My main desktop does not have an optical drive. Windows was installed from a USB stick and applications are downloaded from the internet or on the network. The older desktops in the house and some of the notebooks have optical drives in case I need access to them.

I don't get rid of any of my old hardware. I still have 3 working 3.5" floppy drives, and 1 5.25", though sadly my zip drive recently died.

External.

deleted

When I had my new PC built there was really no room for an internal.

Technically I could have jammed one in there but it would have been tight and a bitch to clean or change parts.

deleted

My current PC still does since it is often used for a 32bit OS dual boot for older games...games that I have on CD/DVD. I also use it to occasionally burn music MP3 discs for my car.

If I was to build a new PC for playing current release games, no I wouldn't bother with an optical drive.

I have two optical drives in my PC and one external.

A DVD-RW drive that's still in there because I didn't bother removing it when I put in the BluRay-RW. I use both; I burn MP3 CDs for the car regularly, and I rip movies for my home server, and I have old games I play.

And I have an external HD-DVD drive I use to rip HD-DVD movies. (It's the drive that was sold for the Xbox 360. Works fine with a PC.)

This little tool might help you out.

Yes, i have a DVD Burner in my gaming laptop, an external blu-ray burner for the movies i made myself and gog games dvd burners in my desktops and a cd burner in my thinkpads. So i am a big fan of optical drives. If you know what you doing (speeds, blank disc manufactoring plants ) than they will basically last forever. Longer than hard drives. But optical drives are more difficult to use than hard drives. Especially with the companys behind the blanks are ALWAYS changing........but thats how it is.

They sure do!
And by "upgrade" I mean complete reinstall just like Windows™ from the old times. It works the best, IMO. :D
I don't have Windows, but thanks anyways!

Eh, I beg to differ. Fedora's CLI upgrade system has worked for 3 upgrades on my end.

I usually don't bother upgarding every half a year. Instead, I prefer to skip 2 or three releases (went from 25 to 28 last time). One advantage you have over Windows is that you are not obliged to update every time someone wants it. :)

My laptop is still running Windows 10 v1607. Must be impossible right, since I'm so "obliged' to update.

But but but! Linux! LINUX! LiNuX! LIIIIINUUUUX!!!

Seriously, though, the only system that gives you no choice is MacOS. Oh, how I hate it. At work I'm forced to use a MacBook Pro, and I absolutely LOATHE this piece of crap. The underlying BSD is fine. The hardware is ... tolerable. But anything that Apple had touched with their filthy hands is gag-inducing.

As a shareholder I want Apple to keep doing well. But as a user (a forced user at that) I want that entire company to burn in a chemical fire.