LG SuperMulti GSA-4163B

Name: LG SuperMulti GSA-4163B
Rating: 3.50
Author: Elias Plastiras

Elias Plastiras

PC World

@pcworldau

20/07/05

Expert Rating

3.50 / 5

Pros

Great CD ripping and dual layer functionality

Cons

Slow burn speeds

Bottom Line

The versatility of this drive, coupled with its fine all-round performance and ease of installation, makes it a brilliant choice for those users looking to add a DVD burner to an old or new system alike. Its CD ripping and DVD+R DL reading and writing capabilities were particularly strong.

Would you buy this?

Yes 2
No 0

Price
$ 179.00 (AUD)

While we had to wait a while before we could get our hands on this drive, the wait was definitely worth it. It turned out to be one of the fastest and most consistent drives we've tested, as one of the most versatile. In addition to DVD+R/+RW/DL and DVD-R/-RW formats, the GSA-4163B also has support for non-cartridge type DVD-RAM discs.

This makes it a jack of all trades and one the few drives we have reviewed that is capable of burning to DVD-RAM discs. DVD-RAM writing is a great feature and should come in handy for those of you who have set top DVD recorders that use this format.

For burning, the GSA-4163B uses the PCAV method, which allows the drive to reach its maximum transfer rate faster than either pure CAV or CLV methods. This was the case in our Nero CD/DVD DVD+R simulated speed test, and this method helped the GSA-4163B achieve very high data write rates in that test.

An actual burn, however, did not produce such good results. A DVD+R burn ended up quite slow, taking 8 minutes to complete.

We found the reliability of all its burns to be very good and its DVD+R DL read performance, in particular, was excellent. It had strong read performance across all media and its very user-friendly installation program and low street price make it an ideal choice if this is your first DVD burner purchase.