87
Rank
|
Kagoo Score
|
Average Review Rating
|
Price
|
Disc Loading Type
|
Type
|
Optical Drive Type
|
Available Colours
|
Release Date
|
|||||||||||||||
90 ![]()
Compare
Shortlisted
|
![]() Lite‑On IHAS124
|
£14.09
Ebuyer Business
+7 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
Internal
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
Aug 2013
|
||||||||||||||||
88 ![]()
Compare
Shortlisted
|
![]() Asus ZenDrive U9M
|
£43.69
Quzo
+3 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
External
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
Aug 2017
|
||||||||||||||||
88 ![]()
Compare
Shortlisted
|
![]() Asus SDRW‑08D2S‑U Lite
|
£21.54
BT Business Direct
+13 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
External
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
Feb 2013
|
||||||||||||||||
86 ![]()
Compare
Shortlisted
|
![]() Asus BW16D1HT
|
£72.24
Quzo
+6 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
Internal
Info
|
Blu-Ray
Info
|
Info
|
Jun 2015
|
||||||||||||||||
86 ![]()
Compare
Shortlisted
|
![]() Asus SDRW08U1MT |
£14.54
365games.co.uk
+5 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
Internal
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
Nov 2016
|
||||||||||||||||
86
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Asus SBC06D2XU |
£65.48
PC World Business
+11 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
External
Info
|
Blu-Ray
Info
|
Info
|
Jun 2015
|
||||||||||||||||
85
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Asus DRW24D5MT |
£11.49
PC World Business
+10 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
Internal
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
Oct 2016
|
||||||||||||||||
85
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Asus SDRW08U7MU |
£30.95
Overclockers UK
+3 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
External
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
Dec 2015
|
||||||||||||||||
85
Compare
Shortlisted
|
LG GTC0N |
£15.17
Novatech
+5 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
Internal
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
Oct 2015
|
||||||||||||||||
85
Compare
Shortlisted
|
DELL DW316
|
£30.77
Amazon US
+8 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
External
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
Sep 2016
|
||||||||||||||||
84
Compare
Shortlisted
|
LG GH24NSD1 |
£22.44
Quzo
+1 more shop
|
Tray
Info
|
External
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
Sep 2015
|
||||||||||||||||
84
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Asus SBW06D2XU |
£79.90
Quzo
+10 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
External
Info
|
Blu-Ray
Info
|
Info
|
Feb 2012
|
||||||||||||||||
83
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Asus SDRW08U5SU |
£29.11
PC World Business
+2 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
External
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
Mar 2015
|
||||||||||||||||
83
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Asus ZenDrive U7M
|
£25.76
BT Business Direct
+4 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
External
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
Dec 2016
|
||||||||||||||||
81
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Apple USB SuperDrive |
£17.46
Amazon US
+16 more shops
|
Slot
Info
|
External
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
Jun 2012
|
||||||||||||||||
80
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Apple SuperDrive
|
£62.99
Ebuyer Business
+2 more shops
|
Slot
Info
|
External
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
Aug 2015
|
||||||||||||||||
80
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Lite‑On EBAU108
|
£19.98
Ebuyer Business
+8 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
External
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
May 2016
|
||||||||||||||||
79
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Lite‑On DS8ACSH
|
£14.30
BT Business Direct
+5 more shops
|
Tray
Info
|
Internal
Info
|
Dvd
Info
|
Info
|
Jan 2015
|
||||||||||||||||
78
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Asus BC‑12D2HT Bulk |
£68.32
Quzo
+1 more shop
|
Tray
Info
|
Internal
Info
|
Blu-Ray
Info
|
Info
|
May 2016
|
No matching products found.
What Are The Best Optical Disc Drive Brands?
We looked at the reviews for every optical disc drive and used this to calculate the average overall rating of each brand. The top rated optical disc drive brand is LG with an average rating of 88%. Compare all award winning optical disc drives.
Rank | Brand | Number of Optical Disc Drives | Price Range | Average Rating | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | LG Optical Disc Drives | 23 | £13 - £82 |
88%
1,032 reviews
|
|
#2 | HP Optical Disc Drives | 20 | £13 - £146 |
Trending Optical Disc Drive Comparisons
Latest From the Kagoo Blog
Signup For Our Free optical disc drive Deals Newsletter
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Optical Disc Drive Buying Guide
Optical disk drives cover a wide range of internal and external devices meant to both read and write a variety of removable media. This means they can be used to both read data from discs (i.e - playing a movie DVD or Blu Ray) and also writing or ‘burning’ data (i.e - creating a music CD from individual mp3s, or permanently writing files to a disk for distribution).
While most computers used to house CD and DVD drives as standard, drastically smaller devices and a move towards cloud-based streaming mean that disc drives are being used less and less. Indeed many modern laptops and desktops no longer contain a disc drive at all.
This means that even though it is legacy tech, it’s still worth keeping a drive handy for those times you want to read the data from an old DVD, burn a disc for a friend, or watch a movie when you don’t have access to Netflix. This guide will explain the major points of consideration when choosing an optical disk drive.
Mounting & Portability
The first important consideration is what type of drive you want to get. While all our drives read and write disks, there are 2 main types - internal and external. It’s important to note that generally speaking internal drives can’t be used outside of computers, and external drives have to be powered via USB, and can’t be mounted inside a desktop or laptop.
