(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best external optical drives

Computers can get loud to some people, to others they don't care. It's really more personal preference than anything.

Here's my selection of parts for you to look at:

Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor | $139.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard | MSI 890FXA-GD65 ATX AM3 Motherboard | $129.99 @ Newegg
Memory | Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory | $47.99 @ Newegg
Hard Drive | Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $60.87 @ Amazon
Video Card | XFX Radeon HD 6950 1GB Video Card | $222.55 @ Newegg
Case | Silverstone PS05-B ATX Mid Tower Case | $49.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | Silverstone 600W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply | $68.65 @ Amazon
|| Total
| (Prices include shipping and discounts when available.) | $720.03
Additional Parts | -- Parts not available on parts picker --| --
Optical | Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW | $22.99 @ Amazon
Monitor | Asus VE228H 21.5" Full HD HDMI LED | $159.98 @ Newegg
Keyboard | Logitech Access Keyboard 600 | $21.95 @ Amazon
Mouse | Razer Deathadder 3500 | $44.93 @ Amazon
Mouse Pad | Razer Goliathus Omega S | $14.99 @ Amazon
Headphones | Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 | $93.90 @ buy.com
|| Grand Total
| (Prices include shipping and discounts when available.) | $1077.77

Now, I know I strayed dangerously close to your upper, upper limit but I have very good reasons for doing so which I'll explain below.

I'd also like to say (and I may catch some heat for this) I didn't skimp on your peripherals. I got you a great entry level gaming set of gear alongside a fairly high end machine. The headphones are EXTREMELY good though (you said you were an audiophile). The monitor is great quality as well. I spent a little extra on these because they will likely follow you through multiple computers. I've used the same mice, keyboards, etc. for 1-2 generations of builds.

Breakin' it down:

AMD Phenom X4 CPU is a great option for a gaming machine. It's a bit under the new i5's but plenty of power for a primarily gaming platform.

A little bit more money for a nice motherboard gets us our crossfire support for the possibility of future upgrades. also plenty of other ports and a good company name behind it.

A 2 stick 4gb memory kit leaving room to upgrade to 8gb later on. Kingston is a great brand as well.

Samsung Spinpoint 1tb for massive storage and the best value in hard drives to date.

Raedeon 6950 means maximum settings and some Crossfire possibilities in the future. We definitely didn't skimp here. XFX also sends their card out with a lifetime warranty.

Silverstone case. This is a relatively new case with a unique look but Silverstone is a great company. I chose it over the HAF because at the moment it's the same price without a rebate.

Silverstone PSU. Again, Silverstone is a great company. 600watts won't cover crossfire but in this budget we cant afford to; it covers this build fine though. 80+ certified.

Random optical drive. Newegg is usually cheaper but they don't seem to have any free shipping drives available at the moment so Amazon wins this round.

A very nice LED 1080p 22" (21.5) monitor. Well rated and good quality brand.

A nice keyboard that's a bit above your basic crap models. Not much special here but you will be gaming so I at least wanted something solid. Later on if you get more into it you can look into higher end gaming keyboards as an upgrade if you wish.

An excellent mid-range Razer gaming mouse with 3500dpi (which you turn down to your liking). Even if you don't use the full 3500dpi it will increase your precision because the mouse sensor is always running at max. Lots of people underestimate the value of great gaming peripherals and the mouse is definitely one of the most important.

The second thing people always undervalue is a good mouse-pad. I have one of these Razer Goliathus mats and I gotta say it's like I upgraded my mouse. It's a great investment if you're into it.

* Audio Technica AD700 headphones are THE BEST headphones I've ever had for gaming (and I've used $500+ headphones in the past). They are very good for music and movies as well although that's always best done with speakers. Anyway, back to gaming, these headphones have a HUGE sound-stage and contribute to excellent positional awareness in games. I've had mine for 4 years without so much as a bump in their performance and quality. I VERY highly recommend these.

I'm sure I'll catch hell from some people on here that you should be getting a better build and sacrificing peripherals but trust me. Good peripherals contribute a LOT more to the gaming experience than you would think. I've been doing this for years and I've played on everything from stock gateway mice to my now top end $100 Razer mouse; it's totally worth it.

Building a PC is a great experience. I just recently decided to upgrade myself so I have been searching around for good deals and such. If you have the budget to get a modular power supply it is probably the best choice especially if you are new to building computers. It will make your installation of the PSU and even routing the cables MUCH easier. You wont have to try and hide multiple strings of unused power cables. For instance my PSU has 8 cables coming directly from the box I am going to use about 5 of them and hide three of them. You on the other hand could just plug in the 4 cables you are going to use and not worry about the rest.

