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![]() DELL DW316
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$42.06
Overstock
+1 more shop
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Tray
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External
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Dvd
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Info
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Sep 2016
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81 ![]()
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![]() Asus BW16D1HT
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$93.99
Overstock
+1 more shop
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Tray
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Internal
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Blu-Ray
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Info
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Jun 2015
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80 ![]()
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LG GH24NSC0
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$29.68
Overstock
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Slot
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Internal
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Dvd
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Info
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Aug 2014
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80 ![]()
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![]() Asus DRW24B3ST
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$38.78
Overstock
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Tray
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Internal
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Dvd
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Info
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Sep 2010
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![]() Apple USB SuperDrive |
$83.99
Adorama
+1 more shop
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Slot
Info
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External
Info
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Dvd
Info
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Info
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Jun 2012
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77
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Buffalo DVSM‑PT58U2V
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$39.99
Adorama
+1 more shop
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Tray
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External
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Dvd
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Info
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Jan 2015
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76
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Asus SBC06D2XU |
$87.99
Overstock
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Tray
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External
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Blu-Ray
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Info
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Jun 2015
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75
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LG GP70NS50
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$63.13
Overstock
+1 more shop
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Slot
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External
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Dvd
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Info
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Nov 2013
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73
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Buffalo BRXL‑PT6U2V |
$99.99
Adorama
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Tray
Info
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External
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Blu-Ray
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Info
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Mar 2015
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72
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Transcend TS8XDVDS‑W
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$40.74
Overstock
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Tray
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External
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Dvd
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Info
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Dec 2014
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61
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Lenovo 4XA0H03972 |
$73.98
Overstock
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Tray
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Internal
Info
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Dvd
Info
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Info
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Jan 2015
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60
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Pioneer BDR212DBK |
$79.99
Adorama
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Slot
Info
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Internal
Info
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Dvd
Info
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Info
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Sep 2019
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60
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HP 652241‑B21 |
$127.99
Overstock
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Tray
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Internal
Info
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Dvd
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Info
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Oct 2015
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No matching products found.
What Are The Best Optical Disc Drive Brands?
We looked at the reviews for every optical disc drive and used this to calculate the average overall rating of each brand. The top rated optical disc drive brand is LG with an average rating of 88%. Compare all award winning optical disc drives.
Rank | Brand | Number of Optical Disc Drives | Price Range | Average Rating | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | LG Optical Disc Drives | 23 | $30 - $63 |
88%
995 reviews
|
|
#2 | HP Optical Disc Drives | 20 | $30 - $128 |
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Optical Disc Drive Buying Guide
Optical disk drives cover a wide range of internal and external devices meant to both read and write a variety of removable media. This means they can be used to both read data from discs (i.e - playing a movie DVD or Blu Ray) and also writing or ‘burning’ data (i.e - creating a music CD from individual mp3s, or permanently writing files to a disk for distribution).
While most computers used to house CD and DVD drives as standard, drastically smaller devices and a move towards cloud-based streaming mean that disc drives are being used less and less. Indeed many modern laptops and desktops no longer contain a disc drive at all.
This means that even though it is legacy tech, it’s still worth keeping a drive handy for those times you want to read the data from an old DVD, burn a disc for a friend, or watch a movie when you don’t have access to Netflix. This guide will explain the major points of consideration when choosing an optical disk drive.
Mounting & Portability
The first important consideration is what type of drive you want to get. While all our drives read and write disks, there are 2 main types - internal and external. It’s important to note that generally speaking internal drives can’t be used outside of computers, and external drives have to be powered via USB, and can’t be mounted inside a desktop or laptop.
Internal drives: These are meant to be placed into the computer body itself and wired directly into the system for power and data. They are used mostly for either replacements, or if you are building your own computer from scratch. Because these drives have to fit into a specific bay, it’s important to make sure you get one that is the right measurements and compatible with your computer. This also includes the correct mounting for the machine you’re wanting to install the drive into.
External drives: These drives are meant to be plugged into a computer (usually via USB) to serve as a temporary drive when one is needed. These drives tend to be more expensive than internal drives, but can be used with any computer. They are especially useful for laptops, since the current trend in ultra-thin laptops mean that most modern models don’t have a drive built in. Because external drives are removable, they can be easily stowed away until needed, making them helpful if you only need to read a CD/DVD occasionally. They are also very portable, making them good for watching movies or accessing data on journeys where you may not have access to a stable net connection.
