SATA or USB for an optical drive?

[JBDelta]

Hey Guys!

So today I had a successful Craigslist purchase for two GTX 780s and an i7-2700k. My issue is installing games onto a test bench system I just built, which is better for installing game software from a CD, a USB (external) optical drive or an internal (SATA) optical drive.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Matt_150]

Sata is probably quicker but I prefer an external USB optical drive as I rarely use them and like to be able to tuck them away when they are not needed.

 

[TidalWaveOne]

Hey Guys!

So today I had a successful Craigslist purchase for two GTX 780s and an i7-2700k. My issue is installing games onto a test bench system I just built, which is better for installing game software from a CD, a USB (external) optical drive or an internal (SATA) optical drive.

Thanks in advance!

If you're going to use it a lot then I would get an internal SATA drive... if not then I think a portable external USB drive would be better.

 

[geofelt]

Either will do the job for you.
Long term, sata might be better. Skylake usb ports need a driver, making installing windows 7 a problem without a sata connection.

 

[JBDelta]

I install a Windows 10 ISO through USB so no worries with that. But I just wanted to know because the case I have has a really nice side window so I didn't want the ugly light gray color of the 5.25" optical drive to show through the window, just the components. Thanks for your replies guys!

 

[Solandri]

If you just need a CD/DVD drive, I'd get a USB drive. It can do double-duty on laptops since pretty much all modern laptops no longer have an optical drive.

If you're getting a BluRay drive, I'd get a SATA internal. Especially if it's going to be a BluRay burner. The internal BD drives are still significantly cheaper than the USB versions, and they have higher burn speeds due to holding the disc and read/write head more securely.

A 54x CD is only about 8 MB/s. A 24x DVD is about 30 MB/s. So even USB 2.0 is fast enough for those. 8x BluRay is 36 MB/s, 12x is 54 MB/s, and if you can find a 16x it'd be 72 MB/s. So you probably want USB 3.0 for BluRay if you go that route. I believe USB versions are still USB 2.0 though.

 

[JBDelta]

Thanks guys! I'll go with a USB optical drive.