Laptop interna DVD-RW CD, DVD y Blu-ray

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Finding an Internal DVD RW Laptop Drive

When in need of an optical drive that can both read and write data from CDs and DVDs, DVD-RW drives are the way to go. With this kind of drive, you can load software applications, play your movies and music, and even burn them to a writeable CD or DVD. The drives can come as external or internal devices. Before getting an internal DVD-RW, here is what you should know:

What are the different types of formats in optical drives?

Optical drives can either be DVD, CD, or Blu-ray drives. They are further classified based on whether they read only or read and write to discs. The major categories are burners and Read-Only Memory (ROM) drives:

  • Read-Only Memory - ROM drives are those that allow reading of data from the compact disc, DVD or Blu-ray disc but do not support writing or recording any data to the optical discs themselves. This is with the exception of BD-ROM drives, which in some cases can write to DVDs.
  • Burners - Also referred to as writers, burners are designated with either an R, RW, RE, or RAM. recordable (R) drives record only once to a single disc but allow reading the burned disc several times. Rewriteable drives (RW) such as the DVD-RW will write more than once to a single disc giving them an advantage over the R drives. The recordable erasable (RE) is a term mostly used when referring to Blu-Ray Drives which allow writing and re-recording multiple times on a BD. Lastly, the random access memory (RAMs) is a type of drive that also supports writing, reading, and re-writing as many times but are only available for DVDs.

What are SATA and IDE in internal optical drives?

SATA and IDE (also referred to as PATA), are types of interfaces found on the motherboard of the laptop and on the DVD drive. These two should match for the drive to work appropriately. They differ as follows:

  • IDE/PATA - This connector was created in 1986 and is among the earlier interface types. It is capable of transferring data at a maximum speed of 133 Mbs per second, which is quite low compared to SATA.
  • SATA - The Serial ATA offers high-speed transfers. With the connector, you can transmit data to and from a disc at a maximum rate of up to 6Gb/s. This interface supports hot plugging and does not use jumpers like in the case of IDE connectors.

What should I look out for when getting a Rewriteable DVD drive?

Besides the interface, other factors to consider when getting an internal DVD-RW drive include the following:

  • Speed - Different drives come with different speeds for both reading and writing. A 16X rated drive, for instance, is 16 times faster than a 1X drive. You should choose the highest possible speed within what you can afford if you're concerned with performance.
  • Form factor - The size and shape of the DVD-RW drive should be one that will fit perfectly in your laptop. You should consider checking the interface your laptop has and the size of the drive bay before purchasing the drive.
  • Compatibility with the operating system. The last thing you want is to buy a drive that does not work with the OS running your laptop. Confirm what drives your computer can accept before buying.

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