We have come a long way when it comes to the usage of technology in our daily life. In the past, we had computers that were as big as an entire room. Though these computers took a lot of space in exchange, we used to get a few megabytes of space. To add more storage, we invented optical drives or CD/ DVD drives. It was also enormous in terms of size.
But, as time passes, its size shrunk to fit inside our small desktops and laptops. Other than that, we have used DVD drives as portable memory disks to store movies, music, and software. A few years ago, we saw low-end to expressive laptops released with inbuilt optical drives. At then, it was a must and common feature to have. But things have changed a lot within a few years.
Now laptop manufacturers are ditching CD drives to make their laptops thin and lightweight. That is why there are not many models available in the market that has DVD drives. So we have spent a considerable amount of time making things clear for you. In this article, you are going to see the top 9 laptops with optical drives in 2025.
Recommended: Best Laptops for working from home (To Work Remotely)
Buying Guide – How to Choose the Best Laptop with CD/DVD Drive?
Most of the laptops in 2025 come with slim and thin design language. Along with that, manufacturers are also trying to make laptops more lightweight. So we do not get DVD/CD drivers in the latest machines because of that.
CPU
As we have said in the earlier paragraph, we do not get options with the latest processors and a DVD drive. However, we did have some old generation models which are powerful and have optical drivers. So try to select laptops with at least 8th Gen Intel Core processors or the last generations AMD processors. Other than that, those processors should have at least 1.2GHz base clock speed and maximum multi-clock speed.
GPU
If you do not have the latest-generation processor, you would not have the latest Gen GPUs. So we also do not have laptops that offer both the latest GPUs and a CD/DVD drive. With that being said, choose laptops with good and powerful processors, and you will get a good integrated GPU with that. Other than that, get any laptops that have dedicated graphics cards and an optical drive.
RAM
In 2022, every laptop should have at least 8GB of RAM. Right now, the minimum recommended requirements for Windows 10 include having 8GB RAM or more than that. So make sure your new laptop has that amount of RAM or at least offers upgradability. So you can upgrade them in the future according to your needs.
Storage
In terms of storage, you can go with any size. But before that, you should know that SSD drives offer much more read and write speed compared to a traditional hard drive. That is why it is always recommended to buy laptops that have SSD installed. With that, you will get a lot better experience. So make sure that the laptop has at least 256GB SSD. Otherwise, you can go with a 1TB HDD storage.
Best laptops with DVD Drive in 2025
Here is our list of best laptops with CD/DVD drive you can buy in 2025:
1Dell Inspiron 17 – Overall Best Laptop with DVD Drive
Dell Inspiron 17 is a good-looking laptop and comes with potent internal hardware. Along with that, it has a DVD drive on the side. So you can insert CDs or DVDs there. It also offers a big display. That being said, it has a 17.3-inch FHD big display. So it brings a lot of space to work on visually. But most importantly, it comes with 1920 × 1080p screen resolution. On the top, you can find the camera for video conferencing and streaming. This is also a pretty lightweight laptop. Meanwhile, it has a backlit keyboard with a large trackpad.
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On the inner side, this Dell laptop is powered by the 10th Gen Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor. This same processor powers many high-end laptops. So it offers a maximum base frequency of 1.0GHz. But if you add Turbo Boost technology, then it goes up to 3.60GHz. It is a four-core processor with 8 threads. So it has a lot of power to handle all the tasks. On the other side, it has an integrated Intel UHD Graphics G1 with shared memory. In the meantime, its processor and GPU combined with 16GB of DDR4 memory and 512GB of fast NVMe SSD drive.
However, it also has a 1TB hard drive along with the HDD. So you can store normal files like movies, and software there. Other than that, it supports Wi-Fi 5 as well as Bluetooth 5.0. It has one USB 2.0 and two USB 3.1 Gen ports and a USB 3.1 Type-C port when it comes to ports. There is also one HDMI, one headphone, and a micro jack. It does not weigh a lot because it packs a 42WHr battery. So it will last around 5-6 hours on a single charge, depending on your usage.
2Lenovo IdeaPad L340 – Best Gaming Laptop with DVD Drive
Our next laptop comes from Lenovo. The Lenovo IdeaPad L340 is a gaming laptop. So it is obvious that it packs a lot of powerful internal hardware. That being said, it has the 9th Gen Intel Core i5-9300H processor. This is a high-performance series processor. So it offers up to 2.40GHz of base frequency while it will reach up to 4.10GHz with Turbo Boost technology. As its name suggests, it comes with 4 cores combined with 8 threads. As a gaming laptop, it packs the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 dedicated graphics card. So it can handle pretty much all modern games.
