Less important parts

[Sorillon]

So I'm going to eventually be a first time builder of a computer. I have a coherent build where I know what I'm going to do for my CPU, motherboard, GPU, storage, RAM, power supply, cooler, and case. I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to get everything and construct it without issue because I've reviewed how to apply the thermal paste, for example, and how to attach the cooler I'm using.

My specific needs, however, prevent me from using any kind of cable to connect to my router, given that it's not my house alone and I'm a hallway away from where the modem and router are hooked up. I'm interested in hearing recommendations for something that's less often discussed on the internet, that being recommendations for either a PCIE wireless card, or a USB internet adapter. A wireless connection is a must for the computer I ultimately construct here.

The other recommendation I would be interested in would be another less gripping aspect of building, that being which optical drive to get, or even whether I should purchase one. I'd like this for installation and the occasional diskbased movie, though I'm not sure whether I want to spring for Blu-ray capacity.

I know that strictly speaking there's not a lot of difference in optical drives, with my research telling me that a lot of companies actually use rebranded drives made by Lite-on, but does anyone have any input on this?

[Thunderball]

http://pcpartpicker.com/product/tTdq...card-gcwb867di

No reason to get an optical drive in 2016. You can install Windows from bootable USB, all other things have to be downloaded anyway.

[Lathais]

http://pcpartpicker.com/product/tTdq...card-gcwb867di

No reason to get an optical drive in 2016. You can install Windows from bootable USB, all other things have to be downloaded anyway.

diskbased movies have to be downloaded? Funny, when I borrow a DVD from a friend or neighbor, I don't have to download anything, I just put it in my DVD player or external optical drive. No download required.

That said, I highly recommend an external optical drive. It can easily last through multiple builds and can be used on any PC you own. For me, this is a must as I have 3 PCs in my home, so I can just move it to whichever PC currently needs it.

[Sorillon]

Thunderball, I've heard that about USB installation, that was an option I was considering.

Lathais, what external drive do you have?

[lockedout]

http://pcpartpicker.com/product/tTdq...card-gcwb867di

No reason to get an optical drive in 2016. You can install Windows from bootable USB, all other things have to be downloaded anyway.

So I ran into a problem regarding this issue. Luckily I had an optical drive lying around.
Problem was when I built a new PC I couldn't use the usb because the mobo didn't have it's drivers installed which came on a disc. Usually at least usb 2.0 works but on this particular mobo it didn't.

[Denpepe]

I just want to add that for the life of me I can not get protected Blu-rays to run on my pc unless I buy some 100+€ software so you may want to keep that in mind, seems that there are royalties involved for using Blu-ray playback which prevents most free software from working, or in my case my outdated Powerdvd 8 (it does run unprotected or older blu-rays)

[Sorillon]

I'm overall familiar with the general annoyance factor of protected Blu-rays requiring special software, I'd prefer not to necessarily deal with that so my overall thoughts are running to using an external drive like Lathais suggested but only for non-Blu-Ray.

Something like the LG Ultra Slim reader/burner I'm looking at seems like it'd do the trick without being unnecessarily expensive for about 30 USD.

As for the matter of installation, either option is equally appealing for me, though I'm unsure what the likelihood of running into Lockedout's motherboard driver issue would be. The motherboard I've been looking at is the MSI Z170A SLI Plus which is a 1151 supporting board that comes with a pair of 2.0 ports as well as a pair of differing 3.1 ports. It seems like it should be fine, hypothetically. Any advice on determining whether driver issues could be problematic?

It does come with an outdated driver disc and there is advice to use drivers from the MSI website itself.

[Thunderball]

I'm overall familiar with the general annoyance factor of protected Blu-rays requiring special software, I'd prefer not to necessarily deal with that so my overall thoughts are running to using an external drive like Lathais suggested but only for non-Blu-Ray.

Something like the LG Ultra Slim reader/burner I'm looking at seems like it'd do the trick without being unnecessarily expensive for about 30 USD.

As for the matter of installation, either option is equally appealing for me, though I'm unsure what the likelihood of running into Lockedout's motherboard driver issue would be. The motherboard I've been looking at is the MSI Z170A SLI Plus which is a 1151 supporting board that comes with a pair of 2.0 ports as well as a pair of differing 3.1 ports. It seems like it should be fine, hypothetically. Any advice on determining whether driver issues could be problematic?

It does come with an outdated driver disc and there is advice to use drivers from the MSI website itself.

Yeah, if you absolutely need an optical drive get an external one. I've never heard about a problem with motherboards not being able to boot from USB without drivers, the only thing I've heard that you have to enable it in BIOS for some motherboards. If your board doesnt boot from USB it's a clear enough reason to RMA it.