Tom's Hardware has spotted deals on SUIDEK external optical drives that combine DVD/CD read-write capability with extra connectivity. The cheapest model, at $28.79, is an 8-in-1 USB 3.0 drive with a USB-C port, SD and TF card readers, and multiple USB ports. It reads and writes CDs at 24X and DVDs at 8X.
A second model at $33.83 adds a 2.5-inch SATA dock on top, useful for accessing older laptop hard drives or SSDs. The most expensive option, at $39.99, replaces the SATA dock with an M.2 NVMe SSD dock while keeping the card readers and USB hub. All three list compatibility with Windows 11 down to XP, Linux, and macOS 10.6 or newer.
The article notes that as new PCs increasingly omit optical drives, such docks help preserve access to older media. Tom's Hardware has not tested these units itself, but says Amazon reviews score them 4.3/5 or better. Since this is a single source, there are no conflicting claims to compare.