Portable DVDRW - Plextor PX-608U

Product: Plextor PX-608U Super Multi Portable Drive
Provided By: Plextor America
Price: $199.99USD MSRP

Introduction:

Although many people complain about optical storage such as CD and DVD media, the truth is it's the most popular type of storage available.  It works across different platforms and is relatively durable.  Every desktop computer available these days comes with a DVDRW drive and even most laptops come with an optical drive of sorts.  Today we are taking a look at the Plextor PX-608U Super Multi drive and comparing it to another slim line drive to see how it performs, and if it is a worthy purchase for those of you without DVDRW capabilities in your laptop.

Box Front

This drive is designed and marketed for consumers who are on the go, so let's get going.

Bundle & First Look:

The PX-608U has everything you need to get you going, but doesn't include any blank media.  It does include a software DVD, Quick Start Guide, AC Power Adapter, and a USB cable.  Thankfully the USB cable used is a standard mini-USB cable so if you lose it, you will be able to find a replacement quite easily.

PX-608U Bundle

Keep in mind that this drive requires USB 2.0, so if you have an older laptop or system with USB 1.1, you should upgrade the interface card to USB 2.0 before you burn a DVD.  Below are some more photos of this unit.  Click any image for a full-sized picture.

As you can see above, this unit is small.  It is essentially a high-end notebook drive in an external enclosure.  Because of this Plextor has called it portable, and it is quite portable indeed, but is not as convenient as an internal drive in your laptop.

On the next page we'll take a closer look at this unit and proceed with installation and some testing.