Refine search for Storage

  Leave a comment      Email this to a friend TrustedReviews Newsletters

Click to Enlarge

Like the AOpen drive, the TDK AID-880N is actually a re-badged NEC ND-2500A, which should ensure pretty good performance across the board. Unlike AOpen, TDK has gone to great lengths to make its drive look a little different, and I have to say that I’m pretty impressed with the results. The front fascia of the drive is black, but not just a matt black like the Sony. The surround is standard matt black, but the tray is a very shiny black, while the fascia below the tray is also polished, but not quite as deeply as the tray. There’s just a single, recessed eject button on the front, along with an indicator light and a manual eject hole.

The specs are, unsurprisingly, exactly the same as the AOpen drive. The TDK can write DVD-R/+R media at eight-speed, DVD-RW/+RW discs at four-speed, CD-R discs at 32-speed and CD-RW media at 16-speed. Also, like the AOpen and NEC drives, the TDK can write at eight-speed to four-speed DVD-R and DVD+R media.

Now, since the TDK and AOpen drives are more or less the same under the skin you’d expect the results to be pretty similar. And if you check through the graphs you’ll notice that these two drives are next to each other in all but one test, and in the total time graph they are separated by only 45 seconds. Like the AOpen, the TDK performed quite well across the board, and you’d be happy using it with any media.

Unlike many optical drives you can buy, the TDK retail box includes an IDE cable in case you don’t have a secondary cable in your PC. You also get mounting screws, a quick start guide and a manual eject pin. The latter will save you the bother of searching for a paper clip when you’ve turned your PC off and need the disc that’s in the drive.

The software bundle includes Nero Express 6, which although adequate for burning duties, isn’t as comprehensive as the full version of Nero shipped with many other drives. There is a whole complement of supporting Nero applications such as InCD for packet writing, Nero Back IT Up and Showtime, so you can do pretty much everything that you can do with any of the other retail bundle drives. Personally though, I see the inclusion of Nero Express instead of a full version of Nero Burning ROM as a bit of a weak point.

Looking at the overall time taken to perform all the tests, the TDK makes a good case for itself and its design definitely scores points with me. However, with a street price of £98.42 it’s almost £30 more expensive than the AOpen, making it very hard to recommend.

Verdict

The TDK is a good performer and looks a bit more stylish than most optical drives. The package is good, although a full version of Nero would have been preferable. But ultimately it’s the high price that holds the AID-880N back.

Add your comment