LG GSA-E50L

Product Survey: External optical burners

The LG GSA-E50L is designed for use mainly as an occasional optical drive for netbook-type computers. As such, you'd expect it to be as small as possible, and most of all it light. Unfortunately that's not the case. It's larger than its competitors, and it weighs in at 390 grams, compared to 340 g for the Buffalo Technology burner. The power solution is very simple - power is handled entirely by the computer. If the current provided by the USB port isn't enough, LG has provided an additional USB cable to plug into the unit's power connector. However most computers now have USB ports that supply ample power. This is why we prefer LG's solution over a "Y" USB cable whose second connector serves no purpose. This external burner was one of the fastest at ripping an image of our test DVD, but the Samsung SE-S084B had a slight edge. The Samsung was also the least power-hungy unit during operation, making it more energy-efficient. By our calculations, the LG consumed 2.9 Wh compared to 2.7 Wh for the Samsung.