Do I Need an Optical Drive? Detail Explanation

There was a time when optical drives were an integral part of any computer system. That’s because it was a cheap and the most widely-used storage system that was used as a versatile solution for storing and sharing data. First came the CD, then the DVD, and finally the Blu-ray. However, with the introduction of cheap flash memory sticks and lightning-fast internet connections, they have lost their appeal, so much so, that people have started excluding them from their computer builds.

So, do you still need an optical driver? Well, it’s difficult to answer since it all depends on your usage. However, in our opinion, as a cheap storage solution and emergency recovery, you should still buy one, since they are so much cheaper now. For a more detailed answer on when and why you should still keep your optical drive around, read on.

Use Optical Drives as an Affordable Storage Solution

DVD and blue-ray disks come a dozen a dime. Therefore, it’s an excellent storage solution if you want to store any data for the long term. They are reliable and virtually indestructible. Therefore, you can store your vast amount of data for cheap and you don’t have to worry about server failure either since you are storing your data physically, which is more reliable than storing them virtually. Blue-ray disks are rated to last over a century.

Another advantage optical discs offer is that once you have written something on a disk and put it away, there’s no chance of it getting infected with viruses and malware. Moreover, you can create multiple copies of a disk if you are worried about its safety. Let’s see.

Retro Gaming

If you were born in the ‘90s, you’d remember that PC games used to come in CD and DVD drives, since there were no other storage solutions that were cheap and reliable yet versatile. So, if you still want to keep your old game discs around (or buy them online) to relive those days every once in a while, you should keep your optical drive around. It will allow you to play those retro games since they also need to be run from the disk. Also, you can use optical disks to keep a backup of your favorite retro game.

For Music and Movies

Even with the vast popularity of streaming services, there are still a ginormous number of movies and TV shows that you won’t find anywhere else but on CDs and DVDs. If you are someone who enjoys those old-time movies and TV shows, it’s worth keeping or getting an optical drive. The same goes for classic music. Those high-quality lossless flac music files are still around and they come cheap too.

Emergency Computer Rescue Disk

Even though modern operating systems are way more reliable, they still crash sometimes. When that happens, you will need a rescue drive to recover your computer to its previous usable state. People used to use optical disks for that purpose. However, they use flash drives now. But, if you choose to keep your optical drive around, you can keep a bootable CD or DVD for that purpose. The advantage is that they are cheaper than flash drives and there’s no chance of accidentally formatting it which happens more often than not.

To Sum it Up

In the end, whether you need an optical drive or not depends entirely on you. If you are someone who likes to keep backups and want them securely stored online, you should definitely keep an optical drive. It can also serve you as an entertainment device as well as an emergency recovery device. However, if you are already in a cloud-based backup ecosystem and have access to high-speed internet, you can definitely live without one.

Hope we helped you make up your mind. Thanks for reading.