CR52-M: CDRW ramps up to 32X

Final Thoughts

MSI did a few things differently with this drive. The Mini form factor and the 52X speed throttle have not yet shown up in any other optical products that we are reviewing. Fortunately, MSI did not sacrifice performance either. 32X RW drives have been available for a little over a month now, but as they hit the mainstream market full force, MSI will be one of the more aggressive leaders in performance and price. The Lite-On LTR-52327S and OptoRite CW5201 are both priced within a dollar of the CR52-M. However, the Lite-On unit becomes the only alternative if you need Mount Rainer support. Most online vendors are carrying the CR52-M for about $42 shipped.

Is CDRW still worth pursuing? At $40, one has to imagine that all new systems should at least include a 52X burner, like the CR52-M. Unfortunately, MSI is heavily invested in the CDRW market and has not diversified into the DVDR sector yet. Although one can hardly call it a loss, Mitsumi (CR-485GTE) has developed and is selling 54X read and write drives (with 32X rewrite) at the time of this publication. Of course, even if MSI begins to loose its grip on the CD storage industry, the real question that has to be asked is how ready are they for the next generation of optical products? Stay tuned for our next optical storage reviews as we line up more DVDR drives than you can shake a stick at!