Hi, Is there a significant performance hit with using an external DVD drive/burner connected through usb 2, rather than internally connected through SATA? I don't know off hand if there would be a bottleneck. While I'm at it, does anyone know if there's quality issues in going with slim drives over traditionally sized internals? Slim is in some ways better for my build, but if they have problems I may need to go big. Thanks!
If it's a full size external, it's exactly the same as an internal drive anyway. If it's a slimline external, it's more reliable as you have to clip the disc into the tray (the same as a laptop drive). The usb2 interface is 480Mb/s or 60MB/s (thereabouts) - I'm unaware of an optical drive burner that burns at 60MB/s! 7.8MB/s for cds (52x) or 22MB/s for dvd (16x). So it's an either or choice, tbh.
I would have to agree with kenco. So long as the USB controller is good a good quality one, you shouldn't have any performance difference over USB. If you get a slot-load drive, the drive will more than likely fail before a pop-out tray drive would, though you should still get a good life out of it. If you havent looked into it, you might check and see if they have any eSATA enclosures for slim drives to eliminate the USB coltroller, otherwise just pick an enclosure with a decent controller.
The USB interface is really being puched to burn at 20x, and it can be a stretch on some boards depending on a number of factors. When you add in other USB devices, you might run into problems. you have to consider the complete interface to system memory, and the hardware can be quirky. SATA is a safer bet IMHO as it's a dedicated channel.
