CD rom quality?

[Bryce_]

I have a 52Xmax Cd rom and i wanted to know if it's speed could still run in today computer environment(is it fast/can still be ran?)

 

[SchizTech]

Speed won't be an issue for it. The issues will be 1) It only plays CDs (no DVD or Blu-Ray) 2) A device like that is probably older and probably uses IDE interface, which isn't in use anymore. New DVD-RW drives use SATA connectors. 3) It's probably used, so there's no telling what condition it's in and how much life it has left.

If it's still good it can be made to work, though a basic DVD-RW drive costs no more than $20 today, and will do more than that drive (burn and read DVD and CD)

 

[synphul]

It can still be used so long as you have the right data/power cables for it. For newer motherboards and power supplies, hopefully it's a sata based cd rom rather than the older ide. 52x is the fastest speed drive I know of for cd's. They're not used as much as they used to be, but still nice to have if you back up to cd, play music from cd on other devices etc. Depends on the individual and their uses as to how 'outdated' it really is.

If it's a cd only, you may consider looking into a dvd burner which will handle dvd's and cd's (optical drives are backwards compatible). They're pretty cheap anymore. Or a bluray player if have a need to burn/play bluray with your pc. Just depends on how much you use different types of discs (cd/dvd/br) as to how useful it will be for you.