CD-ROM makers still chasing speed

TEAC is not the first maker to release a 32-speed drive but many observers have long suggested that the rush to such faster and faster claims is merely the prelude to the eclipse of CD-ROM by DVD-ROM. With recent splits in the DVD camp, that wisdom may no longer hold.

The CD-532E 32X is an Enhanced IDE CD-ROM drive kit (£82) or Ultra SCSI-3 drive (£89) with a maximum data transfer ceiling of 4,800Kbps and an 85ms average access time.

As with all top-end CD-ROM drives, the topmost speeds are only available while tracking the outer parts of the disk, but TEAC reckons that 1,380Kbps will be available over the innermost tracks. The firm also says that a unique disk-rotation mechanism reduces vibration and noise, the traditional plagues of CD drives that spin at such velocity.

TEAC: 01923-225235