A bit obvious but essential. For an internal CD-Writer drive most computers from the last 5 years will be compatible with the IDE/EIDE connectors on the back of an internal drive. Internal drives will come with full instructions on how to install the drive for those with the confidence to DIY. A large number of external CD-Writer drives use USB connections and therefore your computer will need a USB port at the back to plug it in. Refer to your computers manufacturer manual for full information on what ports are available.

The first thing you'll notice when shopping for a CD recorder device is that some are labelled as CD-R (compact disc-recordable) drives and some are CD-RWs (compact disc-rewriteable). CD-R refers to a drive that can burn information to a CD-R disc that can't be changed. Burning data is a one-time-only process with a CD-R drive; if something goes wrong during the recording process, you typically have to throw the CD-R media away and start over. A disc burned with a CD-R drive works just like a software disc you buy at the store. You can read information from it as many times as you want, but you can't modify the disc's contents in any way.

CD-RW drives use more a advanced technology that lets them burn information to special CD-RW media. The contents of a CD-RW disc can be modified; they work sort of like your computer's hard drive. CD-RW drives can also record data to standard CD-R media, but once burned, the contents of those discs cannot change even when placed in a CD-RW drive. Likewise, a CD-R cannot change the contents of a CD-RW disc.

In terms of speed the CD Writer's on the market at the moment generally start at around 8x4x24 for an external drive (sits out side your computer) up to 16x10x40 for an internal drive (involves opening up you computer and plugging in permanently).

Take a look at some of the drives we currently have on offer: www.buy.com

Click here to find out more about CDR's and how to buy 100 for under £25!