A little slower than its 12x and 16x counterparts, this is another DVD-RAM supportive drive and it ships with three RAM discs and a copy of Nero Express to have you up and burning right out of the box.

Much more efficient at reading CDs than writing them, Optorite took second place in our read tests, pipped by the Imation by a mere three seconds.

Samsung’s claim to fame with this drive is it’s slightly above average value for money score; priced at just $199 it represents good value and was only beaten by both award winners the Mitsubishi and Optorite for cost.

The AOpen DRW4410 performed on average in both performance and features, dropping a few positions given its rather expensive price tag for a single format writer.

Despite sitting in third place for write speeds and fourth overall for the read portion of our testing, this drive has a couple of trump cards up its sleeves.

Although lacking the additional functions of some of the more expensive burners such as the ability to write at the faster 16-speed, burn DVD-RAM or pack 8.5GB onto a single dual layer disc - what the Optorite does is provide all the basic DVD plus and minus burning you’re likely to need without having to fork over a sizable fistful of cash to do it.

One of the plainer drives, it lacks a front audio adjustment dial or headphone socket, but does deliver on fast CD writing without too much damage to your wallet.

Making it into the sub $500 price category, Pioneer offers a very competitive unit in its DVR-A06P DVD writer, supplied with a single -R and -RW disc and an excellent software package.

The Sony offers a comprehensive bundle, although it omits such niceties as IDE and audio cables.

Narrowly missing out on an award, this machine deserves a special mention for its execution and incredible value for money rating.

The Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Digital DVDXRW1248-069 was the clear winner out of all of the DVD burners we tested in this roundup. It had the performance, the features, and the value for money to easily stand out.

One of only two DVD burners this month to come with a two year manufacturer warranty, the BenQ DW400A offers peace of mind should things go pear shaped.

When it comes to CD-RW drives, both the Sony models in the Labs this month represent top quality and performance.

Supporting a maximum 12-speed burning, though without BURN-Proof, the AOpen CRW-1232 still manages to put on an outstanding show...

Great video, tons of features, easy to use... if only there was a PAL-friendly version

Coming in under our stringent pricing scheme, ASUS bettered it by $50 and managed to include some great hardware and features unavailable in some of the more expensive units.