- Display: 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080p FHD
- Processor: Intel Core i5-9300H
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650
- RAM: 8GB DDR4
- Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
This laptop comes with 8GB of DDR4 RAM and 512GB of SSD drive. That means it has compelling specifications to offer you for your day-to-day tasks. To improve your experience further, it brings a 15.6-inch display with 1920 × 1080 screen resolution. It is an IPS LCD panel with an anti-glare coating on top to reduce light reflection. Though this display only gives a 60Hz refresh rate output. Other than that, it has skinny bezels and a camera on top to stream games. However, it also brings a good backlit keyboard.
Meanwhile, it has pretty much all the important ports. You will see USB Type-A ports, USB Type-C ports, HDMI, a combo jack, and an ethernet connector on the two sides. But most importantly, we need an optical drive. So it has that too on the side. By using that, you can use any DVD or disk on your laptop. If you want to connect wireless gadgets, then it supports both Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0. Moreover, it offers around 4-5 hours of battery life and weighs 4 pounds or 2 kilograms. In the current scenario, this is one of the best gaming laptops under $700.
3Dell Vostro 3000 – Value for Money
This is another powerful laptop yet comes with a DVD drive. That being said, the Dell Vostro 2020 edition comes with the 10th Gen Intel i7-10510U processor. This is a proper four-core with 8 threads Intel processor that was released in 2020. Apart from that, it offers 1.80GHz of base clock speed. While using turbo boost technology will end up reaching up to 4.90GHz, turning it into a compelling laptop. However, there is also an AMD Radeon 610 dedicated graphics card. This GPU comes with 2GB of GDDR5 RAM. So you will be able to handle every task.
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Other than the CPU and GPU, it combines them with 8GB of DDR4 RAM and 256GB of SSD drive for fast speed. However, you can upgrade them in the future if you need more power. Apart from that, there is a 15.6-inch IPS LCD display with 1920 × 1080 screen resolution. Though it does not support touch input, it has an anti-glare coating to reduce light reflection. This laptop also looks good as there are minimal bezels. The front camera is placed on the top of the display for video conferencing. In addition to that, it supports Wi-Fi 5 as well as Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity purposes.
When it comes to ports, Windows laptops always shine, and Dell Vostro 2020 edition is no different. You will find three USB Type-A, HDMI, DisplayPort, Ethernet, and combo jack on the sides. Meanwhile, there is also the CD/DVD driver along with an SD card reader. However, this laptop weighs only 4.39 pounds, including the battery. So it will last for about 5-6 hours on a single charge, depending on your usage.
4HP Envy 17t – Compelling Hardware
The HP Envy 17t is one of the best laptops that has a DVD drive bay. Along with that, it comes with compelling internal specifications. That being said, the HP Envy 17t is powered by the 10th Gen Intel core i7-10510U processor. We have seen this processor on very expensive notebooks without any optical drive support. Apart from that, this processor comes with up to 1.8GHz base clock speed. However, it has Intel’s Turbo Boost technology support. So it can go up to 4.90GHz of multi-core clock speed. Along with that, it has 16GB of DDR4 RAM and 512GB of NVMe M.2 SSD drive.
- Display: 17.3-inch 1920 x 1080p FHD
- Processor: Intel Core i7-10510U
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce MX250
- RAM: 16GB DDR4
- Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
Its processor combines with the Nvidia GeForce MX250 dedicated processor. It is still capable of handling normal tasks. But if you are planning to play games on it, buy a laptop with a better GPU. It has 4GB of GDDR5 GPU memory. However, it also has Intel’s integrated HD graphics card. For GPU, this HP Envy 17t features a 17.3-inch diagonal Full HD IPS LCD display. It offers 1920 × 1080 screen resolution and 300 kits of peak brightness. It is also stylish as there are minimal bezels around the display. In contrast, it has an HD camera on the top of the panel for video calling, a great addition for working from home.
For connectivity, it has support for Wi-Fi 5GHz along with Bluetooth 5. Other than that, it comes with dual stereo speakers and a good keyboard with a big trackpad. Meanwhile, there are plenty of ports to connect external things. That being said, it comes with one USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port with DisplayPort and power delivery support. However, there are also three USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports along with a headphone/ mic combo jack. But most importantly, it has an optical drive on the side to run DVDs or CDs. Apart from that, it packs a big battery that can last up to 7 hours on a single charge.
