HITACHI GD-7500

• Interface: Standard Enhanced IDE (ATAPI) bus interface (UDMA/33)
• Formats supported:
• DVD family: DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW,DVD-Video
• DVD-RAM family: 2.6 GBytes per side, 4.7 GBytes per side (Type 2)
• CD family: CD-DA, CD-ROM/XA, CD-R,CD-RW,CD-I, Video CD, Photo-CD,CD-Extra
• Reading of discs of 8 and 12 cm in diameter
• Data buffer: 512 KBytes
• Data rate:
• DVD-ROM: 16.2 MBytes/s (12X)
• DVD-RAM: 2.77 MBytes/s (2x)
• CD-ROM: 6 MBytes/s (40X)
• Access time:
• DVD: 120 ms typical
• DVD-RAM: 210 ms typical
• CD: 90 ms typical
• Error-free running time:
• MTBF 125,000 Power On Hours (POH) when used in office
• Installation: horizontal or vertical
• Weight: 0.98 kg

We got only an OEM version of this drive. The design is ascetic: there is only an Open/Close button on the front panel. The drive, however, has a dust-proof case. According to the manual, vibration and a noise level are low. Moreover, it supports operation with DVD-RAM Type 2 discs.

Test results

Tests of quality of operation with CDs

CD WinBench 99

• CDWinMark99 - Failed (the CD WinBench 99 hung in the CD-ROM Playback/TripMaker Deluxe test)
• CD-ROM Transfer Rate
• Inside - 2750 KBytes/s
• Outside - 5680 KBytes/s
• CPU utilization - 7.76%
• CD-ROM Access Time - 102 ms

Nero CD Speed

The following information on the drive is obtained with the Drive check utility:

• Vendor: HITACHI
• Product: DVD-ROM GD-7500
• Firmware version: 0005
• Buffer size: 512 KBytes
• Maximum read speed: 7056 KBytes/sec (40X)
• CDDA accurate: yes
• C2 pointers: yes
• Speed settings: 4X
• Read RAW mode: yes

According to these data, the drive is ideal, but later you will see that the program detected speeds incorrectly.

Tests of the drive with a standard CD

	HITACHI GD-7500
Average Speed	30.69x
Start Speed	17.84x
End Speed	40.68x
Random Seek	102 ms
1/3 Seek	115 ms
Full Seek	180 ms
Reading type	CAV
CPU usage 1x	1%
Accurate stream	Yes
DAE quality Score	10
SpinUp Time	5.17 sec
SpinDown Time	2.52 sec
Disc Recognition Time	6.17 sec

CD-ROM Drive Analyzer

CD-R reading

CD-RW reading

Reading of a scratched CD

The drive reads CD-RW discs at quite a low speed. In case of the low-quality disc the speed was almost zero, and the CPU utilization was unbelievably high.

Advanced DAE Quality (Nero CD Speed)

The drive has confidently coped with all the errors.

Soundtrack extraction from audio CDs (CD DAE 99)

	Licensed CD	Pirated CD
Average extraction speed	14.4X	14.2X
Total errors	0.00%	0.00%

Direct copying of data from a 780 MBytes CD-R onto a hard disc

The drive has copied successfully a 780 MBytes disc without any problems. The time it spent for the copying was 6 min. 2 sec.

Tests of quality of operation with DVD discs

Nero DVD Speed

Testing with a two-layer DVD disc

	HITACHI GD-7500
Average Speed	6.260x
Start Speed	3.43x
End Speed	4.37x
Random Seek	121 ms
1/3 Seek	135 ms
Full Seek	212 ms
Reading type	CAV
CPU usage 1x	20%
SpinUp Time	3.79 sec
SpinDown Time	N/A
Layer Change Time	345 ms
Disc Recognition Time	6.99 sec

DVD-Video playback with the Cyberlink PowerDVD 2.55

The DVD-Video was played without any problems; no artifacts were noticed. During changing the layer the DVD quality didn't get worse.

Noise characteristics

• Tray - 3/10
• CD
• Seek - 5/10
• Total noise - 3/10
• DVD
• Seek - 6/10
• Total noise - 4/10

The drive makes quite a lot of noise when working at the highest speed. When we reduced the speed with the help of external programs (CD Bremse, Nero DriveSpeed) the noise level got acceptable. It is possible to decrease the speed to 4x-8x-16x-17x (according to the program).

Vibration

When working with a badly balanced CD the drive didn't perform well. The vibration was quite noticeable even at the reduced speed, and at high speeds when reading high-quality discs.

Thermal conditions

There are no any complains about its thermal conditions. The data were read after an intensive 2-hour operation:

• T inside the case - 36°C
• T of the upper surface - 39°C
• T of the lower surface - 41°C

Possibility to make a multizone drive (RPC-1)

According to www.firmware.fr.st, the drive can become a multizone one by changing its firmware version. Or you can just null the region measuring counter with this utility.