This $12 external CD/DVD drive plays your old discs through a modern USB-C interface — at 35% off, this drive is an exceptional deal at Amazon

Tech Deals cover featuring an external USB-C CD/DVD drive

(Image credit: Future)

I recently encountered an issue where I needed to retrieve data from an old DVD backup disk, but I had no access to a disk drive on either my laptop or PC. Who even uses physical media these days? Well... this guy. It might be the first time in years that I've even thought about this problem, and definitely over a decade since I've used a CD/DVD to backup anything, but now that I want to access some of the old media I've found in the attic, I'm stuck. The number of times I'm probably going to use a drive means I don't want to spend too much on one, and with a swathe of generic drives available, I've found a great deal on one at Amazon that costs next to nothing.

Available at Amazon for the low price of just $12.99, the Gotega External USB 3.0 Type C CD/DVD Drive is a bargain at this price. If you clip the coupon box on the page, you can save $7 (35%) off the $19.99 list price. You do have to have an Amazon account and be logged in to be able to clip the coupon and see the price reduction in the basket ahead of any purchase.

Check out the deal at Amazon

Now, this is a generic portable external USB 3.0 Type-C CD/DVD drive; the casing is the same one used on several unfamiliar brand names, but if you're looking at buying an LG, Hitachi, or Samsung drive, then you can easily expect to pay more than double for the pleasure. This drive doesn't come with any software for ripping and burning disks, so if you want those extras, it might be worth going with a premium brand name.

The Gotega CD/DVD drive is compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac OS, and supports the following formats for CD/DVD reading and writing: CD±R/RW, CD-ROM, DVD±R/RW, DVD-RAM, VCD, and SVCD.

I've found my external drive a godsend for digitising my old CD collection, and dusting off some of those old PC games in the attic that I haven't already repurchased on Steam. It even came in handy when there was an internet outage for a week; it doesn't take long to realise how much entertainment you consume online when you don't have access to it. Thank heavens for old box-sets.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, or CPU Deals pages.

Stewart Bendle is a deals and coupon writer at Tom's Hardware. A firm believer in “Bang for the buck” Stewart likes to research the best prices and coupon codes for hardware and build PCs that have a great price for performance ratio.

2 Comments Comment from the forums

BFG-9000

FYI people who have bought drives like this have for years received ancient used laptop internal drives recycled from e-waste, in new generic cheapo Aliexpress enclosures that may even feature USB 2.0 electronics inside to save a few pennies. Not that it matters, since the fastest-ever 72x CD drives only moved 10.8MB/s and 24x DVD drives 33.2MB/s, which USB 2.0 is adequate for.

Better to spend 2-3x as much (or a lot more for Blu-Ray) and get a burner while you can still get them new despite the fact they aren't making them anymore.
Reply
Wmblalock

This is a SCAM! DO NOT buy these drives. As the previous commenter stated, these are old used drives, some 10-15 years old, hacked up and put into a new enclosure, with a new faceplate. They often don't work well. I bought one just to prove a point and yes, after taking it apart, it was a very beat up old drive from 2010, that was even missing it's top cover. Hard pass!
Reply