Optical drive speed

Unfortunately, 8x read/4x write are the maximum rated speeds for all laptop drives :(

They're perfectly acceptable for normal use, but I personally prefer to use my external optical drive for when I need to burn anything to disc, because external drives operate at the same speeds as standard desktop optical drives - i.e. up to 22x read/16x write (or whatever - depending on the model) ;)

Thanks for the reply ! One more question : Is the Creative Audigy sound card worth going for since many of the Dell users seem to have one....I currently have the Sigmatel High Definition Audio. Kindly advise.

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@why so serious wrote:


Is the Creative Audigy sound card worth going for since many of the Dell users seem to have one....I currently have the Sigmatel High Definition Audio.

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It depends what you use your laptop for, really?

If you're a gamer (like me), then I personally think it is worth getting a hardware solution - hence why I bought/use a Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook (ExpressCard) myself.
If you're not a gamer though... or don't use your laptop for anything else which might benefit from a hardware solution, the on-board Sigmatel HD audio is perfectly acceptable.

But I know there are many gamers who are perfectly happy with the Sigmatel HD audio, so a hardware solution is certainly not a necessity.
It's a matter of personal opinion really, whether it makes enough of a difference to warrant the outlay?
I'm of the opinion it does, and have no regrets forking out the £50 or so it cost me ;)



PS:  By way of some additional info... whilst I normally just have my (USB) Logitech Z-10's connected when surfing the 'net etc... I also bought myself a Creative Speaker Docking Module for X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook, which allows me to use my Klipsch Promedia Ultra 2.0 speakers - via the X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook ExpressCard, for gaming sessions ;)