5Dell Inspiron 15 3000
This is another Dell laptop on our list with decent specifications. This is also a very balanced laptop at this price, and it has a DVD drive. On the front, you will get a 17.3-inch FHD+ display with 1920 × 1080 screen resolution. It is a non-touchscreen panel with an anti-glare coating on top. So you do not get bothered by light reflections. This is also a well-built laptop as you will thin bezels around the display, including the web camera. However, it does not have backlighting on the keyboard. So you will need a light source at night to work on it.
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The 10th Generation Intel processor powers this Dell Inspiron 15 laptop. Inside, it has the Intel Core i3-1005G1 processor. This processor offers up to 1.2GHz base clock speed. At the same time, it will reach up to 3.4GHz Turbo Boost clock speed. Despite having a big size, it does not have any dedicated GPU. So the integrated Intel UHD Graphics G1 GPU handles all the graphics-related tasks. Meanwhile, it supports Wi-Fi 5GHz and Bluetooth 5 for connectivity options.
It comes with 8GB of DDR4 RAM and a 1TB HDD drive along with the internal hardware. Though it has HDD, you can upgrade it later with an SSD drive for faster performance. Other than that, it has all the ports like two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, one USB 2.0 Type-C, HDMI, ethernet connector, and an audio jack. Though this laptop weighs 7 pounds, it only includes a 42WHr battery that will last up to 5 hours.
6Acer Aspire 3 – Latest 10th Gen i5 Processor
If you are looking for a powerful laptop without spending too much money, then this might be the laptop you were looking for. That being said, this laptop has the 10th Gen Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor. This processor offers a maximum 1.0GHz base clock speed and up to 3.6GHz Turbo Boost frequency. If you want to play games on this machine, it has the Intel UHD Graphics G1 integrated graphics card. However, it is only good for general tasks and casual gaming. So you actually can’t play heavy games on it.
- Display: 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080p FHD
- Processor: Intel Core i5-1035G1
- Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics G1
- RAM: 8GB DDR4
- Storage: 1TB SATA HDD
The CPU and GPU also come with an unusual 8GB of Dual-channel RAM and 1TB of hard drive storage. However, it also supports an 8x DVD drive. So overall it offers a balanced performance. In the meantime, there is a 17.3-inch HD+ at 1600 × 900 screen resolution. So you can watch the content at its full potential. The display doesn’t provide touch support, and it has quite a lot of wide bezels on the sides of the display. So the camera is placed at the top of the display.
It is always nice to have all the ports on a laptop. So you can connect anything without using an external dongle or other things. That is why Acer has given one USB 3.0 Type-C and a total of three USB Type-A ports. Along with them, there is also one HDMI port with HDCP support and an ethernet port. However, this might be a heavy laptop for you as it weighs 6.17 pounds. It packs a 6 cell battery which will give around 6-7 hours of battery life. Other than that, it has a keyboard without backlighting.
7HP 17 2020 – AMD Ryzen 5 Processor
If you are looking for a powerful laptop without burning your wallet, the HP 17 is for you. It comes with the latest processors and a compact design. With that being said, HP 17 features a 17.3-inch diagonal display with 1600×900 screen resolution. Though this is a usual resolution for a laptop display, it offers 60% NTSC color coverage. It is a WLED backlit panel with 220 nits of peak brightness. Other than that, its web camera is placed on the top of the panel. Along with that, it has a keyboard with good travel distance.
- Display: 15.6-inch 1600 x 900p HD+
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
- Graphics: AMD Radeon Vega 8
- RAM: 12GB DDR4
- Storage: 256GB NVMe SSD
The AMD Ryzen 5 3500U processor powers this HP laptop. It is a four-core processor combined with eight threads. However, it gives a base clock speed up to 2.1GHz. In contrast, it will reach up to 3.8GHz with Zen+ boost technology. Meanwhile, it comes with AMD Radeon Vega 8 integrated graphics card. Despite being an integrated GPU, it can handle all the day-to-day tasks.
It also comes with 12GB of DDR4 RAM and 256GB M.2 NVMe SSD drive. You can find everything in terms of ports, including three USB Type-A, Ethernet, HDMI, and a combo jack. However, there is also an SD card reader and an optical driver. Meanwhile, it comes with a 41WHr battery with fast charging support. With that, it can charge 50% within 45 minutes.