Yeah you won't loose any performance by getting the i5-2500 instead of the K. The K basically just means the multipliers are unlocked for overclocking. If your not going to use it, then its just 20 extra bucks for nothing. Then you also don't have to spend money on the after marker cooler.

http://www.amazon.com/Liteon-iHAS324-DVD-RW-Optical-Drive/dp/B002QGDWLK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1318486593&sr=8-2
is a pretty good drive. But honestly optical drives have been around for so long that any company still making them is still in business for a reason. Their products work and work well. Sony, Liteon, Asus, all good. Until you want a high quality blue-ray burner/player drive most drives will work just fine for you.

http://www.amazon.com/Lite--LightScribe-Layer-Drive-IHAS424-98/dp/B002SIMPXM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1318486844&sr=8-2

this guy can burn dual later dvds if needed. (Great for backup copies of large programs like some operating systems.) All and all just person preference.

Okay here's the build I put together. (Sorry about it being late I just got back home around 5-10 minuets ago.) I know you wanted a laptop but it'll be INCREDIBLY difficult to find one in your budget that will last for that long.

Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/CarbonRefugee/saved/4ukt

Mouse: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Redragon%C2%AE-Precision-Programmable-Cartridge-Breathing/dp/B00GY41MEE/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1398495378&sr=1-3&keywords=red+dragon+mouse

I have the mouse and keyboard and their wonderful, the cpu cooler keeps my 8320 cooler then Mr.Bean in a sundress at 31`c overclocked to 4.6 gabenhurts. (Also, my cpu generates ALOT more heat then yours) The PSU is what i'm using now and it's perfect, it should be more then enough to handle the i5 and the 290 overclocked. The case is quite good (My friend has it and it's way better then mine for ten more dollars.)

The OS I included because I wasnt sure if you needed one. (Also if you need an optical drive http://www.amazon.co.uk/LiteOn-IHAS124-04-Height-Internal-DVDRW/dp/B009GV7ZQG/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1398496226&sr=1-1&keywords=optical+drive )

And the 256gb SSD is for the OS and a few games which require faster texture rendering then a regular old HDD can provide (Such as skyrim modded out the wing wang with texture mods) The regular 2tb HDD is for other large games and media. (I have a 1tb and i'm already down to 598gb and i've only had my computer for 2 and a half weeks. For The extra 15$ its worth it.)

I have the monitor as well, it's quite good especially for gaming.

This build should run all triple A titles on max or high for the next 3 maybe four years. (However if you upgrade to 4k you will have some trouble.)

Edit: Spelling.

That motherboard will not support dual graphics cards. If this matters to you, consider upgrading to something like the ASRock Z68 Ext3.

This Corsair RAM is a couple bucks less.

OD is lying about selling that hard drive for that price. Expect to pay over $100 for it elsewhere.

The Corsair SSD isn't as recommended as a Crucial or Intel. You're also spending a bit much on a part that has little to no impact on gaming performance.

The 6850 is a nice GPU, but you really ought to be spending more than $150 if you expect good gaming performance for three years.

As great as that case is, you probably need to save some money with something like the HAF 912 at half the price.

That power supply is alright, but more powerful than you need. This Antec is actually a better value, even though it has a higher rating.

Shipping is going to kill you on that ODD. The Liteon from Amazon has free shipping.

There isn't any benefit from moving from a 23 to a 24 inch screen at the same resolution. If anything, you'd be better off with a smaller (21, 22 inch) screen since the pixels will be denser.

I hope your tush feels better soon :) and welcome back we will enjoy having you around again you are awesome! Redditting at work is awesome. I would love this for my computer or a gc toward my camera fund.

Looks good, as far as I can tell. Really, this is quite a solid build; you couldn't do any better at ~$600 plus monitor. A couple suggestions:

• RAM: This Patriot 8GB DDR3-1600 set is the same price upfront as the Corsair set, and also has a $20 rebate. Good reviews too.
  
  
• PSU: The Corsair unit is an excellent choice. You can also consider this OCZ unit which is $5 more upfront, and also with a $20 rebate. The OCZ unit features modular cabling, and is pretty well rated considering 500+ reviews.
  
  
• ODD: Save $4 by getting this Sony drive at Amazon. In my experience, all DVD drives are pretty much the same. I only prefer Sony due to the completely black front - no stupid white DVD logos.
  
  There's really not much else to say; you have a great build. Good luck!

The good news is that the discs that came with the hardware are obsolete and the updated software is available for download on their sites.

The bad news is some software, depending on the vendor, must be installed from the included disc because they do not offer a replacement on their site (to minimize how many people who don't own compatible hardware try using it). Creative and Canon with their DSLR's are two examples where proprietary software is exclusive to their included media and the website merely offers patches.

Also, your OS is downloadable and can be very easily installed to a USB drive of 8GB minimum capacity (it will be formatted to FAT32)

• Windows 10 Media Creation Tool
  
  
• Windows 8.1/8 Media Creation Tool
  
  With the spare storage on the USB drive, I would create a folder and place all your driver downloads there UNcompressed and sorted so your OS can find them when you point to it.
  
