CD, DVD & Blu-ray Drives

CD, DVD, and Blu-ray Drives

CD, DVD, or Blu-ray drives are typical features on desktop computers, but modern laptops often come without any drive at all. With cloud storage and streaming services available, the need for optical drives has decreased, so manufacturers are dropping them from computers to reduce the overall weight. Luckily, if you need to read or burn discs, you can install one or connect an external one.

Desktop computers tend to do best with internal drives, provided that they have the necessary slots for installation. Drives that connect to dedicated power sources are faster and relatively cheaper than the portable options.

The external drives have become rather small and no longer require plugging in. Thus, they are great portable options for taking your files with you when you do not want to drag the computer along. They connect to the computer via the USB port and are essentially like large memory sticks with lots more storage.

There is a huge difference whether a drive plays only CDs or also DVDs and Blu-rays. Think what kind of discs you need to read and burn. In case you need a drive for Blu-ray discs, buy the more expensive Blu-ray option first. This one is compatible with the CDs and DVDs, too, so you really need only one drive. Buying a drive that only plays CDs may seem like the cheapest option and is great if you only need to listen to music. However, investing in a DVD drive seems more reasonable as this too plays CDs.

Some drives only read the discs you feed them. Should you want to burn any yourself, you need a slightly different model. You can find many options for both tasks among ASUS CD, DVD, and Blu-ray drives, or even LG, Dell, and Samsung CD, DVD, and Blu-ray drives. If you are a dedicated Macbook user, obviously you need to opt for an Apple drive that is compatible with your computer and has the necessary software.