8Lenovo IdeaPad 330 – Touchscreen Display
Another powerful laptop with a CD/DVD drive is the Lenovo IdeaPad 330. It is the 2019 model and offers better value. This laptop features a 15.6 inch diagonal IPS display. However, it is only an HD panel with 1366 × 768 screen resolution. This is a touchscreen despite not having FHD resolution. It has huge bezels around the display sides and has a front camera on the middle of the top side. This display packs a 30WHr battery that can give around 3-4 hours of battery life to power this display. Meanwhile, it weighs 4.84 pounds.
- Display: 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080p FHD
- Processor: Intel Core i5-8250U
- Graphics: Intel UHD graphics 620
- RAM: 8GB DDR4
- Storage: 1TB SATA HDD
When it comes to internal specifications, it comes with the 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8250U processor. Right now, it is old and only capable of doing day-to-day tasks. That is why it offers up to 1.60Ghz of base clock speed while going up to 3.40GHz of multi-clock speed. Along with that, it has 6MB of smart cache to store important memory. On the other side, it is combined with the Intel UHD graphics 620 cards. It is an integrated GPU as there is no room for a dedicated GPU.
Apart from that, its GPU shares memory with the system with 8GB of DDR4 RAM installed and a 1TB hard drive. It has all the ports you need, including a USB 3.0 Type-C port, two USB 3.0 ports, and an HDMI port. Further, it adds one ethernet connector, one memory card reader, and a headphone jack. Along with them, it has the DVD burner or the optical driver. Other than that, it only includes a Wi-Fi 2.4GHz card with Bluetooth 4.2 support. But it does not have a backlit keyboard. So you might face problems at night while writing something.
9Lenovo 15 – Optional
This Lenovo laptop is a very traditional machine that is only designed to serve normal day-to-day tasks. That being said, it features a 15.6-inch IPS display which is also an HD panel with 1366 × 768 screen resolution. It is also not a colour accurate panel. So it is only compatible with works like MS Office and web browsing. The side bezels are not very thick and have the camera on the top of the display. This is also an HD camera for video conferencing and other stuff.
- Display: 15.6-inch 1366 x 768p HD
- Processor: AMD A9-9425
- Graphics: AMD Radeon R5
- RAM: 4GB DDR3
- Storage: 128GB SSD
AMD processor power this Lenovo laptop. Inside, it has the AMD A9-9425 processor. It is only capable of handling low-demanding tasks. However, it offers a 3.1GHz base clock speed and maxes out to 3.7GHz of frequency. It has only two cores that handle all of the frequencies. Other than that, this processor has the Radeon R5 integrated GPU. Meanwhile, it only comes with 4GB of DDR3 RAM and 128GB of SSD drive. But the good thing is that you can upgrade its RAM later in the future.
It has two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, one HDMI, a headphone/ microphone jack, Ethernet, and an SD card reader. You can also use the optical driver to burn DVDs. However, this laptop also supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 to connect to the internet and wireless keyboards and mousses. Speaking of its keyboard, it is only good for casual writing as there is no backlighting on the keyboard. Nevertheless, it packs a 2-cell battery, giving around 4-5 hours of power backup.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is a CD/DVD drive?
A DVD drive is a disk drive that holds the disk and uses laser or electromagnetic waves to read and write data present on that disk.
Do you need an optical or CD/DVD drive?
If you want to use those old DVDs or CDs, then yes, you need to have a DVD drive on your laptop. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to use them.
Do you need to use an optical drive to install Microsoft Office?
If you buy MS Office from an offline market, you will get a CD to install it. In that case, you will need to have the optical drive on your laptop. However, you can also buy MS Office or download it from the official website without using any compact disk.
Why do modern laptops not have a DVD drive?
We all want sleek and lightweight designs. To reduce the weight of a laptop, manufacturers are ditching DVD drives from their laptops these days.
Is there any other option left without buying a laptop with a DVD drive?
Yes, definitely, you can buy an external optical drive to use with your laptop that doesn’t support a DVD drive out of the box. This is a more convenient way without compromising laptop design. In fact, that is the main reason laptop manufacturers are ditching optical drives because there are easy solutions available to tackle this problem.
Final Words
There are excellent laptops in the market. But when you are specifically looking for laptops with a DVD drive, your options are minimal. It is also getting hard to get good laptops with that. That is why we have given you the top 9 laptops available in the market, and all of them have a CD/DVD drive. So if you have any queries, then ask us in the comment section.
CD=DVD=OPTICAL DRIVE (don’t confuse with these different names, all represent the same thing)
