Conclusion

It’s time to summarize our experience with the new external optical drive from ASUS.

As I already said at the beginning, portable optical drives have certain inherent drawbacks which we later saw in the tests. The SDRW-0804P-D is not to be considered as an equivalent replacement to the internal optical drive installed in your computer. Its main purpose is to give you ability to read and write optical discs wherever you are. And this model is up to its purpose with its small dimensions and low weight, high burn quality and low noise. With the above-mentioned reservations, this cutie may make an ideal companion not only for mobile but also for a desktop PC.

It is an enjoyable experience to work with this device and its minor flaws cannot obscure its obvious and numerous advantages which are listed below. But again, when evaluating this device you should make allowances for the category it belongs to. Portable optical disc drives are different than desktop optical drives and should be approached with different evaluation criteria. All the more so when the portable optical drive is also external.

Highs:

• Stylish design
• Good accessories
• Small size and weight
• Low level of noise and heat
• High burn quality

Lows:

• Rather weak error correction mechanism
• Minor flaws at burning dual-layer DVDs