When looking at specifications for CD-RW or DVDxxx drives, what do the 3 numbers mean?
A. The 3 numbers, eg. 8/4/32, translate to write/rewrite/read speeds. If you forget the order, just remember that in most cases the biggest number (fastest speed) is the read speed, the next highest number the write-once speed, and the smallest number (slowest speed) is the rewrite speed. This pertains to DVD writers too. The numbers are based on the read speed of the original drive made for that type of device. For CDs, the original CD-ROM (the 1x version) could read data at a speed of 150 KB/sec. The original DVD-ROM read data at 1.4 MB/sec, about 10 times faster than a CD-ROM. So to compare CD and DVD data-transfer speeds, multiply the DVD’s “x” number by 10 to get a rough equivalent to the CD “x” number. For example, a 2.4x DVD reads data at roughly the same speed as a 24x CD.