  If you are installing Windows in new hardware, remember to boot off the USB drive in UEFI mode (use opportunity to ditch MBR). After pressing the appropriate key on startup to dictate the boot device, look for UEFI next to the USB drive. Desktop motherboards allow you to boot with the typical BIOS/MBR method or the UEFI/GPT method without having to make any modifications, whereas laptops may require you disable "Secure Boot" before permitting booting
  
  
• Process to install Windows 10/8.1/8 via UEFI / GPT
  
  
• Process to install Windows 7 via UEFI / GPT
  
  Finally, remember to save this drive in a safe place for future use. Like in your motherboard box.
  
  That being said, if you still want to get an optical drive, here are five options:
  
  
• $29.99 Plextor PX-891SAF DVD burner
  
  
• $58.99 LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray Burner
  
  
• $65.99 Pioneer BDR-209DBK Kit Blu-Ray Burner
  
  
• $20.99 LG GP60NB50 USB DVD Burner
  
  
• $84.63 Samsung SE-506CB/RSWD USB Blu-Ray burner

I found these for £657. It is just a little over budget but it will be truly worth it.

CPU: Intel i5 4570
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CO8TA4I/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

GPU: GeForce GTX 750Ti
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ICUGOP0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IS69CFW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8gb
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004CRSM4I/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Case: Gigabyte GZ-Ma03
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HLERWMM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Storage: 1TB Western Digital Blue
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0088PUEPK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3FTJ2BGLE278D

Monitor: BenQ 21.5 Inch Monitor 1080p
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B7ZE0G2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

OS: Windows 8.1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FRAE7MU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Power Supply: EVGA 500w PSU
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00GP5Y6J0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

DVD Drive: Samsung 24x
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CC6YN6M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_10?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Keyboard: Logitech K120
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003ZY9Z40/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Mouse: Logitech B100
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AZKNPZC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

There are no external speakers provided in the build so you would have to use the Monitor's speakers through the HDMI. But this is an easy £30 upgrade in the future. The processor is a Haswell i5 and can be upgraded to an i7 Haswell with no compatibility issues. The GPU is also easily upgradable in the future.

The PC should run games much, much better than the prebuilt one you showed me. Again, building a PC is very easy to do if you watch a guide on the internet. It is comparable to LEGO pieces with a bit of wiring thrown in to make it more fun.

Presumably, this is a gaming rig, so here's a mATX white build that will be good.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor | $197.65 @ OutletPC
CPU Cooler | Deepcool - CAPTAIN 240EX WHITE 153.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler | $99.99 @ B&H
Motherboard | MSI - B350M MORTAR ARCTIC Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard | $89.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | $144.89 @ OutletPC
Storage | SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $83.88 @ OutletPC
Storage | Seagate - BarraCuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $44.38 @ OutletPC
Video Card | Asus - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB Dual Video Card | $289.98 @ Newegg
Case | Phanteks - Enthoo Evolv TG (Silver) MicroATX Mini Tower Case | $127.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply | EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $99.99 @ Best Buy
Monitor | Asus - VP228H 21.5" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor | $109.00 @ Best Buy
Keyboard | Corsair - STRAFE MX Silent Wired Gaming Keyboard | $82.99 @ Amazon
Mouse | Corsair - Sabre RGB Wired Optical Mouse | $39.99 @ Amazon
Other | BitFenix Magnetic LED-Strip Cable (BFA-MAG-30WK15-RP) | $16.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1427.70
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-21 23:39 EDT-0400 |

Here's a QcK mousepad, copy of Windows 10 with instructions on making a USB installer, and here's an external blu ray drive and external dvd drive.

Feel free to ask any questions.

For utility purposes, I would say this and this.

By using these two pieces of software (MakeMKV and HandBrake) you can make digital copies of any dvd or blu-ray disc you have for free. Personally, I've been assembling a collection of the best movies throughout human history to have when the infection hits and the zombie apocalypse arises. If you're proactive and willing to spend a little more, this is also a great investment for when the lights go out ;)

I went with a small (mini-ITX) case that I find beautiful, a core i3, SSD/HDD combo and a motherboard with built-in wi-fi. You'll have to buy a slim version of the blu-ray player / DVD-CD burner here ($62) and an adapter like this one ($8)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor | $134.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard | ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard | $84.99 @ Micro Center
Memory | Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $67.96 @ Amazon
Storage | Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $69.93 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $54.98 @ OutletPC
Case | Antec ISK600 Mini ITX Tower Case | $44.99 @ NCIX US
Power Supply | Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply | $28.99 @ NCIX US
Monitor | LG 22M35D 60Hz 22.0" Monitor | $89.99 @ NCIX US
Keyboard | Microsoft 2LF-00001 Wireless Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse | $19.99 @ Amazon
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $596.81
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-11 18:38 EST-0500 |

You can get a cheaper build if we go for a regular tower, though. Edit: that would be it, about $60 cheaper (when you include the optical drive in the other build)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor | $134.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard | Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | $44.49 @ Newegg
Memory | Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $67.96 @ Amazon
Storage | Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $69.93 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $54.98 @ OutletPC
Case | Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case | $39.99 @ NCIX US
Power Supply | Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply | $28.99 @ NCIX US
Optical Drive | LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer | $49.98 @ OutletPC
Monitor | LG 22M35D 60Hz 22.0" Monitor | $89.99 @ NCIX US
Wireless Network Adapter | Rosewill RNX-N150PCe 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter | $11.99 @ Amazon
Keyboard | Microsoft 2LF-00001 Wireless Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse | $19.99 @ Amazon
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $613.28
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-11 18:52 EST-0500 |

You can build a pretty decent rig with $1200... But it depends on what type of work you'd need to be doing on your laptop.

