Introduction

We had seen our first 52x CD-RW drive review a couple of months back in the Lite-On 52x24x52x model. Although the time difference it takes to complete a writing session between a 48x and a 52x writer isn't that vast, you can't hide the fact that a 52x writer is undoubtedly the fastest CD-RW you can find in the market right now - and we'll probably not see any CD-RW drives that writes beyond the 52x terminology (well, maybe 56x, but does it matter anymore?).


Today's subject is the 52x24x52x CD-RW drive offering from AOpen. While AOpen isn't exactly a new player in the optical storage market, they have largely focused their attention on the manufacturing of mainboards. Leaving their CD-RW brand behind more established house-hold names such as Plextor, Yamaha, TDK and Lite-On, just to name a few. But like many vendors, AOpen have also jumped into the 52x writer bandwagon and to their credits, are one of the first few vendors to launch a 52x24x52x writer into the market.


Without further ado, let's take a look at the specifications of the drive before proceeding.