Does this work as an optical drive to install a new operating system for a DIY PC build or do I need a separate optical drive?
1700169
yes this drive will operate as a boot drive when designated so in your bios.
1700170
It should be able to, it reads everything thats below a Blu-ray disc. This type of drive is just really advanced DVD drive.
1583843
A standard optical drive is fine. If you have a very tall CPU heatsink AND a long drive there might be problems. I'm using the stock heatsink (3770k), somewhat tall RAM, and a standard sized blu-ray burner and everything fits just fine.
1803884
Mine came with Windows 7 Professional installed. No discs. So I attempted to make my own Windows Recovery discs, and discovered the optical drive would read and write to CD, but DVD was read-only. Contacted seller who is mailing me a replacement optical drive.
1302096
This is a desktop optical drive. Buy a external usb dvd drive if you want something external.
671412
This item is just a housing to turn a HD into a USB external Hard Drive. Shouldn't matter what operating system you use.
697664
There is no internal optical drive included. However you can add an external unit via one of the USB or Thunderbolt ports.If you opt for the Apple USB SuperDrive make sure to read the System Requirements for the drive. It was made to only work on Apple computers that did not have an optical drive included as a standard feature. The SuperDrive has very mixed reviews (see the Apple store web site for user feedback, as of 26 July 2013 ... 51% say 5 star and 48% say 1 star).Also, you will be limited in Blu-ray options if you are so inclined.
735332
No this unit does not have a Optical DriveWe use a portable USB Optical Drive when needed
2062370
Legally when you buy a computer with an OS you have to include the disc. It sounds like what you need is a custom built PC.
735331
No this unit does not have a Optical Drive We use a portable USB Optical Drive when needed
41852
No the important thing you need to know about this computer and most currentones is that they are doing away with the internal optical cd /dvd drive sold seperatly you got to buy a external / removeable cd/dvd drive.
2103300
Yeah, this drive is fine for a new PC. It can't write to bluray discs. But you can do pretty much whatever else you want to as far as disc reading/rewriting goes. Just to ease your mind, when building a PC the Optical drive is about as uncomplicated a piece as you can buy. They're pretty plug and play, nothing messy. I know people who have regretted everything from their mouse to their monitor, or even which memory they bought. But I've never known anyone to regret the optical drive they bought. They're usually relatively cheap compared to everything else, and you typically have multiple drive bays so you can always add another one. Yeah, this drive is fine for a new PC. It can't write to bluray discs. But you can do pretty much whatever else you want to as far as disc reading/rewriting goes. Just to ease your mind, when building a PC the Optical drive is about as uncomplicated a piece as you can buy. They're pretty plug and play, nothing messy. I know people who have regretted everything from their mouse to their monitor, or even which memory they bought. But I've never known anyone to regret the optical drive they bought. They're usually relatively cheap compared to everything else, and you typically have multiple... » Read More Yeah, this drive is fine for a new PC. It can't write to bluray discs. But you can do pretty much whatever else you want to as far as disc reading/rewriting goes. Just to ease your mind, when building a PC the Optical drive is about as uncomplicated a piece as you can buy. They're pretty plug and play, nothing messy. I know people who have regretted everything from their mouse to their monitor, or even which memory they bought. But I've never known anyone to regret the optical drive they bought. They're usually relatively cheap compared to everything else, and you typically have multiple drive bays so you can always add another one. « Show Less
1583848
It will take a standard optical drive. It comes with a concealing faceplate for that smooth look, but it is not required.
383875
I would invest in a DVD/CD USB drive for installation. Be sure to have all the drivers available on a flashdrive.
1376717
The system has one PCI Express x1 slot (PCIe-x1), which comes with a modem installed, but you can pull it and replace with something else. (I'm using a D-Link Gigabit Ethernet card in this slot, to make a small dual-homed UNIX server/firewall system.) The system has one 3.5" SATA hard drive inside, and the optical drive is a full-sized DVD drive (also SATA.) The motherboard has two SATA ports onboard, so you could upgrade the existing hard drive and replace the optical with a second hard drive (you'd need a 5.25" to 3.5" adapter though.) If you got fancy, you could probably make your own brackets and mount 2.5" drives instead / as well, but you'd still be limited by the SATA ports.
607197
Yes, it has an optical drive. While I did not use that I am almost certain it is a DVD drive; perhaps even DVD RW drive.
1812115
I set this one up for a client so I can't look but I am sure it did not have an optical drive. I buy Asus all the time, 13" & smaller - no optical drive, 14" & larger all have optical drives.
170678
There is no optical drive. This isn't my first computer with out one - I've gotten rid of all my cd's and now stream everything. I hope that helps.