If you just need something for word processing, get the Asus X205TA or HP Stream 11, and then build a rig with:

• Gigabyte GTX 970
  
  
• Intel i5-4690K
  
  
• Asus Z97 Mobo
  
  
• Kingston HyperX 8GB kit
  
  
• WD 1TB 7200RPM HDD
  
  
• Corsair CX600M PSU
  
  
• Corsair 230T Mid-tower
  
  
• LG DVD-Rom
  
  That should put you around your price point and getting the best of both worlds. That machine WILL run WoW on ultra, and it'll leave you with a small laptop with great battery life to take to classes and take notes on.
  

I see a lot of builds here that either go for cost-effectiveness or power. I could be wrong, but it seems like your primary concern here is form factor with a modicum of power, so that's the angle I'll work with, cost-effectiveness be damned.

A lot of people have different ideas of what "light gaming" means. 2012 games are still relatively new, so I put forth two builds, depending on how much gaming you might want to do. Here's the first one:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor | $64.18 @ Micro Center
Motherboard | ASRock H81M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard | $64.98 @ SuperBiiz
Memory | A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $36.90 @ Newegg
Storage | PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $99.99 @ Newegg
Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card | $99.99 @ Newegg
Case | Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case | $84.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | SeaSonic 300W 80+ Certified SFX Power Supply | $39.99 @ Mwave
Other| Slim Blu-ray drive| $69.99
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $561.01
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-03 16:34 EDT-0400 |

This one uses the new miniITX Raven case that allows you to stick a full-size GPU in despite being a very slim design. I opted for 4 GB because I figured a media PC wouldn't multitask much, but another 4 GB is very simple to add.

PCpartpicker doesn't have slim Blu-ray drives, but I found one on Amazon. They're probably cheaper options if you shop around.

Here's one with less gaming "oomph", and much more pure media PC:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD A10-6700 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor | $148.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard | ASRock FM2A78M-ITX+ Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard | $90.38 @ Newegg
Memory | Kingston Fury White Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory | $45.99 @ Newegg
Storage | PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $99.99 @ Newegg
Other| Slim Blu-ray drive| $69.99
Other| StreamCom F1C Evo Case | $65.00
Other| StreamCom 150 W PSU| $35.00
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $555.34
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-03 16:54 EDT-0400 |

The case is tiny for sure, less than 200mm x 200mm. Very mac-mini like, but the case itself it hard to find. This is the only place I could find it so far. Newegg has some StreamCom stuff but not this particular one.

Windows, of course, would tack on another $100 or so to each PC.

Hope you post pictures if you decide to build one of these beauties!

What? A dedicated C&C ODD? That's.. an interesting one. Why are no other discs allowed to go into that? Do they need to stay in to be able to run the game?
Well, there are almost no camo coloured cases anymore. But nothing a bit of plastidip can't fix. Video on how to use plasti dip.

I actually found one solid case that does everything you want with 2 ODDs available.

• Be Quiet! Pure Base 600 | Review: 3 year old case, but still solid today.
  
  As for cases with just 1 ODD. There aren't as many as I actually thought there would. Almost all the cases that come out these days simply don't have it anymore.
  
  
• Fractal Design Define R6 USB C | Review: 2 year old case, but still probably the best silence optimised case available today. It comes with a tempered glass side panel, in case he cares about that. It just only got 1 ODD, but you can get a second one with a simple USB optical drive.
  
  I am working on a complete suggestion as well btw.

I got this (I ended up paying full price). It works really well, can read just about any disc I throw at it. according to this it works with Linux. Note: I have not tried this myself, however, I have played a blu-ray disk on windows with vlc and this player, and libaac, which is basically the only way you can play it on Linux other than ripping using MakeMkv. So I am pretty sure it will work.

Plenty of options, just find a USB one that has the features you need. The Apple one is nice, and matches and is covered under your Applecare which is nice since (in my experience) DVD drives are among the least reliable peripherals, but otherwise it's not really worth nearly double the price of a comparable third-party drive.

One option to consider is getting a Bluray drive, since you can find several options that are still cheaper than the Apple drive but add that extra capability. I got this one and both of the times I've needed to read an optical disk in the past year it worked well.

