OK, I trust you guys, and I'm a novice when it comes to PC hardware, so here goes:
I own a 2 or 3 year old Dell desktop (4600 or somesuch). It has 1 GB RAM (a lot at the time), 160 GB HD, P4 3.2, blah blah.
Since DVD burners were still relatively new at the time (a $300 upgrade when I ordered!), I opted for a DVD-ROM bay and a CD-RW bay.
I want to buy/install a DVD-burner so that I can transfer movies from a camcorder to DVD, and also to make a mix DVD of audio (mp3, I guess) that I can put on shuffle at work to provide ambience and background noise. Also make file/HD backups, I guess.
Any general advice on
1. brands of DVD burners that are better or worse than the others
2. places to buy them (eg Best Buy vs internet)
3. which bay to put it in
4. noobie mistakes to avoid, e.g. don't touch the 3rd rail on the subway tracks ...
I'm moderately anxious about opening up my PC for the first time. Should I just med up and do it? Should I give my PC to somebody local and say, "here, install a DVD-burner"?
Thanks in advance!
