The nattily named GP08-NU10 is a Super Multi Drive, which means it can do lots of super multiple things. Stop us if we get too technical. It does, of course, refer to this external drive’s multiple format capabilities, which means that it can read and write (deep breath) all types of standard CDs and DVDs, both -R and +R, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL and DVD-RAM discs. It’s also compatible with both Mac and PC systems.
The drive is a slim (at just over 2cm in height) and stylish looking unit, finished in glossy white with black trim. It’s very much minimalist in design, with only an activity light and eject button on the front of the drive, that’s all. It’s hooked up to the computer via a supplied USB lead and it runs off the machine’s power supply providing that’s substantial enough. If your PC hasn’t got enough juice, there’s a second DC jack to USB cable included, which can be plugged in to draw additional power.
While this portable writer is obviously designed to be used with a laptop, one thing to bear in mind is that if you are going to use it with your desktop PC, the short (50cm) USB cable is unlikely to enable you to position the drive on the top of the desk.
The GP08-NU10 runs at up to 8-speed (24-speed with CDs), with a quoted sustained data transfer rate of 3.5MB/s with CD-Roms and 11MB/s using a DVD-ROM, along with an average access time of 150ms. We ran the drive through its paces using a speed testing utility and found these figures were about right, though the average access time was a tad slower at 180ms. It’s not a blistering performer, but it’s solid enough.
In terms of the bundle, aside from the drive itself and two leads, the supplied software consists of goodies from Cyberlink and Nero. The programs included are PowerDVD to take care of any movie watching needs and PowerProducer for video capture, editing and production.
Nero 7 Essentials is also provided for disc burning and back-up duties, along with extra utilities like InCD (an application that lets you drag and drop files to a disc just as if it was a floppy) and SecurDisc. The latter allows you to add password and copy protection to discs you burn, not to mention providing extra levels of data verification.
Perhaps best of all, this LG drive is priced very competitively at under £50, so it’s not going to break the bank.
Company: LG
Contact: 0844 847 5454