ASUS CRW-4012A-U: High Speed Mobile Burning

Introduction

It has been a while since we have done storage reviews on AnandTech, so we have decided to take another shot at it!  We have several new products lined up for storage and optical storage lined up for the site.  To begin our journey back into the world of data management, ASUS was kind enough to send us their new 40/12/48x external USB 2.0 CDRW.

USB 2.0 has been slowly gaining acceptance, and virtually any quality motherboard made in 2002 supports the standard.  Does USB 2.0 have what it takes to keep a 6,000K/s stream to our burner?  Like the IDE offering, ASUS packs several features including DDSS II, FlextraLink and FlextraSpeed in their portable, compact 40x burner.

ASUS, as you most likely know, has a strong history of producing high end video cards and motherboards for several years now.  For example, a few months ago we took a look at the ASUS A7V8X KT400 motherboard. With tons of features and solid performance, we were on the overall impressed with the A7V8X.  Can ASUS continue their favorable high-end component trend into CDRW media as well?  Find out as we take a very thorough look at the ASUS CRW-4012A-U!