Alexandra Krasne

Teac 40x12x48 CD-RW

This drive took only 3 minutes, 18 seconds to write 650MB to CD-R on the fly, making it the third-fastest drive to complete that test. Its result was 41 seconds (26 percent) slower than the impressive time of the pace-setting Pacific Digital Mach 48, but it was only only 2 seconds behind the number two TDK VeloCD 40/12/48.
Teac offers a mere 9 hours of tech support on weekdays only, and calls are not toll-free.
The drive's ample software bundle includes Roxio Easy CD Creator 5.2 and DirectCD 5.2; Arcsoft PhotoImpression photo editing software; and MusicMatch Jukebox to play, encode, and manage your digital music. In addition, Teac says the drive is Mount Rainier compatible. According to the Mount Rainier site, this standard is supposed to enable "native [operating system] support of data storage on CD-RW," thus eliminating the need to install hardware drivers and CD-burning programs, like those from Roxio and Nero, for you to be able to drag and drop files. However, Windows XP doesn't support it, though Microsoft does plan to add it to the next full upgrade of Windows.
he Teac 40x12x48 CD-RW is a fast drive with a copious software bundle--it's a good deal for the money.

Buying Information

Teac 40x12x48 CD-RW 40X/12X/48X, IDE, internal, 8MB buffer, buffer underrun protection, Mount Rainier support, Roxio Easy CD Creator 5.2 and DirectCD 5.2, one-year warranty, 9-hour weekday support (calls are not toll-free). $ 100 40X/12X/48X, IDE, internal, 8MB buffer, buffer underrun protection, Mount Rainier support, Roxio Easy CD Creator 5.2 and DirectCD 5.2, one-year warranty, 9-hour weekday support (calls are not toll-free). http://www.teac.com/DSPD 323/726-0303