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  DVD Burner round-up: Top 16x drives tested

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NEC ND-3520A impressions

NEC is primarily a research and development company that has been on the cutting edge of technology for over a century. Their primary products are focused on network integrated solutions and semi-conductors, while some of their consumer oriented include projectors (I absolutely love mine), optical drives, workstations, networking products, and solid state components.

This is the first time we test a drive made by NEC in one of our comparisons. Perhaps the most important reason we specifically looked to compare against this drive is because its popularity among system builders. The ND-3520A has enjoyed of great reviews among consumers that have looked for the cheapest branded drive available. Like the Plextor drive, the NEC is compatible with pretty much anything you throw at it, except DVD-RAM.
 


 

Installation of this drive went well and without any problems. The NEC drive was by far the least attractive of the bunch thanks to its generic looks. The front of the drive is of the standard beige color, with some official logos etched into it (DVD, RW, and Compact Disc insignia). There is a large square activity light on the front, and also a small pin hole for manual disk removal. Not to be fooled by its ugliness however, the drive still felt solid and worked absolutely perfect. The tray ejection was quiet and fast, too.

Note: NEC recently released a slightly updated version of this version numbered ND-3540A. The drive should basically be the same plus the following improvements: 1) DVD-R dual layer (DL) disc support. 2) DVD+R (DL) write speed upgrade to 8x.

 
NEC
ND-3520A
DVD-R 16x
DVD-RW 6x
DVD-R DL -
DVD+R 16x
DVD+RW 8x
DVD+R DL 4x
CD-R 48x
CD-RW 24x
DVD-ROM (read) 16x
CD-ROM (read) 40x
DVD-RAM -
Price
(click for details)
$55

Technical enhancements include (as listed by the manufacturer):

  • AOPC – Active Optimum Power Control adjusts the laser effect in real time to achieve optimal readability.

  • Buffer under run – error protection technology

Software bundled:

  • Roxio Easy Media Creator Basic – award winning software suite which contains full-featured photo, video, music, burning, and authoring applications for Windows XP/2000 only.




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