Forget about bulky optical drives taking up space on your front panel. We want shiny RGB and high-quality mesh panels. Those enhance our aesthetic. However, this sparks the question of whether optical drives are still useful today.
In this blog post, we’re taking a deep dive into optical drives, showcasing what they are, why you want one, and if they are still useful in 2024.
What is an Optical Drive?
An optical disk drive or ODD allows you to utilise CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs to listen to music, watch movies, and even play games. These drives harness powerful laser technology to read or write any data stored on an optical disc and translate this information into a format that your computer can understand.
There are two primary types of optical disk drives, including internal and external models which you connect to your PC or laptop via a USB cable.
Are Optical Drives Dead?
The majority of modern-day PCs and laptops no longer come equipped with an optical drive, with more games and content making the move over to digital. This has made optical drives virtually obsolete. However, we’re not quite ready to call time of death yet, for they still provide some handy benefits.
The vast majority of classic video games are still stored on those dusty CDs. To play these games and scratch your nostalgia itch, you’ll need to have a compatible optical drive. This is where an external ODD comes in! With a free USB port on your PC or laptop, you can plug in your external optical drive and jump straight into playing your beloved favourites. Sims 2, here I come!
What’s more, you can still find software installed on CDs, such as operating systems, drivers, or even editing applications. In order to successfully install and utilise this software, you’ll need an optical drive to read and write the data on the disk.
Finally, innovations made to optical technology could potentially bring optical drives back from the brink of death. Scientists have successfully developed a 1.6 petabit (Pb) optical disc, which is equivalent to one quadrillion bits of data. That’s a whole lot of s-p-a-c-e for your favourite games.
If you want to know more about 1.6 petabit optical discs and what this could mean for gaming, be sure to check out our article.
Why You Want an Optical Drive
If you’re still on the fence on whether an optical drive is useful in 2024, we’ve rounded up all the pros and cons below.
Pros
- Transfer speeds – optical drives can move data at relatively high speeds.
- Grants you the ability to play old games, listen to CDs, or watch DVDs.
- Can safely store and archive data externally and online
- Can make physical copies of software or even images on optical disks.
Cons
- Slower than modern-day storage solutions, such as HDDs and SSDs.
- Smaller storage capacities when compared to HDDs and SSDs.
- Not energy efficient – optical drives harness mechanical moving parts making them notably less energy efficient than SSDs.
- Compatibility – you’ll need to ensure you have the correct drive for the type of optical disk you wish to use.
- Easily damaged
- Not widely used anymore – most modern-day PCs and laptops don’t feature an integrated optical drive.
Can You Still Use an Optical Drive with a Gaming PC?
You can still use an optical drive with your gaming PC, even if it doesn’t have one built-in. With an external optical drive, all you need is a free USB port on your PC or laptop to successfully play any games, install software, or watch your favourite movies.
If you’re looking for an optical disk drive, Overclockers UK have got your back! We stock both external and internal ODD which you can install in your gaming PC. You can browse all our optical drives by clicking the button below.
ASUS ZenDrie U7M External DVD Writer
- DVD Writer
- Ultra slim design
- USB 2.0 connectivity
What Do You Think – Are Optical Drives Dead?!
Are optical drivers dead? Share your thoughts in the comments.
- 4 min read
Ruth Rowley
Author
Ruth has been with Overclockers UK for over a year and has gone on to write about everything ranging from in-depth hardware guides to monthly game releases.
Outside of writing blog posts, she can be found wrapped in a blanket with her black cat, engrossed in a book or playing life-simulation games such as The Sims, Stardew Valley, and Animal Crossing.
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