High speed usb card or internal CDR?

[Arden]

I have a Plexor external CDRW that burns files o.k. but not mp3's. My choice is to either buy a high-speed usb card, or an internal CDRW. I am just looking at the performance, would they be the same? Wondering what I should buy?

 

[cdogg]

The performance of a USB 2.0 CD-RW burner and an internal one should be the same. Both IDE and USB 2.0 are more than fast enough to accomodate the transfer times of any optical device.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[franklin97355]

I'd buy new burning software that won't fail when burning.Remember when CDs burned at 1X?

 

[paparazi]

A PCI USB2 card isn't necessarily going to gaurantee your external Plextor will write the MP3 files like you want.
Where as a new 52X writer should without problems.
Most new writers also come with Nero or Easy CD creator.
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[Nelviticus]

If your existing CDRW doesn't have a USB 2.0 interface then buying a new USB 2.0 card won't make it burn any faster.

A new USB 2.0 card plus a new USB 2.0 burner will be as fast as an internal drive but it'll be more expensive, take up more desk space and use up another plug socket.

I'd go for an internal one. With the low price of DVD burners these days I'd go for one of those instead of a CDRW unless money was really tight.

Regards

Nelviticus

 

[JimInKS]

I would also go with the internal drive unless you really need the portability. Also, as mentioned above, getting a USB 2 card won't help unless your drive is USB 2 also.

This ASUS CD burner is excellent, very quiet, fast, and inexpensive. Comes with all cables and Nero software.
You can also get it in black.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-135-019&depa=1

 

[norty303]

What is the actual problem here? Is it that your drive can't burn fast enough / not burn-proof that is stopping you burning mp3's or is there another problem. Have you diagnosed the problem first rather than paying money for something that may not work?

 

[DragonQ0105]

I'd recommend this (UK):

CD-RW Internal IDE (CD-Read: 52x, CD-R: 52x, CD-RW: 32x) - £16.17

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=51700

This is a super-fast and super-reliable CD-RW. There are few others on that site which are up to 50p cheaper, but they don't have the Average Review Rating of 5 out of 5 Stars that this CD-RW has.

 

[Arden]

Thank you for your responses. I know the external burner supports USB 2 as it prompts me when I go to use it that I would get better performance. Based upon the responses I will go with buying an internal CDRW, seems like it is cost-efficient, and a greater chance of getting it to burn mp3's without having any additional problems or upgrades.

 

[cdogg]

Arden,
Just to double-check...

The ability to burn MP3's depends on the software you're using. Roxio and Nero's software have this ability, and I'm assuming that one or the other came with your drive. Perhaps the problem is that you're not sure how to get MP3's in there?

Upgrading to USB2 or buying another drive may only help performance issues, and not necessarily your MP3 problem.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[micker377]

I don't know about the comparative speeds, but I do know that if I do a (image) backup to an internal (IDE) hard drive, it takes 45 minutes. If I do the same backup to my USB 2.0 hard drive, it takes 3 hours! Same size and brand of hard drives.

 

[DragonQ0105]

That's because internal HDDs work at UDMA133 (recent ones), which is a lot faster than the USB2.0 Interface. CD-RWs, however, work at UDMA33 (it's not necessary to be higher than that because even at 52x the transfer rate is only 7.8MB/s), so USB2.0 can provide the full speed that the internal UDMA33 ones can.

 

[micker377]

Thanks DragonQ0105, I was just offering another thing to think about.

 

[Arden]

I'm using Ashampoo software...

 

[JimInKS]

Just another thought on burning mp3's.
I use the windows version of Itunes for creating audio CD's.
You can get it for free from Apples website and give it a try if you like. I'm guessing that winamp might also be able to do that, but I haven't used it in awhile.

 

[cdogg]

That's probably your problem then Arden. Check the disc that came with your Plextor writer. It should have Nero or Roxio's software suite on it. With either one, you will have the ability to burn MP3's to an audio CD or data CD - your choice.

micker377,
Yeah, I don't think that applies here. USB 2.0 maxes out at 60MB/s (that's just about half the speed of ATA/133). But remember as Dragon pointed out, that's just comparing the interfaces. The devices matter more. Optical devices (meaning CD/DVD), won't come close to needing the entire bandwidth of either.

In your case with the slower USB 2.0 hard drive, I would bet that it's a driver problem of some sort, or perhaps your hard drive is stuck in USB 1.1 mode for some reason. Whatever the case, it shouldn't be that slow and USB 2.0 is not to blame.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[Arden]

o.k. I'm going to try tonight with different software, and check driver, and report back.
Again, many thanks. I did get Nero and Roxio with the CDR but never gave them a chance...

 

[micker377]

cdogg:
Maybe I should start a new post. Anyway, how does a hard drive get "stuck" on USB 1.1? The reason I ask is, I started with an enclosure that used 1.1. I went to a newer enclosure that had 2.2 and firewire. I tried and the new setup was no faster, so I returned it and went back to the 1.1.