Tech Lover 9

  Optical drives are so named because they use lasers to write and read data off discs. Types of optical drives include CD-ROM, CD-R/W, DVD-ROM, and DVD +/- R/W. Read on for an explanation of some terms associated with optical drives.
⦁    Ax/Bx/Cx     Method of referring to the write/rewrite/read speeds of a CD-R/W drive. For example, a measurement of 52x/32x/52x means that drive can write to CD-R discs at 52x, re-write to CD-R/W discs at 32x, and read data from CDs at 52x. For reference, 1x is equivalent to 150 kilobytes per second, which places 52x speeds at around 7,800 kilobytes per second, or 7.8 megabytes per second. High-grade CD-R media, a fast drive, and a great software package are your keys to burning CDs quickly. The same “x” numbers hold true for DVD +/- RW drives (those that burn DVDs). A 4x DVD +/- RW drive burns DVDs at a maximum of 5.54 megabytes per second.
⦁    CD/DVD +/- RW        These letters specify the formats to which a DVD burner can write. Four formats exist: +R, -R, +RW, and –RW. Check the specifications of the drive you have selected to match with the kind of blank DVD discs you buy.