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DVD Read performance:

For DVD performance we used Nero's DVDSpeed:

The rated read speed of the drive falls far short of the 12X spec, but this is still nearly double the speed of an 8X dvd reader. From an objective experience, we had not problems watching a variety of DVD movies with no slowdowns, but the same could be said of a drive sporting 8X DVD read capability, so upgrading from a slower combo drive to a newer one like this SM-332 should be done mostly for the benefit of CD writing/rewriting, unless you make heavy use of DVD read capabilities, such as hen ripping DVD movies for backups, or maybe when you anticipate a lot of DVD based games.

CD Writing/Rewriting Performance

Our reading and writing tests are run using Nero's Burning ROM software.

What we see above affirms that the SM-332 will perform at least at the level of a similarly spec'd CD-RW drive. We weren't expecting it to beat 40X drives, so the numbers of those drives are really only included to give you perspective against faster CD only function drives.

Conclusion

While some of you may have started reading this article with no interest in combo drives, several factors might make you think twice about these devices.

First, as seen in our performance test, adding DVD reading capabilties of the drive does nothing to impede the CD reading and CD writing performance of the drive. Second, this drive is offering very decent performance, both at the reading and writing level. It might not surprise you to know that the SM-332 is several months old now, and no longer represents the cutting edge of combo performance, just as 40X CD-writers are no longer the fastest in that area. The performance ceiling of combo drives is only a few months development behind regular writers, and we're likely to publish our review of Samsung's 40X writer version of their combo drive, the aptly named SM-340. As a consequence, this SM-332 can be found for the outstanding price range of around $80-90USD. That places this drive at a current price point just below or equivalent to 40X CD-writers or around $25-30 difference against 32X CD-writers.

That makes this drive perhaps one of the best bargains you could possibly look for if the conditions are right. Those who have no CD writer drives yet, or who are looking for a multi function drive for a system with limited expansion will find this an invaluable, and inexpensive investment.

Overall Score: 90%