# Stand-Alone Optical Disk Drive Recommendations Needed



## officerripley (Jun 28, 2022)

Anybody here on SF have a stand-alone optical disk drive? Neither of my comp's have an internal one so I've been thinking about getting a stand-alone one; I see they're only about $35-$40. Any suggestions appreciated; thanks.


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## Murrmurr (Jun 28, 2022)

35-40 bucks is extremely reasonable but maybe not the best quality.

Here's the top-rated ones.... https://www.lifewire.com/best-external-optical-drives-4584282

Second on the list is in that $35-40 price range.


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## SeniorBen (Jun 28, 2022)

Murrmurr said:


> 35-40 bucks is extremely reasonable but maybe not the best quality.
> 
> Here's the top-rated ones.... https://www.lifewire.com/best-external-optical-drives-4584282
> 
> Second on the list is in that $35-40 price range.


I don't trust these websites that do ratings. Usually, they're just testing brand new products, so it doesn't tell you anything about how long they're going to last.

The most reliable way to choose a good product is to look at the ratings and reviews on Amazon. Even if you don't buy it from Amazon, you can still find out what people who actually bought the product think about it. And if it's an Amazon's Choice product, there haven't been many returns.

That said, all the products in that review except for the last one were Amazon's Choice, so there you go.


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## Murrmurr (Jun 28, 2022)

SeniorBen said:


> I don't trust these websites that do ratings. Usually, they're just testing brand new products, so it doesn't tell you anything about how long they're going to last.
> 
> The most reliable way to choose a good product is to look at the ratings and reviews on Amazon. Even if you don't buy it from Amazon, you can still find out what people who actually bought the product think about it. And if it's an Amazon's Choice product, there haven't been many returns.
> 
> That said, all the products in that review except for the last one were Amazon's Choice, so there you go.


Yeah, I picked the site that had the most popular sources for electronics - Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy.


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## officerripley (Jun 28, 2022)

Thanks, guys for the recommendations!


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## s76l42 (Jul 13, 2022)

officerripley said:


> Anybody here on SF have a stand-alone optical disk drive? Neither of my comp's have an internal one so I've been thinking about getting a stand-alone one; I see they're only about $35-$40. Any suggestions appreciated; thanks.


You don't need to spend a lot. It also depends on what you want to do. This is what I have and it can burn disk's as well as read. Amazon.com: ASUS ZenDrive Silver 13mm External 8X DVD/ Burner Drive +/-RW with M-Disc Support, Compatible with both Mac & Windows and Nero BackItUp for Android devices (USB 2.0 & Type-C cables included) : Electronics


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## Don M. (Jul 13, 2022)

I've got a SimpleTech external hard drive...160GB...that I keep attached to my PC....primarily as a backup, in case my HD dies.  I've had it for over 5 years, and I don't think I paid more; than $30 from EBAY,  My PC does have a CD drive built in.


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## ronk (Aug 1, 2022)

I have preferred the drives that have their own power supplies. That's mainly because I don't understand the ones that have two USB cables. Now I have two PCs with internal optical discs.


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## OneEyedDiva (Aug 1, 2022)

I just posted about this in the what have you bought thread. SSD hard drives are a bit more expensive. I just got one about a week and a half ago. It was $109 plus tax but I had a $20 Amazon bonus to use. I'd seen them upwards of $200. I have a LaCie Rugged and Western Digital that have not failed me; neither are SSDs. Western Digitals now go for $48 on Amazon for a 1TB (recommend at least that much storage). I've had mine for several years and it's still serving me well. The prices of these things have come down because I paid more than that for mine from Amazon. Check out my posts #4,062 and #4.067 (reply to HollyDolly) on this page:
https://www.seniorforums.com/threads/what-have-you-bought-recently.42032/page-163


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## ronk (Aug 1, 2022)

OneEyedDiva, an SSD drive and Optical Disc Drive are two entirely different things.


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## officerripley (Aug 1, 2022)

An update: I bought an LG optical disk drive, haven't gotten around to using it to put music cd's onto both my computers yet (the main reason I bought it) but I also got it to play movies on the computers; have tested both out and it works fine; if interested, this is the one I got: https://www.amazon.com/LG-WP50NB40-Portable-Blu-ray-Writer/dp/B015HLN9TA/ref=sr_1_7?crid=K1RRE700GEPK&keywords=lg+bp50nb40+external+slim+blu-ray&qid=1659358002&sprefix=lg+BP50NB40,aps,138&sr=8-7&th=1.


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## JustDave (Aug 1, 2022)

I bought an LG about 5 years ago, because my laptop didn't have an internal drive.  I hated the laptop, which I don't use anymore, but the external LG still comes in handy.  It's fast and flawless, although I think the newer ones are less bulky.  But with a desktop that I'm not taking anywhere, bulk doesn't matter.  I've owned a couple other externals in the last 10 years, but I can't remember the brands.  My LG is the best of the lot.  I don't know if my external LG reflects the quality of all LG products or not, and I doubt that the model I own is still available.  Most modern designs now have to be slim.  Slimness is a compromise.  That's why the new slim desktops don't have disk drives.  They claim it's because everything you need on your computer can be streamed, but course you don't own what you stream.  You have to keep paying for it month after month.


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## Nathan (Aug 1, 2022)

ronk said:


> I have preferred the drives that have their own power supplies. That's mainly because I don't understand the ones that have two USB cables. Now I have two PCs with internal optical discs.


Two USB cables?   Typically the USB cable transmits both power to the external drive and data transfer.


officerripley said:


> Anybody here on SF have a stand-alone optical disk drive? Neither of my comp's have an internal one so I've been thinking about getting a stand-alone one; I see they're only about $35-$40. Any suggestions appreciated; thanks.


$26, had it about 4 years, works great:  slim-dvd-burner


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