Introduction

We definitely like things to be fast and up-to-date around here. Whether it be the fastest processor or the most overclockable stick of RAM with ultra high timings or the largest hard disk drive on the market - we must have it in our systems. I think I was born with this hungry and often expensive desire, anyway.

One type of product which is often overlooked by computer users is CD-RW burners. While it would nice for each and every one of us to have the latest DVD burners installed inside our systems, the fact remains they are still out of reach for most users with their high asking prices of around $300 - $400 US (upwards $600 AU). Until the time arrives when they become mainstream (which is still more than 12 months away), CD-RW burners will continue to sell well and we will see burn speeds continue to be ramped up by manufactures as much as possible - but with the amazing speeds already achieved today, we are slowly coming to the end of the road in this department.

Back a few years ago when CD burners started appearing, I was envious of friends who had their very own brand new, speedy 4/2/12 burners. Over the past few years CD burners have increased in popularity immensely and unsurprisingly this has proved as the fuel required by manufacturers to keep improving on this technology with features such as "burn-proof" and of course, yielding much faster burn speeds for us end-users.

A couple of weeks ago I decided it was time to upgrade my aging 16x burner and lash out to what Taiwanese based company Liteon were claiming is the World's Fastest CD-RW Burner! - We are talking about the 522446S to be exact with its stunning 52x write, 24x re-write and 52x read on-paper figures. How does it really perform though? How much noise does it make? Is the CD-RW media out there to actually make use of it?

We answer these questions and more today in this review of Liteon's latest and greatest CD-RW burner!