256kb vs 512kb data buffer in DVD-ROM drives: will I see much difference when playing DivX movies and games from cdrom?!

wrote in message ...
Hi,

I've noticed that some DVD-ROM drives have a 512kb data buffer instead
of 256kb. When will you see a difference? Will I get better performance
with 512kb data buffer when playing movie files (avi, mpeg) from a cdrom
in my drive or when playing games that perhaps also need the cdrom
drive, or is a 256kb DVD-ROM drive more then enough for those purposes?!
I don't intend to play DVD's, I will just use it as a CDROM drive but
wanted to know if playing games or video files (avi, mpeg) from a cdrom
will benifit from a drive which has a 512kb data buffer compared to
256kb?! Will avi files that use the DivX codec benifit from the 512kb
data buffer, since I believe the requirement for smooth playback of DivX
avi files from a cdrom are higher then normal avi files, but I don't
know if a 512kb vs 256kb data buffer has much to do with this?

Anybody could please explain this for both games and video files (DivX
avi, mpeg) on cdrom that play from the drive? Thanks in advance!

Mike.


You can read and store more data at one time for potential future access.
Most data read is sequential, thus the more data you have stored in the
buffer, the less time the dvd has to spin in order to keep maintaining the
buffer. You will get some performance boost. If you do a "real-life"
access comparison of the two DVDs, the 512k buffer DVD drive will appear a
little faster with the same speed rating. Its probably worth it if you
have the money.