
Connector and cable: Drives should use standard detachable USB cables so that a frayed or broken cable doesn’t ruin the entire drive.Noise: All optical drives make noise, but the drive shouldn’t drown out the movie or show you’re trying to watch.Price: A good DVD drive shouldn’t cost more than $40, and a good Blu-ray drive should cost around $100.

But if you’re burning or ripping discs, the rate at which a drive can move data from your computer’s hard drive to the disc or vice versa becomes more important.
