While CPU, memory, OS and other variables don't often make a huge difference, there are some nonetheless. We have a computer that is used only for testing hardware. We do this so all tests can be compared reliably.

Test System:

CPU:  Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30 GHz 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H67MA-D2H-B3 (Intel H67 chipset)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 SATA 3.0Gb/s 500GB
Case Cooler Master HAF 912
Operating System: Windows 7 Enterprise x64 SP1

For Blu-ray Disc writers, the performance tests are normally broken down into six sections: CD read, CD write, DVD read, DVD write, BD read and BD write. Each benchmark test has been run three times. The score given is an average of the three.

CD Read Tests: For the read performance section of the CD-ROM benchmarks, CD Speed v4.7.7.16 is  used to test read speeds, access times and CPU usage. For DAE testing, CD Speed is used to give an overall speed rating.

CD Write Tests: To test the write speeds, Nero Burning Rom is used to write 650MB and 700MB to our test media. Times are recorded. To test rewrite scores, Nero is used again to time how long it takes to write 400MB of random files and directories. Then CyberLink's InstantBurn is used to test packet writing speeds. The same files are copied and pasted in Windows Explorer and timed.

DVD Read Tests: For the read performance section of the DVD benchmarks CD Speed v4.7.7.16 is used to test read speeds, access times, and CPU usage.

DVD Write Tests: To test the DVD write speeds, Nero Burning Rom is used to write a 4.38GB image to our test media. Times are recorded. Then CyberLink's InstantBurn is used to test packet writing speeds. For this, 4GB of random files and directories are copied and pasted in Windows Explorer and timed.

BD Read Tests: For the read performance section of the BD benchmarks, CD Speed v4.7.7.16 is used to test read speeds, access times, and CPU usage.

BD Write Tests: To test the BD write speeds, CD Speed's "Create Data Disc" feature is used to burn an entire BD-R/RE disc. Times are recorded. 

CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - Pressed CD:

For this test I used a pressed CD containing one Mode 1 data track. The disc is 74:38 in size and is full of data and directories.


 
   LG
BH16NS40
LG
BH14NS40
LG
BH12LS38
Plextor
PX-LB950UE
Transfer Speed
Average:
Start:
End:

35.89x
20.68x
47.45x

35.89x
20.86x
47.44x

35.04x
20.92x
47.68x

35.86x
20.94x
47.42x
Access Times
Random:
1/3:
Full:

123ms
131ms
197ms

123ms
128ms
197ms

131ms
146ms
213ms

116ms
135ms
202ms
CPU Usage
1x:
2x:
4x:
8x:

0%
1%
1%
3%

0%
1%
1%
3%

0%
1%
2%
3%

2%
1%
3%
6%

The BH16NS40 didn't perform as well as I had expected when reading pressed CD's. While rated at 48x, LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer came up a little short of this number in our tests. On a more positive note, the BH16NS40's access times were quite good. 

CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - CD-R Media:

For this test I made a copy of our pressed test CD. I used 12x rated Memorex Gold 74 minute media for the tests.


 
   LG
BH16NS40
LG
BH14NS40
LG
BH12LS38
Plextor
PX-LB950UE
Transfer Speed
Average:
Start:
End:

36.66x
20.85x
48.65x

36.67x
20.94x
48.59x

36.08x
21.14x
47.62x

36.64x
21.02x
48.57x
Access Times
Random:
1/3:
Full:

131ms
137ms
203ms

130ms
128ms
203ms

135ms
149ms
213ms

121ms
132ms
200ms
CPU Usage
1x:
2x:
4x:
8x:

0%
1%
1%
3%

0%
1%
1%
3%

0%
1%
2%
3%

3%
2%
3%
6%

The BH16NS40 was a little faster when reading CD-R media. Thanks to this small speed boost, the drive was able to reach a maximum transfer speed of 48.65x in our tests.

While LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer had no problems recognizing our 99 minute CompUSA media, it slowed down considerably when reading it back. As you can see, the drive reached a maximum transfer speed of only 35.17x.

CD Speed v4.7.7.16 - CD-RW Media:

For this test I made a copy of a pressed test CD. I used some PNY 80 minute CD-RW media for the tests. 


 
   LG
BH16NS40
LG
BH14NS40
LG
BH12LS38
Plextor
PX-LB950UE
Transfer Speed
Average:
Start:
End:

30.28x
17.47x
39.99x

30.28x
17.56x
39.98x

30.68x
17.86x
40.51x

29.99x
17.39x
39.60x
Access Times
Random:
1/3:
Full:

133ms
139ms
207ms

132ms
137ms
207ms

130ms
145ms
205ms

120ms
135ms
223ms
CPU Usage
1x:
2x:
4x:
8x:

0%
1%
1%
3%

0%
1%
1%
3%

0%
1%
2%
3%

1%
2%
3%
6%

While the BH16NS40 is rated at 48x when reading pressed and CD-R media, its CD-RW read speeds are limited to only 40x. As you can see, the drive came very close to reaching this speed in our tests.

CD Speed v4.7.7.7 (DAE) - Pressed CD:

For this test I used Pure Funk. The CD is almost exactly 74 minutes. This helps to squeeze the maximum performance out of the CD.

Exact Audio Copy can tell us a lot about a drive's capabilities. You can see from the screen shot that the LG BH14NS40 supports accurate stream, caches audio data and has the ability to retrieve C2 error information from audio CD's.     


 
CD Speed LG
BH16NS40
LG
BH14NS40
LG
BH12LS38
Plextor
PX-LB950UE
Average:
Start:
End:
DAE Quality:
Accurate Stream:
30.47x
17.73x
40.24x
10
Yes
30.47x
17.86x
40.25x
10
Yes
30.86x
18.28x
40.78x
10
Yes
36.23x
24.92x
47.84x
10
Yes

The BH16NS40 did fairly well in our DAE tests. While not nearly as fast as the drive from Plextor, it was able to rip pressed audio CD's at at respectable 40.24x.

CD Speed v4.7.7.16 (DAE) - CD-R Media:

For this test I used a copy of the Pure Funk CD. It's burned onto the same Memorex Gold 74 minute media I used in the CD Speed tests.


 
CD Speed LG
BH16NS40
LG
BH14NS40
LG
BH12LS38
Plextor
PX-LB950UE
Average:
Start:
End:
DAE Quality:
Accurate Stream:
30.18x
17.68x
39.79x
10
Yes
30.18x
17.75x
39.79x
10
Yes
30.26x
18.07x
39.90x
10
Yes
35.90x
24.89x
47.30x
10
Yes

The BH16NS40 was a little slower when extracting audio from CD-R media. While the drive still performed relatively well, it reached a maximum DAE speed of only 39.79x. So how did it do in CD Speed's advanced DAE tests? Take a look below.

LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer completed CD Speed's advanced DAE tests with an average score of 28.68x. The drive did not create any errors, but for whatever reason, it was not able to pass all of the on-the-fly copying tests. If you look at the advanced features, you can see that the BH16NS40 was able to read the CD-Text, subchannel data and lead in but failed to read the lead out section of the CD.