WHAT'S HOT: The CenDyne Lightning II CD-RW 32x12x40 certainly lives up to its name. Employing a Lite-On drive mechanism, it performs similarly to the Lite-On CD-ReWriter 32x12x40x drive: It took 3 minutes, 41 seconds to write our 650MB folder of files to CD-R on the fly, and 1 minute, 6 seconds to write our 100MB folder to CD-RW using packet writing--just behind a few drives on our chart in CD-R write speed, and tying for fastest in CD-RW write speed. CenDyne is one of a handful of manufacturers offering 12X CD-RW write speed (the current scarcity of 12X-rated media keeps many other vendors from doing the same). As with all recent CD-RW drives offering faster speeds, you can still use older media, though you'll be limited to writing at the media's speed rating.

WHAT'S NOT: This drive is a hefty $65 more than the Lite-On version; for the money, you get marginally better technical support options and better documentation, but the premium is tough to justify.

WHAT ELSE: CenDyne includes a good user manual with clearly written explanations on how to install the drive. The company backs the drive with an industry-standard one-year warranty and provides tech support for 9 hours on weekdays and 4 hours on Saturdays (calls are not toll-free). The company bundles Ahead Nero Burning ROM 5.5 and InCD 3.12 for CD mastering and packet writing, respectively.

UPSHOT: The Lightning II's performance is nearly identical to that of the second-ranked Lite-On model. Choose the CenDyne if you want more than just a basic drive.

SUMMARY

CenDyne Lightning II CD-RW 32x12x40 32X/12X/40X, IDE, internal, 2MB buffer, buffer underrun protection, Ahead Nero Burning ROM 5.5 and InCD 3.12, one-year warranty, 9-hour weekday and 4-hour Saturday support (calls are not toll-free). $165 714/556-1020 www.cendyne.com