How to Build Your Own PC - Page 7

The Optical Drives

Nearly all operating systems and applications software comes on CD. It is therefore essential to have a CD-ROM drive for installing your applications. Certain programs requires the CD to be in the CD-ROM drive for that program to run. For example, various encyclopedia and games. CD-ROM can also be used for playing standard audio CD's on your PC.

If you are intending to watch DVD movies on your PC then you would require a DVD-ROM which can perform all the tasks of a CD-ROM as well as play DVD movies.

CD-ROM's come in various speeds, the faster drive, the faster it will install your applications. DVD drives specifies two types of speeds, one for the software installation and other for the DVD extraction. For example a DVD drive with 16x32x specification means that it is a 16 speed DVD and 32 speed CD.

Criteria for choosing Optical Drives.

1. Nothing much to say here, as there not much technology development within optical drives. Just buy a DVD-RW. Its all in one I say. It can burn CDs, CD-RWs, DVDs, DVD-RWs read and write data using software like Nero Burning ROM.

Conclusion

It is important to have at least one optical drives for software installation. I recommend you to use Sony, MSI or ASUS product for optical drives.

Build Your Own PC - Page 8