This 16X double-layer drive is fast and affordable, but an 8X or 12X drive would be fast enough for most situations, and they're a better bargain, too.

In a market where DVD burners are already viewed as a commodity, it's tough to stand out in the crowd. However, BenQ's DW1620 distinguishes itself as one of the first drives to write DVD-R at 16X. Also, like a number of other optical drives, the drive can write at top speed with select slower-rated 8X media. However, while the DW1620 sets new records for burning recordable discs and is an appealing product, the results aren't that much faster than what you'll get from cheaper 8X and 12X recorders. More on that later.

The plain-face, putty-colour BenQ DW1620 is the usual size for a 5.25-inch drive (not short-profile like drives such as Sony's DRU-700A. The front of the unit has a power/record light, an eject button, and an emergency-eject port (a small hole you can push through with a paper clip to free trapped discs). But, as usual these days, there is neither a headphone jack nor a track-advance button. The back of the unit is home to the normal array of connectors -- IDE cable and digital and analog audio -- and the drive designation jumpers (master/slave or cable select).

The installation process for the DW1620 is the same as that of any internal IDE DVD burner, requiring an aptitude on your part for handling a screwdriver, along with a lack of techno-fear. There's no paper setup sheet or guide to help out first-timers, so you'll need to browse the Web for instructions if this is your first time mucking with the inside of a computer. BenQ includes an IDE cable and an audio cable, as well as mounting screws -- not many companies include all three in these days of cutthroat pricing.

BenQ takes a route less traveled with its software bundle, too, opting for a combination of Sonic's RecordNow and InterVideo's WinCinema suite. RecordNow handles data and audio CD/DVD mastering, and the WinCinema suite contains WinDVD Recorder for DVD movie playback and recording (off of a TV tuner, if one's available) and WinDVD Creator for DVD movie authoring. While not as popular as Nero 6.0 Ultra Edition or Roxio Easy Media Creator, the bundle covers nearly all the bases and is easy to use. BenQ includes its BookType Manager, so you can set the drive to finalise discs as DVD-ROM video instead of DVD-R/+R video for better compatibility with set-top players and older DVD-ROM drives.

As we mentioned up front, the BenQ DW1620 is a fast burner. It wrote our 4.4GB test image to DVD+R in a mere 6 minutes, 8 seconds -- 12 seconds faster than Plextor's PX-712A 12X burner and 38 seconds faster than Memorex's 16X 1F161. Those aren't earth-shaking disparities, and there's a reason: the DW1620 ramps up to full 16X late in the write process, starting at a modest 6X and gradually increasing speed as the burn proceeds. We're not bashing the DW1620--all drives faster than 8X use similar multispeed write schemes. DVD-R writing was quick as well, with the Disc Done dialog popping up after a mere 6 minutes, 15 seconds.

The write tests were the highlight for the DW1620. Beyond that, results ran from average to a tad slow for its class. The drive ripped a 4.4GB DVD in 9 minutes, 7 seconds; ripped a 7.9GB DVD-9 disc DVD in 17 minutes, 34 seconds; and ripped a 74-minute audio CD in 6 minutes, 15 seconds.

BenQ DW1620
Company: BenQ Australia
Price: AU$199
Phone: 1300 130 336

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