Internal vs. External DVD Burner

[CreepieDeCrapper]

I'm having a hard time finding information on this, so I thought I'd just ask. What are the pro's and con's of getting an internal vs. an external DVD/CD reader/writer? Assuming the PC will have firewire and USB 2.0 as possible interfaces for the external drive.

I'm considering getting only an external optical drive for my new PC but can I boot to this drive? What other considerations should I make (besides cost) before going the external route?

Thanks!

 

[phisrow]

More or less any modern PC ought to be able to boot from a USB device, so an external drive would be no problem. Anything since dirt can boot from an internal ATAPI device; but this doesn't much matter if you are getting a new machine.

Performance will likely be a few percentage points down compared to internal, and CPU use will be a few points up. Nothing major; but it is there.

Basically, if you have some reason(aesthetic, space constraints, desire to use the drive on multiple machines, etc.) to go external you will have no practical problems. It will cost more, involve more cables, and perform slightly worse, so don't do it just because; but if you have a reason, go for it.

 

[corkyg]

I have three computers, and each has an external DVD burner. So - I gave it a try. No dice! Here's why. None of my system BIOSes support USB device boot. If the external burner were SCSI, then it would. The reason is, when the boot cycle occurs, there are no USB or Firewire drivers present - so those devices do not exist until Windows is loaded.

If, however, you have a newer system that allows USB device boot, then it would be possible for an external USB burner to do that.

 

[CreepieDeCrapper]

thanks for the replies, since my machine isn't built or purchased yet, i should be safe with being able to boot from a usb device... my main reason for wanting an external drive is for convenience of location, i plan to keep my pc a little out of the way from my desk chair and would rather not have to get up and down just to deal with the cd/dvd drive... i may actually mount the drive under my desk so it doesn't even take desktop space either

 

[corkyg]

I can understand that. My main computer is under my desk - I use external burners mainly as a long time legacy from external SCSIs - because they were more reliable back in the early 90s. I have a DVD-ROM drive internally in all systems for the occasional boot. That only happens about once a month or so. With a new machine, you probably will have USB boot as a choice - then it should work OK. Good luck.

 

[Peter]

Modern BIOSes do support USB devices natively. You can boot to DOS from a USB stick or floppy, and you can boot your OS installer of choice off a USB CDROM.

Note that I said "modern BIOS". Particularly Award's tends to fail these things rather miserably, while AMI's has it very well sorted.

 

[CreepieDeCrapper]

thanks for all the great info... sounds like i'll want to check with my mobo mfg before deciding on this route, just to make sure i can boot from usb

of course, my other option is to get a cheap internal read-only cd/dvd drive for the occasional OS installs and use the external drive for my day to day stuff, i was looking at this plextor actually... any thoughts?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827131362

EDIT: this one is appealing because it has a firewire connection, too... if i'm correct with my thinking, firewire is a little more efficient than usb 2.0 due to its autonomy, iow, i don't think it's as cpu dependent as usb

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: CreepieDeCrapper

firewire is a little more efficient than usb 2.0 due to its autonomy, iow, i don't think it's as cpu dependent as usb

Firewire will beat USB 2 on sustaineddata transfer. I use it for externalburners and my scanner, and HDDs.

 

[CreepieDeCrapper]

Originally posted by: corkyg

Originally posted by: CreepieDeCrapper

firewire is a little more efficient than usb 2.0 due to its autonomy, iow, i don't think it's as cpu dependent as usb

Firewire will beat USB 2 on sustaineddata transfer. I use it for externalburners and my scanner, and HDDs.

aha, that's what i've read before thanks for the clarifcation. it seems then the external optical drive SHOULD be connected via firewire for optimal performance

meaning if i go that route, i'll still need an internal bay drive for booting... no biggie as they are really cheap

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: CreepieDeCrapper

. . . meaning if i go that route, i'll still need an internal bay drive for booting... no biggie as they are really cheap

That's exactly the way I have two systems setup. Also - with the internal DVD ROM you can do Disk Copies in one operation.

 

[CreepieDeCrapper]

Originally posted by: corkyg
That's exactly the way I have two systems setup. Also - with the internal DVD ROM you can do Disk Copies in one operation.

smooooooooooth... firewire helps here since sustained data xfer is necessary to avoid "coaster burning", good idea

 

[Cerb]

Here's what I was able to easily find (Google gives tons of places to buy with user reviews, dammit!):
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2696&p=10
I wish I could find some numbers w/ optical burning, but CDFreaks' search isn't liking me ATM, I guess . I know I saw some just a few months ago, and USB was almost as fast (unlike sustained transfers on HDDs, where FW wins by miles).

Coasters are dealt with by the drive, and are not a major concern anymore. I can say from experience, though, that USB burning pretty much ruins any great multitasking ideas you might have at the time, and is only slightly better about that under Linux.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: Cerb

Coasters are dealt with by the drive, and are not a major concern anymore. I can say from experience, though, that USB burning pretty much ruins any great multitasking ideas you might have at the time, and is only slightly better about that under Linux.

That is very true, Cerb. External burning for me goes back over 10 years. The most reliable burners were external SCSI. Firewire is a SCSI derivative. Those early years with a $900 Pinnacle 2X burner with $4 CDR blanks (shocking!) caused me to develop habits such as never multitasking when burning. That's why I have more than one computer - all with external FW burners. If I need to do something else in parallel, I just use a different machine. Linux is its own world.

 

[Cerb]

With new kernels and apps (er, new kernels and K3B ), USB is basically transparent. From what I've read, FW is, too. Linux is generally much smoother/snappier in multitasking, but the general high CPU load of USB (maybe lots of context/thread switches that wouldn't be needed using a more hardware-centric interface? Just conjecture) causes almost as much of a percieved loss of The Snappy as in Windows, and it is quite significant. However, it's leagues above where it was 2-3 years ago, when ALi, VIA, and Cypress chips would freeze devices and cause corruption if used too much.

 

[CreepieDeCrapper]

multitasking isn't really a concern, i don't burn all that often and prefer to "get myself a sandwich" as my parallel task

i'm more concerned with not having to get my lazy ass up and out of my chair JUST to put a disc in and out of the drive tray... and if using an external drive, would like to be able to boot from that guy as well (which has already been covered earlier in this thread)