A good CD-ROM drive can be like a good car. Both need to be reliable, quick, quiet, easily handle moderate bumps and jolts, and need to be able to operate under demanding conditions.

When we tested ASUStek's CD-S400 40X CD-ROM drive a few months ago, we found it to be a perfect partner for high speed installs and general usage, and it lived up to those car-like expectations that you'd hope for in a top of the line model.

Never one to rest on their laurels, particularly when their sister company AOpen continues to up the bar for performance CD-ROM drives, ASUS is set to introduce a new family member into their line of CD-ROM drives next month. Named the CD-S500, this new drive offers the market's first low cost road to a 50x throughput speed. With impressive stats, and a strong family pedigree, the CD-S500 would seem like a shoe in to top the hierarchy of current ASUS CD-ROM drives.

Is the CD-S500 the new CD-ROM performance King?