text: what is the meaning of the 'x' usually found when representing cd-rom speeds... for instance my cd-rom is 52x   'x' represents the read (or write) speed of a cd-rom (or dvd,cd-writer etc.). 1x = 150/s kb appr. therefore 52x means 52 x 150 = 7800 kb/s. it can read about 7800 kb data from a cd per second.  t.c.