Internal drives: These are meant to be placed into the computer body itself and wired directly into the system for power and data. They are used mostly for either replacements, or if you are building your own computer from scratch. Because these drives have to fit into a specific bay, it’s important to make sure you get one that is the right measurements and compatible with your computer. This also includes the correct mounting for the machine you’re wanting to install the drive into.
External drives: These drives are meant to be plugged into a computer (usually via USB) to serve as a temporary drive when one is needed. These drives tend to be more expensive than internal drives, but can be used with any computer. They are especially useful for laptops, since the current trend in ultra-thin laptops mean that most modern models don’t have a drive built in. Because external drives are removable, they can be easily stowed away until needed, making them helpful if you only need to read a CD/DVD occasionally. They are also very portable, making them good for watching movies or accessing data on journeys where you may not have access to a stable net connection.
Media Support
There are 3 main types of optical media supported by the disc drives on our site - CD, DVD and Blu Ray:
CD: Traditionally used for music, and while rather a legacy format, there are so many CDs in circulation that you are bound to need to access one at some point. All disc drives will read and write CDs, but the downside is they hold the least information of the 3 types.
DVD: DVDs are generally used for movies, since they are higher density, so can hold far more data than CDs. DVDs are still widely used for movies and video games, and can also hold a large amount of information, making them useful for backing up lots of files. Nearly all of our drives support both CD and DVD read writing.
Blu-Ray: The newest and highest density of optical media on the market, Blu-Ray discs can hold an enormous amount of data in a single disc. They are primarily used for very high-quality movies. However because they are a new format, Blu-Ray writers are far more expensive than CD or DVD-compatible models. Moreover, not all drives support Blu-Ray reading or writing, meaning that you may find other users are not able to read the data on the disc.
Read/Write Speedas
Finally, read & write speeds measure how quickly data can be written from & to the disc. This is measures in bytes per second - the higher the speed, the faster large files (such as movies) will be burnt to the disc, or read from the drive. The read-write speeds are also affected by the USB version supported - USB 3.0 supported drives allow far higher transfer rates than USB 2 drives, so it is worth seeking out the newest drive you can for the fastest data transfer speeds.
Optical Disc Drive Retailers, Prices and Features
Dvd Rewriter Prices
Dvd rewriters range in price from £11 to £190 and in total we found prices for 54 dvd rewriters. On average, a new cd rewriter costs £47 and 80% of cd rewriters are priced between £14 and £87. The most expensive dvd writer that we found is the I-O Data BRDS16PX at £190, and the cheapest is the Asus DRW24D5MT at only £11.
Cd Burner Brands - Price Range
Intel optical disc drives range in price from £75 to £75, and the average price of Intel optical disc drives is £75 which is the highest average price of all optical disc drive brands.
I-O Data optical disc drives range in price from £0 to £190, and the second highest average dvd rewriter price out of all brands is I-O Data optical disc drives with an average price of £64.
Pioneer optical disc drives start at £27 and their most expensive dvd burner costs £100. The third highest average dvd burner price out of all brands is Pioneer optical disc drives with an average price of £63.
Dvd (Re)Writer Brands - Average Ratings
We have checked 22 expert reviews and 3,437 user reviews for cd burners and used these reviews to determine the average rating for each brand of dvd (re)writer.
Biggest Dvd (Re)Writer Retailers
The biggest cd (re)writer retailer by number of products currently for sale is Amazon UK. We found 49 current cd (re)writer offers from Amazon UK. The second biggest retailer is SmartTeck with 24 offers. That means Amazon UK is more than twice as big as SmartTeck when it comes to dvd rewriters. Raysan and Carter is the third biggest retailer with 10 current offers.
How Fast Do Cd Rewriter Prices Drop After Release?
New cd burners drop in price by an average of 10% in the first 6 months after they were first released.
A typical new dvd rewriter costs on average £18. By waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average £2.
Disc Loading Types
The disc loading type refers to the mechanism by which the optical disc is loaded into the drive. Normally this is by placing the disc in a tray or by inserting it into a slot.
Tray is the most frequently found disc loading type amongst new cd burners. We found 113 cd burners that are dvd burners that have a tray loading. We found 30 dvd (re)writers that are cd writers that have a slot loading, making slot the second most frequently found disc loading type amongst new dvd (re)writers.
Type
Type denotes whether the disc drive is meant to be placed internally into a computer, or used externally via USB.
Internal is the most frequently found type amongst new dvd rewriters. We found 83 dvd rewriters that are internal cd rewriters. We found 52 cd writers that are external cd writers, making external the second most common type amongst new cd writers.
Optical Drive Types
The drive type denotes what type of disc (CD, DVD,etc) the drive is capable of reading.
We found 117 dvd rewriters that are cd burners that have a dvd Optical drive type, which makes this the most popular optical drive type amongst new dvd rewriters. We found 26 optical disc drives that are cd rewriters that have a blu-ray Optical drive type, making blu-ray the second most frequently found optical drive type amongst new optical disc drives.
Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Cd Rewriters?
The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying cd rewriters. For each retailer it shows the total number of cd rewriters where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying cd writers. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was Amazon UK. 24 of their optical disc drive prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.
Proportion of Cd (Re)Writers for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?
Assessing how cheap each retailer is for dvd (re)writers by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of dvd rewriter prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's dvd rewriter prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was Amazon UK. 49% of their dvd (re)writer prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.