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    The PC (Personal Computer) is a highly configurable and upgradable gaming platform that, among home systems, sports the widest variety of control methods, largest library of games, and cutting edge graphics and sound capabilities.

    Optical Disc Drive

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    mikey87144

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    #1  Edited By mikey87144

    I've recently started to build a PC in the $1000 price range:

    GTX 760

    Intel Core i5 4670

    Other stuff too but that's not important at the moment. My question is should I go a bit over budget for a Disc Drive? I honestly wasn't going to bother but a couple of my friends made some good arguments. I'm one of the people who still buy CDs so I can rip the audio to get the best possible sound. That's it. That's all I use the disc drive for. Arguably there maybe instances where I might use it like installing a new program or creating a more permanent back-up disc. What do you guys think?

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    korwin

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    You can always just pick up an external one down the track if it bothers you, I use an external these days but that's mainly because my water stuff gets in the way.

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    zenmastah

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    To what format you rip your CDs?

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    subject2change

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    They are 20 bucks...how are you going to install windows otherwise?

    Do you not have an older computer you can take your drive from?

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    zenmastah

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    you can also install OSs from USB keys.

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    AlexW00d

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    Its $20, just get one.

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    mikey87144

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    #7  Edited By mikey87144
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    EXTomar

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    You should be able to grab one new off the shelf for under $50 easily if you just need a drive to burn disks. A little more if you want one in an "external external enclosure" that is either USB or whatever. If you live somewhere with a "recycle shop" you can probably buy one for pocket change but may not last forever.

    You can almost get away with a PC without an optical drive but there are still a few times it is necessary to burn or use a CD to transfer data for whatever reason.

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    SamStrife

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    They're so cheap it's silly not to get one...shit, Blu Ray drives are cheap as hell these days too.

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    71Ranchero

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    No reason not to get a optical drive. Even if you never need to use it, its still better then needing to use it and not having one.

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    zenmastah

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    Just like condoms.

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    Sooty

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    #12  Edited By Sooty

    @samstrife said:

    They're so cheap it's silly not to get one...shit, Blu Ray drives are cheap as hell these days too.

    Not really, why buy something you will never use? I've not used mine in like, 2-3 years. $20 is $20, could be spent on a better CPU cooler, etc.

    and my connection is so fast installing games from discs is actually slower than just downloading them, I even download some older games from newsgroups instead of using the disc versions I have of them because it's just faster and less hassle.

    @subject2change said:

    They are 20 bucks...how are you going to install windows otherwise?

    Do you not have an older computer you can take your drive from?

    With a USB key which makes installing Windows a 10 minute affair, more or less. Microsoft even provide a tool to get the Windows 7 and 8 setup on a USB key for you, 8 made it even easier. Installing from disc feels archaic and terribly slow after using USB drives.

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    Zoeytrope

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    #13  Edited By Zoeytrope

    I put an optical drive in my PC for my last build (around 2011) but it'll probably be the last time I do. I can't remember the last time I actually used it. My 'work' computer is a Macbook Air (can't have an optical drive) and I don't miss it at all.

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    colourful_hippie

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    @sooty said:

    @samstrife said:

    They're so cheap it's silly not to get one...shit, Blu Ray drives are cheap as hell these days too.

    Not really, why buy something you will never use? I've not used mine in like, 2-3 years. $20 is $20, could be spent on a better CPU cooler, etc.

    and my connection is so fast installing games from discs is actually slower than just downloading them, I even download some older games from newsgroups instead of using the disc versions I have of them because it's just faster and less hassle.

    @subject2change said:

    They are 20 bucks...how are you going to install windows otherwise?

    Do you not have an older computer you can take your drive from?

    With a USB key which makes installing Windows a 10 minute affair, more or less. Microsoft even provide a tool to get the Windows 7 and 8 setup on a USB key for you, 8 made it even easier. Installing from disc feels archaic and terribly slow after using USB drives.

    This, I would rather get one when I actually need it (which has been never up to this point). In my case I won't bother with one until I sell my PS3 because I'll need a personal bluray player after that.

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    jsnyder82

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    I've never paid over $20 for an optical drive. Just buy one. I bought one so I could rip all my old CDs in lossless format. Totally worth the twenty measly bucks.

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    TheHBK

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    Get one. 20 bucks, some for even 15. Yes you might not use it much, depends. It can come in handy when you want to rip old music from CDs or you have old computer games lying around you might want to try or you get some free software from someone. CDs and DVDs are still used. Also, I have it because for new games, I don't buy on Steam directly, I go to best buy and pick up a physical copy because it is nice to have the box. Installing from DVD is still faster than downloading from Steam.

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    mikey87144

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    I guess you guys win. Why not. I suppose it will burn discs faster than my laptop anyway. Remember the days when it was recommended you install 2 optical drives? How times have changed.

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    Slaegar

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    @alexw00d said:

    Its $20, just get one.

    That. You could also cannibalize one out of an old computer if you have one. I mostly use mine for older computer games like Crysis or Diablo II, but its nice to have when you want to play them.

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    49th

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    #19  Edited By 49th

    Yeah, they are cheap enough. There is likely to be a situation where you'll need one.

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    JJWeatherman

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    #20  Edited By JJWeatherman

    I recently bought an optical drive to play Flash Traffic. No regrets.

    Also, if you're spending $1,000 and only getting a GTX 660, you've made mistakes.

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    Ben_H

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    #21  Edited By Ben_H

    Just get the cheapest one you can find. At this point I only use mine for emergencies or installing Linux distributions, and I imagine for most folks that is the only time they use their drives too.

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    VACkillers

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    They are so cheap, its really not worth not having at least DVD-RW drive, you can pick one up for like 15$, or 20$ at a local store like walmart. For 15$ you might as well just get one if you still use it to burn CDs, and games are still going to be made on Disc for a long time to come still anyway, its especially handy buying a game on Disc instead of downloading it because games are starting to get absolutely massive in size now, and I personally dont feel like downloading 30-40GB a pop for each of the newer games, that would take me several days to download on my current internet speed which is the fastest net I can possibly get right now. Getting a Disc Drive is definitely still worth it, blue-rays are not, the blue-ray discs are expensive, and for storage wise, nothing beats a harddrive for that anyway.

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    mikey87144

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    #23  Edited By mikey87144

    @jjweatherman: I happened to be looking at an advice page and typed that. It's a GTX 760.

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    VACkillers

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    The GTX 760 is a much better choice :D

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    Zlimness

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    Why bother with a optical drive at all? I can't think of a single instance where I've had to use a disc in the past 4 years. Use a USB stick for installing Windows, an external HDD or online storage for back-up files, download and stream everything else. Yes it's cheap, but all it does is take space and make noise. I'm sure you could find most of your music in very good quality or even lossless online.

    Anyway, it's your choice. I say skip it though.

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    mikey87144

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    @zlimness: See I sort of don't know what to do about that. I buy a good amount of music digitally but then I pirate the flac versions. The last time I did that was with the latest Tech9 album.

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    Samael2138

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    I just put a new Bluray drive in mine, and it was $50. You can get a regular dvd drive for $20. You might as well, just in case

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