Leave it to Plextor to stand out in a crowd. In this case, it’s a very
big crowd, indeed, as manufacturers have rushed to capitalize
on the DVD-burning frenzy with drives that burn to both major
formats (DVD-R/W and DVD+R/W). The PX-708A burns DVDs at an
industry-leading 8x, but Plextor went an extra mile by creating an
optical drive that can burn at 8x using some types of 4x media!
And even when we used media that wasn’t on the recommended
list, we were still able to burn well above the 4x speed that the
discs were rated for. With the lowest access
times we’ve ever seen in a DVD burner,
and high-speed CD burning
(40x) to boot, Plextor has
created the ultimate
combo drive. What
are you waiting for?
Go get one. $280,
http://www.plextor.com,
reviewed on page
104
Sharing is caring: For $360,
the Plextor offers the same 8x disc-frying
goodness in its external version of the drive, the
PX-708UF. And Plextor paired its dual-format burning
with, naturally, dual interfaces: FireWire and USB 2.0.
DVD BURNER
Plextor PX-708A
We’ll be the first to admit that we’re
Shuttle sluts, but that’s because the
company that created the small formfactor
bare-bones PC continues to prove that experience
counts. Shuttle’s XPC machines have been—and still are—the
best in their class. The XPC SB61GB offers support for 800MHz
frontside bus Pentium 4 CPUs, dual-channel DDR, FireWire, and
USB 2.0. The enclosures themselves are wonderfully fabricated,
and wrenching on the Shuttle is about as good as it gets in a
cramped space. Shuttle even offers XPC boxes based on the
875P chipset, as well kits that support Athlon XP and Athlon 64
CPUs. $350, http://www.shuttle.com, reviewed October 2003Get a handle on the competition: FIC’s Ice Cube series
seems to be building momentum. You get a plastic exterior
instead of aluminum, but there’s also a case window, a
glowing fan, and that very cool handle built into the top of the
enclosure.SMALL
FORMFACTOR
BARE-BONES PC
Shuttle XPC SB61G