Burning CDs and Spinning Movies – Toshiba America’s ToshibaSD-R1002 and Ricoh MP9120A – Hardware Review – Evaluation
Amee Abel
Toshiba SD-R1002 CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combination Drive
HOC RATING
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
* Requirements: Win 95/98/2000, Pentium II, 32MB RAM, graphics card with DirectDraw, 16-bit sound card, 55MB hard disk space * List Price: $289 * Manufacturer: Toshiba America Inc., 888-900-1530, www.sdd.toshiba.com
Ricoh CD-R/RW & DVD-ROM Drive MPg120A
HOC RATING
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
* Requirements: Win 95/98/NT 4.0, 166MHz Pentium, 32MB RAM, 75MB hard disk space * List Price: $349 * Manufacturer: Ricoh Co., 877-RICOH-RW, www.ricoh-usa.com
WHETHER YOU NEED TO BACK up data, distribute large presentations or other space-hogging files, or simply listen to music while you work, CD recorders are practical additions to your home office. If your system is cramped for space, however, adding another drive may be impossible. The new combination CD-RW/DVD-ROM drives function as both CD burners and audio CD/DVD movie readers, saving bay space and serving as a middle ground between CD-RW and just-emerging rewritable DVD technology.
We looked at two combination drives, Toshiba’s model SD-R1002 and Ricoh’s MP9120A. Both are designed for internal installation using the IDE bus, the standard internal connection for PC storage peripherals. (This is distinct from SCSI drives, which are generally more complicated to install.)
Opening your PC and adding any internal drive isn’t a job for the technically faint of heart. However, the task didn’t prove difficult when we tried it as a straightforward swap, replacing an older CD-ROM drive with the newer, sexier piece of hardware. We did, however, blanch as we read the instructions that outlined the multiple details you’ll have to muck with if you’re adding either drive to your system while retaining an existing CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
Fortunately, swapping out the old CD-ROM drive on our 400MHz IBM Aptiva 2139 desktop proved completely painless. We unhooked the cables attached to the existing drive and attached them to the new CD-RW/DVD drive, booted the system, installed the included driver software, and we were home free.
The process was nearly identical for both the Toshiba and Ricoh combo drives. Though we didn’t need any of it for our job, both drives came with additional hardware–CD/DVD sound cables and mounting screws. The Toshiba kit also included an IDE bus cable.
While both the Toshiba and Ricoh are fine combination drives, both as CD burners and CD/DVD players, each will suit a different audience. The out-of-the-box differences between the two begin with their specs: The more expensive Ricoh is faster, claiming to record at 12x, rewrite at 10x, read CDs at 32x, and read DVDs at 8x speed (compared to first-generation CD-ROMs’ original 150Kbps transfer rate).
By contrast, the Toshiba is only rated to record and rewrite at 4x speed, and read CDs at 24x and DVDs at 4x. Both Toshiba and Ricoh provide one-year warranties and include one blank CD-R and one CD-RW disc apiece to get users started; Toshiba also throws in a bonus disc of assorted computer games.
More potent than the speed differences are the software differences. Toshiba bundles Adaptec/Roxio’s ubiquitous Easy CD Creator and DirectCD for Windows, as well as CyberLink’s PowerDVD playback software. The Ricoh comes with Prassi’s PrimoCD Plus and abCD, and Interlink’s WinDVD 2000 player.
Each bundle provides the same capacities–CD mastering, CD packet writing, and DVD playback–but the Toshiba software is clearly geared toward a home office user. The Ricoh bundle, while perhaps more technically proficient, is also more complex and apt to fit better under the care of an information technology (IT) professional.
Toshiba SD-R1002 CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combination Drive
(A) Low price; good software and extras
(B) Slower than many current drives
Toshiba SD-R1002 CD-RW/ DVD-ROM Combination Drive Rating: 9
Ricoh CD-R/RW & DVD-ROM Drive MPg120A
(A) Speedy performance for all disc types
(B) Software, instructions hard to grasp
Ricoh CD-R/RW & DVD-ROM Drive MPg120A Rating: 8
RATINGS
HOME OFFICE COMPUTING rates products on a scale of 1 to 10–with few 9’s or 10’s–based on value, performance, innovation (medals go to rare standouts in these areas), ease of use, and suitability for home offices. The (A) and (B) symbols indicate pros and cons.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Freedom Technology Media Group
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group
