cd/dvd drive question
 

Okay guys, i got another question for ya on preferences.. i'm going to be purchasing my new computer soon, and so i'm customizing to my specs.. so i have this question about cd/dvd drives.. do you guys like the combo drive that does both, or do you prefer dual drives? i would think dual drives would last longer, but i'm probally wrong,... so what do you guys like?? thanks again for the input!!!

Justin

I prefer dual drives, simply because I multi task so much. My setup can be ripping a dvd down for backup while also writing a data cd with no problem. However, if your system doesn't have the ram and processor for this, it's not going to work. Also, are you a multimedia freak? If not, you'd probably be best going with the combo drive, as it will save money. Sure, it might die a touch quicker, but not much. Plus, the savings and dropping prices on aging technology will more than likely balance this out.

Still, the ultimate question is...can you think of a time you'd be using 2 drives at once? Will it be often?

I prefer dual drives, but that's more for versatility than reliability. I do a lot of data replication and it's much eaiser to just pop the cd I need a copy of in one drive and a blank in the other than having to create an image and burn off that.

For unsolicited brand recommendation, LG and Lite-on are the highest quality I've ever found (I exclusively use LG optical drives in all my boxen), but with current prices being what they are you probably can't go too far wrong no matter what you buy. Optical drives are too cheap to kick up a fuss over these days.

I bought the dual drives on my new Dell 4700---if makes it a lot easier when you are moving info from one disc to another...and yea, it will take a little wear and tear off of them....

if money aint a issue then id always go with duel drives. when you go to copy a cd to a nother cd its 150x nicer.

dual drives are better, as they will last longer due to less work it has to do, plus consider that when a combo breaks then, you can't listen or watch something on your drive