Optical Drive performance

I have a dvd reader and a cd/rw on my old desktop, and I noticed that the r/w runs incredibly loud. I also noticed on my dad's new Vaio that the optical drive starts off very loud (compared to our older notebooks), and then settles down.


Does the type of optical drive affect the noise?
(multilayer, dual layer*same thing?*, cd rw, blu ray, etc...)
I don't know if I want to upgrade to multifeatured optical drives if its just gonna get more louder.
I really only need something that can play dvds. and run smoothly.
I can use another computer, and spend the extra money elsewhere.

also, what does the 24x 8x mean? Will it run faster, louder, quiter, hotter?

 

No the write style only has to do with a completly silent laser and how it writes to the media. The noise is how the brand has desinged the casing and insulating for sound. SPeed does also ffect things. But mainly sound is per the manufacturer. Not all drives are created equally.

 

The speed only affects noise when it's writing. Then, faster speeds usually mean more noise. You could also have some badly balanced discs (cheap writables do this sometimes). Does this happen with every disc, or just one? But it's primarily a function of the drive. A higher quality drive is usually quieter, and more expensive. 24x8x, in the context of burners, means that it will burn a CD at 24x, and a DVD at 8x.