TDK 24/10/40 VeloCD ReWriter

WHAT'S HOT: Though the TDK 24/10/40 VeloCD ReWriter was a great performer across the board, it especially excelled at our CD-R and CD-RW write tests. It wrote to CD-R from a 650MB image file in just 4 minutes, and it took 4 minutes, 12 seconds to write a folder with 650MB of files to CD-R on the fly. The drive accomplished the task of writing a 100MB folder of files to CD-RW using packet writing in 1 minute, 20 seconds.

The VeloCD uses Sanyo's Burn-Proof buffer underrun protection to prevent you from ruining CD-R discs because of interruptions in data flow while burning. TDK provides a generous software suite that includes Ahead's Nero Burning ROM 5.5 and InCD 2.12, and Adobe's Acrobat Reader and ActiveShare.

In addition, software for fast digital audio extraction and managing and recording music (MP-Frees, MusicMatch Jukebox, and TDK's own Digital MixMaster audio utility) make this model a good choice for digital audio.

WHAT'S NOT: Its speed and features may propel the VeloCD into the ranks of top performers, but it wouldn't work to its full potential with our test system until we downloaded version 6.10 of Intel's IDE driver. Not every user will encounter this problem, however, and TDK does address the issue on its Web site.

WHAT ELSE: We performed our tests on the TDK 24/10/40 VeloCD ReWriter. Concurrently, TDK is shipping a drive kit that contains the 24/10/40b; this drive hardware, which differs from the one we tested, uses a Lite-On CD-RW drive mechanism. The VeloCD carries an industry-standard one-year warranty, and the vendor offers toll-free technical support for 10.5 hours each day; such seven-day support is uncommon among CD-RW vendors. TDK throws in a CD marking pen--a nice touch for quickly adding handwritten labels to your discs.

UPSHOT: A speedy CD-R writer with top-flight performance results, the TDK 24/10/40 VeloCD ReWriter is a great choice for digital audio lovers and data users alike.

SUMMARY

TDK 24/10/40 VeloCD ReWriter 24X/10X/40X, IDE, internal, 2MB buffer, buffer underrun protection, Ahead Nero Burning ROM 5.5 and InCD 2.12; one-year warranty, 10.5-hour daily toll-free support. $145 800/835-8273 www.tdk.com