracet.

General Comments
I purchased this terrific Lite-ON 52 X 24 X 52 CD-RW drive from staples for around $50. I beleive that the manual was written very well, but I wouldnt know, as I did not really read it--I previously knew how to install components onto my computer. Ok, now on to the hardware specs. It has an excellently laid out "Back"--the installation of the burner was easy enough for any neophyte--even an 11 yr old could do it. However, once it is installed, Nero and all, you can burn cd's at lighting speed, and with out any buffer underruns. I said that i would explain buffer underruns and what causes them, and why the technology is soo good to have--especially for you people who have a computer that is slower than 1000 mhz (1 ghz). What causes a buffer underunn is that the computer has a reserve of about 2mb (mega bytes) that it will write to and re-fill constantly. Since computers can multitask, you can surf the internet or play solitare while your computer writes and refills the buffer. The problem is when the computer cannot do what you want it to (surf the internet ...etc.) and write and refill the buffer. When the burner burns the buffer out, and theres nothing left, a buffer underrun occurs, and the cd is unusable [for the most part]. What is special about this burner, and mant other new burners out there is that it can detect and prevent those underruns. if you need any help with anything related to this burner, you can email me at [email protected]..