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Gigabyte GO-W1616A DVD Burner Review
Gigabyte GO-W1616A DVD Burner Review - PCSTATS
On the sound front, the Gigabyte GO-W1616A is average; it doesn't produce much sound even when reading DVDs at full speed. Vibration is also at a minimum.
 77% Rating:   
Filed under: Optical Drives Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: Gigabyte Apr 14 2005   C. Sun  
Home > Reviews > Optical Drives > Gigabyte GO-W1616A

Software and Media Compatibility

The burning software that comes with the drive is Nero Express, which makes us wonder why the full version of Nero Burning ROM wasn't bundled in....

The Gigabyte GO-W1616A is not compatible with DVD-RAM discs or Mount Rainier , but supports all other DVD and CD-R/RW formats listed above.

Dual-Layer DVD Technology

Dual-layer DVD media can store 8.4GB of data, which is exactly twice that of its single-layer counterparts capacity of 4.7GB. This is because DL DVD media has two dye layers for data recording. Heat caused by the drive's laser beam modifies the physical and chemical structure of each dye layer to form patterns which can be read by the same laser (at a lower intensity) as digital data.

Each dye layer is separated by a spacer and a metal reflector. The metal layer reflects the laser light, allowing the drive to 'read' the data by observing the reflections. The first reflector (positioned after the first dye layer) is semi-transparent; when the laser is focused a certain way, it will pass through this reflector and continue through to the second dye layer and bounce off the second metal reflector. This allows the drive to read the second layer of data. The second reflector is completely opaque and will not allow the laser beam to pass any further. Thus, by modulating the frequency of its laser beam, a dual-layer capable DVD-writer can read and write to dual-layer DVD discs.

There are a couple of ways to indicate dual-layer media. The most common is 'DVD+R DL' but it's also sometimes indicated as DVD+R9. Obviously, both the drive and the media need to be dual-layer capable in order to access the extra storage space afforded by these 8.4GB monster optical discs!

PCStats Test System Specs:
processor:

intel pentium 4 3.0c

clock speed: 15 x 200 mhz = 3.0 ghz
motherboards:

gigabyte ga-8knxp

videocard:

ati radeon 9800 pro

memory:

2x 256mb corsair twinx3200ll

hard drive: 40gb western digital special ed.
cdrom: aopen drw8800
powersupply: vantec 470w stealth psu
software setup

windowsxp build 2600
intel inf 5.02.1012
catalyst 4.4

workstation benchmarks

cd winbench 99
sisoft sandra 2002
nero cd speed

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Contents of Article: Gigabyte GO-W1616A
 Pg 1.  Gigabyte GO-W1616A DVD Burner Review
 Pg 2.  — Software and Media Compatibility
 Pg 3.  Benchmarks: CD Winbench 99, SiSoft Sandra 2005
 Pg 4.  Benchmarks: CD Speed: Data and Audio
 Pg 5.  Benchmarks: CD Speed: CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM
 Pg 6.  Nero CD Speed: DVD+RW, DVD+R DL

 
Hardware Sections 


 
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