Out of the box: external CD/DVD drives | More resources
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![]() Felisa Yang, associate editor | What do you do when you need to install a new component in your computer? Right, you call your tech-savvy sister-in-law. Ever consider doing it yourself? No? That's OK. If you think a master/slave jumper might be some sort of adults-only jump-rope game, these external CD/DVD drives are for you. You won't have to open your computer's case to muck around in its guts. Simply plug the drive in via the USB port, install the software, and you're good to go. An added benefit is that these external CD/DVD drives are portable, and you can share them with your fellow technophobes.
On the downside, you'll pay more for an external drive than for its internal equivalent. And external drives are always slower at reading and writing discs than similarly rated internal drives. But if you don't mind these drawbacks, check out these external drives.
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| Product name |
Iomega SuperDVD QuickTouch 16X |
8X/4X/12X DVD+RW / 4X/2X/12X DVD-RW / 3X DVD-RAM / 24X/16X/32X CD-RW External Super DVD QuikTouch Video Burner |
LaCie d2 DL 16X DVD+/-RW |
| Review date | May 11, 2005 | June 24, 2004 | April 14, 2005 |
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Editors' rating (Editors' rating explained) |
Good |
Good |
Very good |
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| Review summary | This double-layer drive is versatile but is easily outpaced by other external DVD drives. | Iomega's jack-of-all-trades DVD burner turns out to be a master of none, though it does include good software and support. | This double-layer drive is expensive, but it's one of the fastest we've come across thus far. |
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| Basic Specs | |||
| Enclosure Type | External | External | External |
| Interface | Hi-Speed USB | Hi-Speed USB | Hi-Speed USB/IEEE 1394 (FireWire) |
| Weight | 3.5 lbs | Info unavailable | 3.3 lbs |
| Read Speed | 40x (CD) / 8x (DVD) | 32x (CD) / 12x (DVD) | 40x (CD) / 12x (DVD) |
| Write Speed | 40x (CD) / 8x (DVD-R) / 12x (DVD+R) / 4x (DVD+R DL) | 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD-R) / 8x (DVD+R) | 32x (CD) / 16x (DVDýR) / 4x (DVD+R DL) |
| Rewrite Speed | 24x (CD) / 4x (DVDýRW) | 16x (CD) / 2x (DVD-RW) / 4x (DVD+RW) / 3x (DVD-RAM) | 24x (CD) / 4x (DVDýR) |
| Buffer Underrun Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| OS Required | Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition , Microsoft Windows XP , Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition , Microsoft Windows 2000 | Microsoft Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP | Microsoft Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP , Apple MacOS X 10.1.2 or later , Apple MacOS 9.1 |
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| Product name | Iomega SuperDVD QuickTouch 16X | 8X/4X/12X DVD+RW / 4X/2X/12X DVD-RW / 3X DVD-RAM / 24X/16X/32X CD-RW External Super DVD QuikTouch Video Burner | LaCie d2 DL 16X DVD+/-RW |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
| Price range | Email me when this product is available | Email me when this product is available | Email me when this product is available |