Key word in that sentence, though, is "both." I've essentially paid $40 each time to rip a disk - significantly more than the cost of the disk itself, or the cost of a flash drive and a case of beer to just rip the disk at a friend's house or library. I thought I would need it more, but I just don't. I can think of a few justifications for a drive; like if you had an extensive collection of movie or music discs that hadn't yet been ripped, or if you run or support a lot of legacy software. For one driver disc that probably won't work anyway, it's not likely to be worth the cost.

I would carefully consider whether this is something you actually need before potentially wasting money on a paperweight.

I understand that this model by Pioneer is a lot more expensive but wow it looks good https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-BDR-XS06-Blu-Ray-External-Burner/dp/B00TL4HGB2/ref=sr_1_21?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1504639227&sr=1-21&keywords=blu+ray+drive

Plextor and Teac used to be the best. Plextor PX-891SAF is $30 on Amazon. Sony and LG should also be pretty good and even cheaper, $18 will be enough.

That makes it a lot cheaper:

pc-kombo shared list

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 1700 | $289.99 @ superbiiz
Motherboard | MSI B350 Tomahawk | $99.99 @ Amazon.com
Memory | Corsair Vengeance LED white DDR4-3000 CL15 (64 GB) | $599.99 @ newegg
Storage | Toshiba DT01ACA200 2TB 64MB 7.200rpm SATA600 (2 TB) | $62.99 @ superbiiz
SSD | Crucial MX300 (525 GB) | $148.99 @ superbiiz
Case | BitFenix Comrade Midi-Tower - white Window | $59.99 @ superbiiz
Operating System | Windows 10 Home (32/64-bit, USB Flash Drive) | $102.99 @ superbiiz
| Total | $1364.93
| Generated by pc-kombo 20.09.2017 |

You can add an optical drive of course, the board supports it and the case has the space. https://www.amazon.com/Asus-Serial-ATA-Internal-Optical-DRW-24B1ST/dp/B0033Z2BAQ for example. All of them seem to have a black front :/ An external drive might be better, https://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-Portable-External-GP65NB60/dp/B00ODDEABK/. Then the NZXT Source 340 would be an option, for a better case.

PS: The Samsung 960 Evo could replace the SATA-SSD, it is a faster NVMe drive, you have the budget and would profit from it.

Thanks for the suggestions! Yeah, it seems more and more likely some kind of basic USB bus with many readers attached may be my best bet, unfortunately.

​

Duplicator is nice but I tried one on a smaller scale (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B005WLY7X8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and I couldn't boot into the duplicated cards from new Pis.

​

Appreciate it!

If you're looking for an easy to use drive without much consideration for security, etc, you might wanna consider a WD MyCloud. Simple enough to use, and it's wireless so you could access it on your TV, I believe.

For external disc drive, well, external drives aren't usually as reliable as internal, and they're slower too. But to get it done, you could check out this one. Or for no BluRay, check this one.

The white case doesn't have a 5.25 bay so I guess you should ask yourselves if the optical drive is really necessary. Or you could simply buy an external one (also available in white): you can store it anywhere easily since it's so small and only plug it when you have to use an optical disk. You'll realise that the instances are very rare.

I'm talking from experience: I bought a 64GB SSD at a time when
SSD prices where much higher and it was complicated to manage. My current SSD is 250GB and it still feels cramped but at least now it's manageable. 120GB is definitely insufficient.

The 80+ rating isn't just about energy efficiency, it's also about build quality, reliability and safety. If you leave the PC powered on 24/7, buy a 80+Gold and it will pay for itself over time. If not, 80+Bronze is ok.

If you have a computer it should be able to play DVDs if it has a CD drive. If it doesn't you can get an external CD/DVD drive pretty cheaply on Amazon and other online shops nowadays. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Rioddas-External-Portable-Rewriter-Superdrive/dp/B07DLRG9VH/

• The DVD Burner can be had for $19 on Amazon.
  
  
• You can get a Corsair 650W Modular Power Supply, also on Amazon for $99.
  
  
• The case is $81 on Amazon which is another $1 (plus free shipping if Newegg doesn't offer it).
  
  
  That will save you another $26 (plus maybe shipping savings) that you could put toward your video card.
  
  

I know of them, it's not my favourite idea. I prefer to keep it self contained, though it wouldn't be hard to just stuff it elsewhere on my desk when not in use.

One thing that's not entirely applicable is that we make fun of apple products for removing functionality from the device and giving it back as a dongle/adapter. But remove CD/DVD drives from PC's and use external ones.

It's not a 1:1 comparison though because apple does it to make their computers more unnecessarily thin as well as to sell you more of their overpriced shit, and PCs do it for more fans or other internal space.

Also, I'm not sure how an external blu-ray drive works. But I know you can get VLC to play discs off internal blu-ray drives, and the ability to quickly take snapshots like this at source quality using VLC without having to faff about with other shit is one thing I particularly like having.

At the end of the day it comes down to personal preference, and my personal preference, outdated and impractical as it is, is to have it all internal rather than external.

