I got a new gaming laptop not long ago. It was quite a surprising experience. I know I probably should have researched the specs more but I figured it's a Dell gaming laptop so it should allow me to make my games. It does. However...

1. I was surprised to see no optical drive. I was like, how am I supposed to install all my old software? When did these go obsolete? Luckily I had an external USB DVD rewriter.

2. The storage capacity seems pathetic. I think it is solid state. It keeps filling up so I have to install most of my software onto an external HDD. Even then the laptop's storage is mostly used up and it can't even update Windows.

Am I just a dinosaur? Are we supposed to store everything in the cloud now?

Yes, laptops do not come with CD/DVD drives in most cases now, haven't for a couple of years, most software is available to download now, even peripherals don't always come with drivers and your expected to download them now.

As to the size of your drive, that's all down to what model you chose, I recently bought a gaming laptop to replace the relic in my signature, and i chose one with a 1TB drive (Acer Nitro5, 8th Gen i5, 8GB DDR4, NV1050 graphics).

If its a Dell gaming laptop, is it an alienware or do they have other models?

My MSI TRIDENT Tower does not have an optical drive either.



-> Luckily I had an external USB DVD rewriter.



No, you wally just bought a computer with low storage capacity. Its probably a model intended for surfing the web. If you are making games you should have at least 500 gig HD space. The more the merrier.



-Wolf

"They don't need a DVD Drive now "
Is basically and anagram for
" Its a good excuse not to fit one but charge the same for the Laptop "

I use my hard drive just for Windows, software and games.
Everything else like personal files, photos, work files from any software are stored on an external USB HDD which I would recommend to anyone.
I would also go for 500 GB SSD for your internal drive at least. How large is your hard drive now?

I built up my own Tower PC without physical drive at first and added a Blu-ray drive later.

I wouldnt trust my data on a cloud only that's for sure …
I use external Drives and yes DVD and Blu-Ray for hard copy backup.
Google has lost users personal data on more than one occasion with Lightning strikes and even there own updates.
Hard copy everything important whenever possible.

It's not Alienware but it is advertised as a gaming spec PC.

I probably go way over the top with backups. I have been known to copy my files to 6 flash drives, 3 external hard drives, 1 SD card, 1 DVD and 2 different online drives (encrypted). Doing all that every day takes way too long. I am getting a bit better though - down to 3 backups.