A DVD writer that's inexpensive and easy to install

Bottomline: Cheap and easy to connect, this drive is a winner.

Manufacturer: Pioneer

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CD and DVD drives are extremely common nowadays – in fact, you're extremely unlikely to find a new PC without one.

But if you're upgrading an older computer that didn't have one, or that had one with limited functions, it's easy to pick up a good one, such as the Pioneer DVR-215, cheaply.

Earlier DVD drives used several formats, with different drives reading and writing different kinds of disc. This one reads and writes them all (except, of course, for the newer Blu-ray and HD DVD discs), and it does so quite quickly: using a DVD-R disc it can create the whole thing in a matter of minutes, something that might have taken up to an hour on earlier models.

It uses a serial ATA connection to the computer, rather than the older kind used by most CD and DVD units. That means not only that it's very easy to connect – you just plug two cables in and it works straight away in Windows – but it also frees up a connection on your computer's motherboard for other devices.