EDIT: After checking the cost of an external blu ray burner, they're almost double the price of an internal drive as well.

Interesting, has to be worth a shot. Essentially, you'd be patching up your Mini installation into a new home.

Here's how I'd approach it:

• Get a retail SL disc and get as far as getting this started on your new machine, using iBoot, and install to a small partition.
  
• GUID partition at least a main partition and a 10 Gig spare partition on the hackintosh.
  
• Clone the Mini to a USB external drive, or FireWire, if you have it available on the hackintosh.
  
• Boot the hackintosh under iBoot and use the Disk Utility to do a 'restore' from your Mini backup to the main partition on the hackintosh.
  
• Depending... either patch the restored partition immediately using Multibeast, or try booting it using iBoot, and patch with Multibeast.
  
  There's some potential snags here. You may not have the right graphics drivers available in the Mini install. Maybe other problems.
  
  Generally, you'll want as little hardware running during the process as possible, then gradually enable it as you get drivers installed. Audio, LAN etc. Any of these can panic a kernel. Also, run fix permissions after doing anything. Also, read up all you can here:
  http://www.tonymacx86.com/viewforum.php?f=81
  
  Of course, if you can just get an updated SL install up and running, you could easily just use migration assistant to pull all your stuff across, apps and data etc.
  
  As far as a DVD drive is concerned, here's what you need for a hackintosh, this one doesn't mess up sleeping etc.
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MRHOQG
  
  

• s/Lion/SL/ sorry, just did a SL hackintosh. Completely awesome, for $400 in bits and bobs in upgrades to an old AMD box.

It is a LG Slim Blu-Ray Combo Drive - SATA CT40N. Taking a look into the "frequently bought together" section, looks like I'll be needing this adapter. Thanks for the help.

You know you could also get something like this. http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SE-506BB-TSBD-External-Blu-ray/dp/B00AO1XFM0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1371414320&sr=8-3&keywords=blu+ray+driver+for+pc whats simple and great about them is that you just plug them into a usb port.

LG Electronics 8X USB 2.0 Super Multi Ultra Slim Portable DVD+/-RW External Drive with M-DISC Support, Retail (Silver) GP65NS60 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ODDE7K4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_K3M6ybRSYZGHE

If you still want to use disc's on the pc you can buy a USB dvd driver. It's just an external one you connect to your computer or laptop.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ODDE7K4/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1486037151&sr=8-14&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=disc+drive

For example. (On phone now so shortening the link is hard)

You should also be able to contact origin on this issue but perhaps you like still having a driver( I certainly do).

I did a similar swap a few months ago, I had no problems, and bought the following products:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058AH2US
and optionally, this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002IRY3ME

The second link simply provides you a way to still use your CD drive, in case of emergency. I haven't used it yet, but for 8 bucks, I figured why not?

I put my SSD in the original boot slot, and put my HDD into the caddy, but idk if this will matter. SMART status is verified on both.

You should install a fresh copy of OS X onto the SSD, if you have Lion, this can be done through via the "Recovery Partition," or through a USB drive.

You will probably need a phillips #00, and #000, and a Torx (can't remember what size, I think a 5 or 6) for the mounts on the hard drive. Ask me any other questions you have.

Immediately install TRIM enabler once you're all set up.

http://www.groths.org/?tag=trim-enabler

I'm actually getting ready to do this myself in a week or so. I have a Crucial M4 128gb. I picked up an optibay-type cage for the old HDD so I can keep it in the system, and an external enclosure for the superdrive when i've taken it out.

My gameplan is to pull the HDD, set it aside, and do a fresh install of Lion onto the SSD from a SD card (I'll push the Lion DMG onto the card before I get into the guts of the machine), then physically reinstall the HDD to the old optical bay. I'll copy what programs & settings I need from that drive, then delete everything I don't want to save that's still on it (i.e., leave my documents & music alone) and then fix the permissions by hand.

Wow. I feel dumb. Sorry, "optical drive" went right over my head. I am planning on getting one. I was looking at this one. Seem like a good idea?

Thanks for the response. Considering the cost of the adapter that you linked, would it not make more sense to pay a little more and go for a much smaller external USB blu ray drive? There were a few on Amazon going pretty cheap.

What do you think?

Looks good to me but skip on the disk reader, go with a USB disk reader instead. That way your PC will look more clean from the front.

https://www.amazon.com/External-Cocopa-Portable-Rewriter-Transfer/dp/B076KMVL8D/ref=zg_bs_1292112011_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3Y7QHJWDTMV21MTGVQ3P

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KR8VYJG/ref=s9_simh_bw_p147_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=0E8HEN104X4CZYCGB4MG&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=232517527&pf_rd_i=340831031

I know it's a dodgy looking one but the reviews seem quite positive.

amazon link

PS: when i look into those things, noise isn't on my list of things i care about, i just want to it to work well. Just a disclaimer in case that's a thing you take into consideration.

