Plextor PX-708A

Despite DVD recorders rapidly dropping in price, they have still struggled to record CDs at reasonable speeds. With Plextor's PX-708A, that's a thing of the past, as it can record CDs at 40-speed. In real terms, this means that an 80-minute CD can be filled in around two minutes.

Fast CD recording isn't the only trick the PX-708A can perform and the drive will happily cope with both the '+' and '-' DVD formats to give maximum compatibility.

For the DVD+R format, Plextor has the first eight-speed drive, which should allow a full 4.7Gb disc to be written in around eight minutes, which is pretty fast. Unfortunately, you can't currently buy discs that support this speed. This meant that we could only test the drive at four-speed. Even so, it managed a full disc in 14 minutes 30 seconds, which is good.

The PX-708A is expensive but it feasibly replaces the need for a separate CD-RW drive. Plextor drives have the additional advantage of excellent instructions, all of the screws and cables you need for installation and a two year warranty.

Contact: Dabs 0870 429 3010
www.plextor.be