LG GSA-2166D review

If you're looking for a DVD writer but don't have the room, or even the inclination, to fit one inside your PC, an external USB drive will do the job. We've looked at two such drives that fit the bill: LG's GSA-2166D and BenQ's EW164B.

BenQ's drive is the better-looking of the two, but we are more interested in performance. Both drives connect over USB Hi-Speed and have a similar set of specifications. Single-layer performance was very good from both the drives, with DVD+R discs written in five minutes and 45 seconds. LG managed this speed for DVD-R, but BenQ's drive lagged slightly behind with a disc-recording time of six minutes and 16 seconds. Still, it's hardly what we'd consider slow.

The BenQ EW164B was by far the best drive for DVD+R DL, recording a disc in a blistering 15 minutes and 17 seconds. This is the best performance we've ever seen for dual-layer media. Unfortunately, LG couldn't keep up. Its drive records DVD+R DL discs only at 6X, and it took just over 21 minutes to complete. LG has informed us that a firmware update will take DVD+R DL performance to 8X, but this was unavailable as we went to press.

The GSA-2166D is a LightScribe drive. With the correct media, you can laser-etch a label on your recorded discs. LG claims that its drive is the fastest on the market, etching a disc in around 20 minutes compared to the 40 minutes it takes most drives. This is true, but only in draft mode, which recorded a barely legible design on our test disc. Better quality results at Best quality take around 40 minutes, the same as for other LightScribe drives.

Both these drives perform well. If you write a lot of DVD+R DL discs, BenQ's drive is currently the best performer. If you want LightScribe then LG's drive is an excellent choice, and it should get faster once the firmware update has been released