Would I need an Optical Drive?

[Starkiller8889]

Do I need an optical drive for 2018 pc?

[ShatteredPsycho]

Do you see yourself using one? If not in near future don't or ever

If you happen to need one later there are always external ones, pretty cheap.

[Crunchy Dragon]

I personally like to have them for ripping CDs to my computer as well as making install discs and other things. Most people don't use them though.

[Enderman]

I haven't used one in like 5 years.

[LienusLateTips]

Many cases don't even come with slots.

[Mr Technician]

I got a $15 USB reader from microcenter for occasional use. Unless you need to use one regularly it's worth saving space in your case.

[Thunderzzu]

I work in a PC repair shop (which definitely has more uses for a DVD drive than a casual consumer does) and in the last 4 years, I had needed a optical drive exactly once. Buy a USB drive and put it in the closet if you'll ever need it.

[DrMacintosh]

I would say yes. I have a large DVD collection and as my Blu-Ray collection grows I'm going to want to rip those into my iTunes library. 

 

Get one, it won't hurt and will only help. Physical media still has its charms!

[Oshino Shinobu]

I'd say most people don't need one. I haven't used disk based media for years. 

 

If you find that you do occasionally need one, you can get external USB ones fairly cheap, so I wouldn't let it influence your choice of case or anything. 

[geo3]

Nearly completely pointless by now. I have one that I haven't used in maybe 5 years. My next build isn't even going to have a space for one. You can just use a NAND based solution if you need removable physical media. I'd only ever keep one around for the odd legacy thing you can only get optical disk. 

[Mooshi]

Even with a physical media collection, the need for an internal optical bay is low. Last I used one was several years ago, the generic flash drive replaced that. If you still need to play media, there is the external route which isn't blocking internal space.

 

Actually, playing Blu Ray on a computer can still be a massive pain where a modern console may as well be the replacement.

[DrMacintosh]

7 minutes ago, Mooshi said:

Actually, playing Blu Ray on a computer can still be a massive pain where a modern console may as well be the replacement.

Why buy a Console? I'd rather have a Home theater PC