USB CD Drive

So you have one of those new-fangled netbooks, and you are happy. But what is this? Where is the CD drive and how are you going to install software!?

With the move towards smaller machines the bulky machinery for reading and writing CD’s and DVD’s is too large to fit inside modern laptops. What you really need is a portable CD drive that will let you read and burn files by connecting it to the side of your laptop or home computer.

Listed below we have selected 3 drives based on value, performance, and portability that we think are the best deals on the net.

1) Samsung S084D USB 2.0 CD and DVD Rewriter |  Our Rating:

One of the thinnest and lightest drives on the market and winner of an iF design award. If you are going to be on the move a lot and portability is important to you then it is hard to find a better choice. Being a combo drive, it can read and write DVD’s as well as CD’s, which can hold a lot more stuff. It’s powered off of the USB port so you don’t need an external adapter, and it is one of the few portable drives that can handle the smaller mini DVD format. Did we mention that it is also available in a variety of colors? A stunning effort that is hard to beat, and surprisingly it is still affordable to those on a budget.

Quick Specs:  8x DVD write speed, 24x CD write speed, Bundled software: Nero

Samsung USB 2.0 External Optical Drive SE-S084D/TSBS Super WriteMaster, Slim External DVD Writer (Gloss Black)

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$500.00

 
2) Toshiba PA3834U-1DV2 Combo Writer |  Our Rating:

Not far behind the Samsung, this is a tiny bit more expensive, ever so slightly bulkier, and it weighs 1.1 lbs to the Samsungs 0.7 lbs. Apart from that it pretty much does the same thing. We like the curved look of the drive and Toshiba have a reputation for producing extremely robust products. The mechanism is tray loading, which some people prefer over a slot loading model like the Samsung. The BurnNow software that is bundled with it is not the most intuitive, but the built in writing capabilities of modern operating systems mean that this is not a big deal. Finally this drive has all the technical McGubbins that you could ask for with an ABS system that keeps the drive quiet and buffer under run technology which results in less problems when burning. A good second choice.

Quick Specs: 8x DVD write speed, 24x CD write speed, Bundled software: BurnNow!

Toshiba Portable SuperMulti Drive PA3834U-1DV2

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$59.99

 
3) CD/DVD USB 2.0 Drive |  Our Rating:

While the above combo drives are all well and good, some people just want a cheap drive to install software with. And they don’t need nor want all this “burning” shenanigans. This budget drive reads CD’s at 24x speed and DVD’s at 8x – and that’s all you need to know. It looks sharp, it’s fractionally lighter than the Toshiba drive, and it could be just what you are after if you want a no-frills device that just works.

Quick Specs: 8x DVD read speed, 24x CD read speed.

USB 2.0 Slim External DVD ROM CD-RW Combo Drive Writer

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$14.99

Netbook computers come with many advantages over larger traditional laptops. With their small size, light weight, and long battery lives, they are ideal choices for those who need access to their computers away from the desk or office. There is, however, one significant disadvantage with which many netbook owners are unfortunately very familiar: The lack of an optical (CD/DVD) drive. This fact may lead some to choose a traditional notebook computer over a netbook, but many external  drives are available. If you are a netbook owner, why should you consider purchasing an external optical drive?

 1) First, an external optical drive makes installing applications on your netbook considerably easier. While netbooks were originally marketed as platforms to access web-based applications, the truth is that your netbook computer is easily as powerful as the desktops of a few years ago. Netbook computers can run many business and personal applications such as Microsoft Office which you may have purchased on CD. While it is possible to use another computer to transfer the install files to your netbook, this is a complicated and time-consuming process. An external drive will allow you to install your programs just as easily as on any other computer.

2) Second, an external optical drive with a disc-writer (such as a CD-R or DVD-R) provides a simple means of backup for your netbook. The very portable nature of a netbook computer exposes it to more risks than the average laptop. All computers should have their files backed up regularly, of course, but it is even more important to do so on a computer which endures the higher risk of damage that comes with being carried everywhere. A CD-R or DVD-R may have a lifespan of fifty years or more, which is considerably longer than the life of the average hard drive; this is an extremely stable way of archiving your important data.

3) Third, a portable USB CD drive that can also read DVDs attached to a netbook can allow the netbook to function as a portable DVD player for entertainment purposes. The newest drives are light enough to be quite portable, and running off a good netbook battery can easily run long enough to watch movies or television shows while on the go.

Although there are obviously some people in the world who can make do without, an external optical drive provides many valuable benefits to owners of netbook computers.