Toshiba SD-R1202

This model has nothing exceptional about itself. It looks pretty standard, just like many other common models. The white plastic panel is plain, without any logos or stickers on it. There is no audio jack on the front panel, only the eject button. That is why the potential customers will understand immediately, that this is not the best choice for music fans. The case is pretty robust due to a few grooves on the upper part of the case. As for the back panel, we have the power and interface connectors, analog and digital audio outputs, and the pin set with a jumper. We might add, however, that there are no standard descriptions for these pins and connectors on the drive. It is not on the plastic panel and not on the metal casing.

This Toshiba drive is no fast runner: 12x DVDs, 40x CDs, 16x write and 10x rewrite speeds are claimed in the specs. Average access time is 130ms for DVDs and 110ms for CD-ROM. The drive supports ATA/33 interface and features 2MB buffer. The OEM version comes without any accessories, except a service instruction leaflet.

Note: all SD-R1202 owners should make sure that they have a new firmware version. The older version produced certain problems when burning CDs. Toshiba’s Website recommends you to download a small utility to check the firmware version of your drive. If it says you have the faulty firmware, you should use the HP1026 update. Fortunately, this firmware was already present in our drive so we had no problem with it.

Toshiba SD-R1312

The design of this model is very similar to that of the above described Toshiba drive. There is only one difference: the front panel has an audio jack for headset and a volume control wheel. Besides, the upper lid of the drive case has no grooves or any other relief: it is absolutely flat. The back side of the drive is absolutely the same, too: the connectors have no marking still.

SD-R1312 is faster than the previous model in one characteristic only: burn speed is 32x. The other parameters are the same: 12x DVD read, 40x CD read, 32x CD-R burn and 10x CD-RW burn. Average access time equals 130ms for DVDs and 110ms for CDs. The drive also supports ATA/33 interface and features a 2MB buffer.

The same service instructions leaflet comes with the OEM version of the drive.