Swappable vs. fixed
The least expensive notebooks come with fixed (built-in) drives. In other words, if you buy your notebook with a fixed DVD-ROM, you're stuck with that drive. A swappable drive bay, on the other hand, gives you optimum flexibility. For instance, you can pull out the DVD-ROM drive and swap in a combo DVD/CDRW drive or even a second battery. We recommend going with a swappable bay if you can afford it. Keep in mind, however, that the smallest and lightest ultraportable notebooks may include neither fixed nor swappable optical drives, relying instead on external USB drives.