external drive question

[Gibson486]

My g/f is gonna get a notebook, but the notebook she wants does not come with a DVD/CDRW drive, it only comes with a eithr a CD-RW or a DVD drive. Which one should she get internally. I am thinking get the internal CD-RW and buy an external DVD (either UBB 2.0 or firewire) at a later date, or should she do this the other way around?

 

[sohcrates]

I haven't had much luck with external cd burners...especially USB ones. (as in, lots of bad burns and buffer underruns)

I would probably get an internal burner and get the dvd drive external later

 

[dew042]

Originally posted by: sohcrates
I haven't had much luck with external cd burners...especially USB ones. (as in, lots of bad burns and buffer underruns)

I would probably get an internal burner and get the dvd drive external later

usb 1.1 or 2.0?

dew.

 

[Gunbuster]

what laptop? if it has a flat (standard) bezel for the cdrom it's a good bet you can get a combo DVD/CDRW and put it in your self

why does she need a DVD anyway? DVD software is a joke, watch movies on a TV

 

[corkyg]

Well, I am the opposite of Sohcrates - I recommend the internal drive be DVD. That is what I use most on my laptop - especially when travelling. Movies are big in that mode. Burning CDs has never been a requirement on the road.

So, I use and external burner - and have ALWAYS used external burners on all system for the past 8 years! They used to be SCSI and now are Firewire - and buffer underruns, coasters, etc., are never part of the scene.

So, I leave my external burner at home when I head to the airport. DVD is much more useful on a long flight than a burner is.

I have three external Firewire burners and one USB 2.0. All are excellent - no coasters.

And if you can get it, a 3-way combo would solve all problems.

 

[sohcrates]

yep, my bad usb burner experiences were all with usb 1.1

sounds like 2.0 and firewire fix problems

 

[ElDonAntonio]

Which one will she need most? take that one internally.

Another way of deciding would be to compare the price of the 2 options (internal CDRW + external DVD VS internal DVD+external CDRW)

 

[Gibson486]

well, she wants the laptop to be in her price range. Gateway has a 1.9 Ghz P4-M notebook with a radeon 7500, 15 in. display, 30 GB HD and either a CD RW or DVD drive for only $1799. Free shipping too. Sounds like a good deal. She can get the combo drive for an extra $100, but she does not want to spend anymore because $1799 is already over what she wants to spend. So, she just wants to buy the dvd or CD RW when she has enough cash on hand. So far, i am thinking internal cd-rw since she will be using it for school.

 

[Gibson486]

bump

 

[ElDonAntonio]

does she really need a 1.9Ghz P4??? you can shave at least 250$ by going down to something like a 1.6Ghz

 

[pdo]

Just get an internal cdrw. She'll have more use with it then the DVDROM plus watching dvd on a laptop is pretty shtty.

 

[Gibson486]

that is the thing... since it is a special promotion, it is not available under 1.9Ghz.