Media Support
There are 3 main types of optical media supported by the disc drives on our site - CD, DVD and Blu Ray:
CD: Traditionally used for music, and while rather a legacy format, there are so many CDs in circulation that you are bound to need to access one at some point. All disc drives will read and write CDs, but the downside is they hold the least information of the 3 types.
DVD: DVDs are generally used for movies, since they are higher density, so can hold far more data than CDs. DVDs are still widely used for movies and video games, and can also hold a large amount of information, making them useful for backing up lots of files. Nearly all of our drives support both CD and DVD read writing.
Blu-Ray: The newest and highest density of optical media on the market, Blu-Ray discs can hold an enormous amount of data in a single disc. They are primarily used for very high-quality movies. However because they are a new format, Blu-Ray writers are far more expensive than CD or DVD-compatible models. Moreover, not all drives support Blu-Ray reading or writing, meaning that you may find other users are not able to read the data on the disc.
Read/Write Speedas
Finally, read & write speeds measure how quickly data can be written from & to the disc. This is measures in bytes per second - the higher the speed, the faster large files (such as movies) will be burnt to the disc, or read from the drive. The read-write speeds are also affected by the USB version supported - USB 3.0 supported drives allow far higher transfer rates than USB 2 drives, so it is worth seeking out the newest drive you can for the fastest data transfer speeds.
Optical Disc Drive Retailers, Prices and Features
Optical Disc Drive Prices
In total we found 13 cd burners ranging from $29 to $128. A new dvd rewriter costs on average $70 and 80% of dvd (re)writers are priced between $39 and $100. The LG GH24NSC0 is the cheapest dvd burner at only $30, and HP 652241-B21 is the most expensive at $128.
Cd (Re)Writer Brands - Price Range
The average price of Verbatim dvd (re)writers is $42 which is the highest average price of all optical disc drive brands. Verbatim dvd (re)writers range in price from $0 to $127.
The second highest average optical disc drive price out of all brands is Transcend cd rewriters with an average price of $41. Transcend cd rewriters start at $41 and their most expensive optical disc drive costs $41.
Buffalo dvd writers range in price from $0 to $100, and the average price of Buffalo dvd writers is $37 which is the third highest average price of all cd (re)writer brands.
Dvd Rewriter Brands - Average Ratings
We have checked 22 expert reviews and 3,437 user reviews for cd writers and used this information to determine the average rating for each brand of cd burner.
Biggest Dvd Writer Retailers
The biggest cd writer retailer by number of products currently for sale is Adorama. We found 2 current cd writer offers from Adorama.
How Fast Do Cd Writer Prices Drop After Release?
New dvd rewriters drop in price by an average of 6% in the first 6 months after they were first released.
If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of $0 on a typical $7 new cd writer by waiting 6 months before buying.
Disc Loading Types
The disc loading type refers to the mechanism by which the optical disc is loaded into the drive. Normally this is by placing the disc in a tray or by inserting it into a slot.
Tray is the most common disc loading type amongst new cd writers. We found 113 cd writers that are dvd burners that have a tray loading. We found 30 dvd burners that are dvd (re)writers that have a slot loading, making slot the second most frequently found disc loading type amongst new dvd burners.
Type
Type denotes whether the disc drive is meant to be placed internally into a computer, or used externally via USB.
Amongst new cd burners, the most popular type is internal. We found 83 cd burners that are internal dvd (re)writers. We found 52 cd burners that are external optical disc drives, making this the second most popular type amongst new cd burners.
Optical Drive Types
The drive type denotes what type of disc (CD, DVD,etc) the drive is capable of reading.
Dvd is the most popular optical drive type amongst new cd writers. We found 117 cd writers that are cd rewriters that have a dvd Optical drive type. The second most popular optical drive type amongst new optical disc drives is blu-ray. We found 26 optical disc drives that are dvd rewriters that have a blu-ray Optical drive type.
Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Optical Disc Drives?
The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying cd rewriters. For each retailer it shows the total number of cd rewriters where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying cd (re)writers. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was Adorama. 1 of their cd writer prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.
Proportion of Cd Burners for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?
Assessing how cheap each retailer is for cd (re)writers by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of cd burner prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's cd burner prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers.