For an overview on methodology, click here.
CD-ROM Performance Results
Low-Level Measurements
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Windows 98 SE using FAT 32 |
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Windows 98 SE using FAT 32 |
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Windows 98 SE using FAT 32 |
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Windows 98 SE using FAT 32 |
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As a 40X CD-ROM reader, the SD-M1401 transfers at nearly 41X at the outer edge of our pressed CD media. Its 20X minimum transfer rate at the inner tracks is also right in line with the other 40X readers we've tested. In actuality, it's the slowest of the 40X readers in our comparison graph, but differences of 2-10% won't be noticeable in real-world usage.
However, when we examine the Toshiba's access times, we see it wallop the competition. The closest competitor, another unit from Toshiba, clocks in a full 6ms slower than the SD-M1401. In fact, this Toshiba measures in at 10ms faster than its own rating, as we alluded to in the Intro.
As our regular readers now know, high CD-ROM Winmarks typically correlate well with low measured access times. With some of the fastest access times we've seen in any CD reader, we expect high Winmark scores to follow. Let's see what happens.
CD-ROM Winmark 99
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Windows 98 SE using FAT 32 |
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Despite measured access times below 75ms, the SD-M1401 could only manage a Winmark score of 1323. This places it 17% behind Pioneer's DVD-115. Even Pioneer's 32X DVD-303S finishes 2% ahead of the Toshiba.
A closer inspection of the four test trials reveals that our test unit had difficulty reading three of our discs (with an average score of 1217), while posting an outstanding 1640 with the fourth disc. Situations like these are why we run the Winmark tests on four separate CDs. Not all CDs are pressed equally and not all drives are capable of reading a variety of CDs with consistency.
While the CD-ROM Winmark measures application-level performance from a scripted set of programs, we also run our test units through a pair of home-brewed tests. Follow along as we examine how the SD-M1401 does in our File and Disc Copy tests.
File and Disc Copy
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File Copy |
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Windows 98 SE using FAT 32 |
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Disc Copy |
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Windows 98 SE using FAT 32 |
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In our file copy test, we time how long it takes to copy a 634MB file from our CDTach98 disc to the designated test partition of our testbed's hard drive. Given the purely sequential nature of this test, we expect results to correlate most closely to our low level STR measures; drives that perform well in STR tend to do well in this test, while drives that have problems in our STR measures will most likely perform poorly in this test.
Indeed, we see that the SD-M1401 performs most closely with Plextor's 40X, a drive that is the Toshiba's equal in our low level STR tests. In our comparison, only Pioneer's DVD-115 (which actually measured at faster-than-rated 44X max STRs) was faster, completing the test 15 seconds sooner, or about 10% quicker.
In contrast, the disc copy test factors random access into the mix. We time how long it takes to copy a 619MB disc filled with a variety of small files in multiple folders to our hard drive's test partition.
We see the SD-M1401 perhaps underperforming a bit here. With 74.9ms measured access times, we'd expect the drive to perform better than Toshiba's 6401B, which could only manage an average access time of 80.9ms. Perhaps the 6401B's 4% advantage in STRs plays a role, though we are nitpicking, given the overall closeness in performance.
Digital Audio Extraction
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DAE Transfer Rate - Average |
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Windows 98 SE using FAT 32 |
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DAE Transfer Rate - Start |
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Windows 98 SE using FAT 32 |
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DAE Transfer Rate - End |
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Windows 98 SE using FAT 32 |
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Toshiba optical drives have traditionally been middling to poor performers in digital audio extraction since we've begun optical testing here at StorageReview.com. The two Toshiba CD-ROMs we've tested thus far have been 6.8X-14.5X CAV extractors (insufficient for 8X on-the-fly burning), while their 6X DVD unit extracted at 4X-6X P-CAV speeds.
Things seem to have improved somewhat with the SD-M1401. We now see 9X CLV extraction rates (incidentally, also counter to Toshiba's spec sheets), which will most likely be able to feed an 8X burner without resorting to first imaging the CD-DA to hard disk. The bad news, at least according to CDSpeed99, is this Toshiba follows the SD-M1212 in failing to provide accurate streaming. Because audio data is interleaved on CD-DAs, it is more difficult to precisely position the drive's head when seeking audio discs. Drives which support accurate streaming in hardware can do this more quickly and precisely, while drives which don't need to rely more on the extraction software, slowing things down.
As far as DVD-ROM drives go, the Pioneer DVD-303S is still the faster audio extractor, despite being previous generation. Pioneer's latest DVD-115 is even faster still, but may have some quality issues, as detailed in our review of the drive.
When double-checking the drive's extraction performance with CDDAE99, we found that the 9X rates held pretty consistently, no matter which track # we were extracting. Single-session extracting also held at 9X. As far as sound quality, we could find no audible differences between the source and the extracted .wav files. CDDAE99 agreed, with zero differences reported between source and extraction.
As we near the end of our CD-ROM performance analysis, we now move on to media compatibility. Let's see how our test unit handles CD-Rs and -RWs.
CD-R Media Compatibility and Performance
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Windows 98 SE using FAT 32 |
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Windows 98 SE using FAT 32 |
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The SD-M1401 had no problems with our TDK test CD-R, reading it at full speed without difficulties. Performance was 20X at the inner tracks, reaching 41X by the outer edge.
Beginning with this drive, we have begun informal testing with 80 minute CD-R media. We are pleased to report that the SD-M1401 was able to detect and read an Imation 80 minute disc, copying its entire 701MB of contents to our test partition without incident.
CD-RW Media Compatibility and Performance
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Windows 98 SE using FAT 32 |
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Windows 98 SE using FAT 32 |
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With our Verbatim CD-RW media, read speeds were reduced to 10X-20X CAV, identical to Toshiba's other DVD drive in our comparison. Though compatibility is more important than performance with CD-RWs, the extra speed the Plextor and Pioneers provide in this area is a nice bonus. We'd like to see Toshiba step up in this area for those who do a lot of CD-RW reading.
As we expanded our testing of CD-R media, so did we do so with CD-RWs. We now have Sony and Memorex-branded 4X rewritable media to test for compatibility as well. The verdict? The SD-M1401 read these other two brands with no problems and at nearly identical speeds to the Verbatim.
Now that we have finished all aspects of CD-ROM performance, it's time to switch gears and examine how our test unit performs as a DVD reader.
DVD-ROM Performance Results...
