£125.00
approx (inc. VAT) - around $130 (Pricewatch)
A Closer Look :
In so far as the packaging is concerned nothing
has changed and nothing needed to. The drive is held firmly
in place and suitably cushioned by two polystyrene end cradles.
Alongside this is the box containing the additional hardware
and software.
I suppose there's some value in not changing a
winning formula and Plextor's drive design has remained pretty
static for as long as I can remember. Although the design is
clean and simple it doesn't quite portray the kind of speed
that lies beneath that beige casing. I don't think the odd curve
here and there would go amiss. As we've seen in almost every
other aspect of PC component design a little sex appeal goes
a long way and that's one thing Plextor's drive design has very
little of if you're not a fan of minimalism. I actually quite
like it but it's the appearance of similarly designed "cheap
and nasties" that's spoilt it somewhat.
The rear of the drive is your standard fayre and
should be familiar to anyone who's ever fitted an optical or
hard drive before.
The only real point worthy of a mention is that
the very left hand pair of jumpers can actually be used to set
DMA access (set "on" by default). Overall the drive
is reassuringly weighty and feels very solidly built which is
something we've come to expect and no doubt is part of the reason
Plextor are fabled for their reliable operation.
The bundle remains the same comprehensive assortment
it's always been and again this is simply because it'd be hard
to better. You get five high speed CD-R blank media, one high
speed blank CD-RW media, an installation CD containing the versatile
PlexTools utility and my personal favourite of the currently
available authoring software, Nero Burning Rom. There's also
an IDE cable, audio cable, mounting screws and emergency eject
tool.
One of the more interesting features Plextor have
introduced recently is their black loading tray. This is apparently
designed to reduce jitter by absorbing rather than reflecting
any stray light produced by the laser during the write process.
Plextor have also done some tweaking to the internal PCB and
though they're a bit vague about what's actually been done they
claim it increases speed and fidelity.
The front of the loading tray has been reinforced
by Plextor to insure against the risk of injury should any of
your CDs spin themselves apart at the new high speeds. This
won't stop the shards from completely destroying the drive itself
but it will reduce the risk of you having to spend a few hours
or more sat in your local hospital's casualty department. I'm
not aware of any other drive manufacturer who've taken this
step.