You need something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/External-Cocopa-Portable-Rewriter-Transfer/dp/B076KMVL8D/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1549041507&sr=1-3&keywords=external+cd-rom+drives

It's an external CDROM/DVD drive.

Now the bigger question will be can you run that game on Windows10?

Won't be able to help you much there.

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SE-506BB-TSBD-External-Blu-ray/dp/B00AO1XFM0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394663006&sr=8-1&keywords=samsung+bluray+drive+external

This drive is what I use, it does NOT need external power so it's ultra portable, very slim profile, plays bluray as well as write blurays, as well as read/write dvds and cds.

Component | Quantity | Price
---|---|----
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00I9XOSLW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2OO5Y1QFZ9J90| 1 | 25.85
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0054U7HIO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A17AS5ETPMZ9A1 | 1 | 48.95
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009O40UJO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1AUCPBF2P18HS | 1 | 53.02
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004CRSM4I/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1AUCPBF2P18HS| 1 | 80.23
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0088PUEPK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE | 1 | 39.99
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IGQ4UX8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE | 1 | 104.98
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009RMP14M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE | 1 | 29.99
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CC6YN6M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE| 1 | 12.34
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00H09BB16/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE| 1 | 69.99
Total | 9 | 465.34

All prices in Pounds. Sorry I had to do it like this, I don't know why the link didn't work properly.

Edit: don't worry, use this: http://i.imgur.com/K4vMRzh.png

Hopefully this works :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CC6YN6M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004QBUL1C/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0088PUEPK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004FPQL0E/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IGQ4Z3S/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008PDA9LE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ALYOTTI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007KZQE7Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Check this on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/U-Reach-Data-Solutions-SD300-Duplicator/dp/B005WLY7X8/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1498045375&sr=1-6&keywords=sd+card+duplicator

It's quite pricey though $140.

or:

buy two of these for $5 https://www.amazon.com/IOGEAR-MicroSD-Reader-Writer-GFR204SD/dp/B0046TJG1U

and they find some cheap usb duplicator/replicator like this for $50:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USED-1-2-USB-Portable-Mini-Memory-Stick-Duplicator-Copier-Pen-Drive-Thumb-Card-/142415173930

So, it will be 2x cheaper in the end and you will be able to clone usbs as well

I bought a used lite on, shipped from Amazon for $12. There are deals if you look. Definitely under $15

SANOXY USB 2.0 Slim External DVD ROM CD-RW Combo Drive Writer by SANOXY http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002782LTG/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_jXGotb094YJB1

I use one of these and it's brill

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SE-506BB-TSBD-External-Blu-ray/dp/B00AO1XFM0

I don't know if the Blu is region-free since I haven't come across a Euro blu-ray, but Euro DVDs work fine so I imagine the Blu-rays should as well (and if not, I'm sure there's a driver you can install).

Yes to use the installation disk you will need a disk reader/optical drive. You can purchase them that install into your drive bays or you can buy an external usb optical drive.

I bought this one back in 2014 and had good luck with it, but there may be cheaper ones. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AEU2J8W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Been using Pioneer BDR-XS06 with makemkv for about a year. Works great, no issues, and you can sometimes find it for under $100.

https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-BDR-XS06-Blu-Ray-External-Burner/dp/B00TL4HGB2

This drive is £13.15 when sold by Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/LiteOn-IHAS124-04-Height-Internal-DVDRW/dp/B009GV7ZQG/ref=zg_bs_430532031_1

Unfortunately it's out of stock at the moment but something like this will be available again quickly - it's a big seller.

You can buy an external optical drive like this so you don’t have to have one in your case.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DLRG9VH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_EHIjDbC4PABSC

Get an external Blu-ray burner. Something like this..

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SE-506BB-TSBD-External-Blu-ray/dp/B00AO1XFM0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377533707&sr=8-1&keywords=external+blu+ray+burner

Not too sure on server populations, probably Basilisk or EIF.

For optical drive, go buy a USB optical drive.

I have something like this.

I bought mine from bestbuy (because i wanted to use it same day) for $20-$30.

it might be worth trying to enter your key on steam and see if it will give you a steam copy. if not usb dvd drives can be had for cheap, and might be handy to have one around in case you need it.

http://www.amazon.com/External-CD-RW-Combo-Drive-Writer/dp/B002782LTG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1404335991&sr=8-2&keywords=usb+dvd

looks like Samsung is preffered for external. Guaranteed its not as fast as internal ones but for my needs it fits the bill. Comes with powerdvd software and other softwares.

You should be able to redeem on gog. But to be honest, if you are buying the very expensive CE, a very cheap disc drive shouldnt be that much of a problem

If you really want to. Try this

External optical drives are cheap and available, work on anything that has USB 2.0/3.0. Except for optical drives, there is no use whatsoever for 5.25. You can get CD/DVD burner and Blue-Ray reader combo, for 40$, then you have solution for every possible situation.

I used this and this. There are probably other ways, too.

