Specifications
Specifications according to Pioneer's manual/website:
- CD read speeds of 17.2X-40X
- DVD read speeds of 6.6X-16X
- Digital audio extraction speeds of 16X CLV
- 256 KB buffer
- 80 ms average random access time
- ATA-66 interface
For more information, click here to see Pioneer's online product page.
Pioneer sent us a bare drive. We're not certain if there will be a retail version at this time. Online vendors appear to sell the drive exclusively in OEM or white box formats.
Finally, the rest of the drive's vitals: The back of the drive houses an analog audio out. There is no digital out - Pioneer apparently reserves it for slot-loading ATAPI models only. The front of the drive features a standard LED typical of most DVD and CD-ROM drives, along with a large eject button and an emergency eject hole. Buffer size has been reduced to 256 KB from the DVD-115's 512 KB.
New to this model is an ATA-66 interface. However, the drive is only capable of a theoretical maximum of 21.6 MB/sec sustained transfers when reading DVDs at 16X, so using the drive with an ATA-33 controller should have no negative impact on performance. Our testbed remains equipped with the BX chipset's native ATA-33 controller. Stay tuned for a future ATA-66 vs. ATA-33 control article featuring this drive.
The drive arrived with firmware revision 1.07. No updates were available during testing.
As far as noise levels go, the DVD-116 is not overly loud during full-RPM operation. There is a definite hum there, but it is pretty typical of most 40X-rated drives we've tested in the past. The drive also does a good job of staying cool during extended use. The drive gets a bit warm during stress testing and movie playback, but it doesn't reach levels that would be cause for concern.
Current online pricing for the DVD-116 is about $75.
CD-ROM Performance Results...
