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    ----------External DVD Rom-----------

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by julian310335, Aug 4, 2008.

  1. julian310335

    julian310335 Notebook Enthusiast

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    It's seems that every notebook I have owned, the dvd-rom dies. I purchase a new notebook about every two years, and have to send it in for repairs to get the rom replaced. I'm buying a new notebook soon, and have an idea. I wan't to buy an external enclosure, and toss in a high end drive (maybe). It would save the life on my blu-ray player also.

    My question is, how will this effect gaming, does running through the USB make things slower?

    If you guys could set me up with a sweet deal decent drive, I would like to go this route.
     
    julian310335, Aug 4, 2008
    #1
  2. notyou

    notyou Notebook Deity

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    Going through USB will definitely slow it down, however there may be other ports that you could use, eSATA perhaps? But you also need laptop for eSATA which you likely won't have. Chances are you're stuck with USB, however it shouldn't be too bad unless you live off your DVD drive.
     
    notyou, Aug 4, 2008
    #2
  3. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    I agree with not you, if your laptop has a pcmcia or an express card slot, you can buy a express card or pcmcia to esata adaptor. Then you can plug your desktop based optical drive up to your laptop.

    If you are looking to buy a laptop, look for one which has an esata port, cause that could save you time and money with your external optical drive idea.

    Newegg has two 5.25" external enclosure which have usb and esata connectivity. The enclosures are about $60, which unfortunately costs more than the optical drive itself.
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010090092+1053807122+1054207137&Configurator=&Subcategory=92&description=&Ntk=&SpeTabStoreType=&Order=BESTMATCH&srchInDesc=

    Just make sure to buy a optical drive which has a sata interface, that way you can simply slide it into the enclosure and you are ready to use it.

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Aug 4, 2008
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  4. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    Why not replace the internal optical drive yourself? On most notebooks this is a simple task. See here for some tips.

    I don't think USB 2 interface speed is an issue. If my memory is correct, 1 x CD speed is 150kB/s, so 52 x is about 7.8MB/s (and most notebook optical drives only go to 24 x = 3.6MB/s). The upper limit of USB transfer rates for hard disks is just under 30MB/s.

    However, the higher speed and power rating of a desktop optical drive will mean that it also has shorter access times.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Aug 5, 2008
    #4