I have 2 Cooler Master Blue LED 120mm fans and 1 Sony 24x DvD RW.

If I toss in an extra 5450, would you be willing to trade that for the mouse?

Spend the extra $10 and get a dvd burner instead of a just a dvd player.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SIMPXM

First result on Google is a Samsung external disk drive that does blu-ray and its less than $100

I have this and it works for my needs.


http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SE-506BB-TSBD-External-Blu-ray/dp/B00AO1XFM0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398625984&sr=8-1&keywords=blu+ray+burner+external

I guess try this one? The reviews are okay... If it doesn't work then you can send it back... https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00KR8VYJG/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

That doesn’t apply to this one.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DLRG9VH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_joSwDbZBZ2BA1

The problem I think is that Windows doesn't have a CD/DVD Disk driver. The drive now shows up in File Explorer, but instead of as a CD/DVD drive, it shows up as a "Generic USB Drive".

https://i.imgur.com/3ByGlC9.png

https://i.imgur.com/NzwxEuX.png

Shave a few bucks off with this optical drive

Cant beat free shipping on a cheaper item!

Probably less I know it's external but seriously that price though

As far as I know this is the only USB Blu Ray drive compatible with libre mode.

Basically blu rays are heavily encrypted and normally, even with a Blu Ray drive, you would need to have the specific key to decrypt and rip a Blu Ray (every movie has its own key you would need) and you would input the key and it would take ages to rip. With libre mode, all you do is put the disc in and it rips it with no fuss. Just put the disc in and press the start button. That’s literally it.

$24 on Amazon. Shit, some of the Nightwish CDs might cost more.

https://www.amazon.com/Rioddas-External-Portable-Rewriter-Superdrive/dp/B07DLRG9VH/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_147_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=22GJFRSPE899KPQW5V5B

Being on mobile I am unable to provide a direct link. Go to https://amazon.com and enter search term: external Blu-ray. Many of them are 50-60 dollars.

I didn't see your comment as being rude in any way, I'm not sure what you mean by that.

EDIT: Just for the heck of it
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00KR8VYJG/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1483063671&sr=8-8&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=external+blu+ray&dpPl=1&dpID=41kZSkUszsL&ref=plSrch

> Actually, ramping up to 16x is instantaneous, because the drives EXIST NOW.

Which of them ramp up instantly? The only drive I've ever used take time to spin up. Unlike HDDs these things aren't constantly spinning at a single speed. They take a moment to reach the max speed, especially when 16x is pretty much the absolute max speed you'll ever get from these discs.

For the sake of this argument I'm going to ignore the fact that there are no slimline drives that would operate at 16x (you need full rate for such crazy speeds).

I'm not going to ignore that the drive would probably sound like a jet engine. You need something like 10,000RPM to get 12x reads at the edge of the disc! I'm sure that, given your knowledge about these drives, you know how loud they get when spinning at full speed.

I'm also dubious of any drive saying it can perform over 12x consistently. Pushing from 12x to 16x is really pushing the physical limitations of the discs themselves. Even if the drives can do it under optimal performance, I see the dics themselves causing issues. I'm not saying it can't happen, but that there are so many issues involving it that I see it not happening most of the time.

> The vast majority of console users are NOT switching to SSDs, and changing it on the XB1 vids your warranty. This point is rather irrelevant.

This point was about referencing that PC is already trying to move to low seek times, so sticking with slow seek times seems like a backwards step.

> Why would the streaming be magical? The tech exists already, developers used it all the time on previous consoles-streaming tech is not arbitrarily limited to a certain speed.

You're going to have to actually explain what you mean by streaming now. I had assumed you were referring to some smart way to extract continuous data from a disc in order to avoid seek times. But it doesn't sound like that's what you're on about. I have no idea what you are on about...

> Yes, random read times are still an issue, but they're not a critical issue preventing the game from being played.

They are a critical issue involving load times. Load times are basically the single most annoying thing to a gamer. It's pretty much the entire reason the PC community has moved towards SSDs.

Oblivion actually duplicated data on their discs in order to attempt to lower this issue, that's how bad it is.

On a random 6x drive I found the average seek time to be 350ms! Even at 16x you're looking at a minimum of 130ms seek time (and it's unlikely to be a linear decrease, in truth it's unlikely to decrease all that much at all).

That's compared to the sub 9ms seek times of a HDD.

That difference is massive. Ridiculously massive. I can't even imagine trying to load a game like GTA or Skyrim from a bluray disc if the data isn't all perfectly in the right location. It would be absolutely horrible.

I got an SSD in my PC entirely due to Skyrim load times. That's 9ms to 0.1ms seek times. And you want to go up to 300ms!

Seek times are the single most important aspect of how long a game takes to load nowadays. It's not the speed it can read a continual block (though that makes a difference in open world games), it's the seek times.

To ignore those would be ignoring the the entire reason (beyond the crazy sound levels of a 16x blu-ray, increased cost, and larger form factor) that we install games right now.