"My PC is about 4 yrs old. I maybe over thinking this but does the cd/dvd drive of the PC effect the quality (sound) of the FLAC file created when ripping cd's?"
I'm not too familiar with Jriver, so I'm not sure how good it is for ripping. If you use EAC (its a free program), its at least as good as any other ripping software and it has a utility for checking how good your optical drive is. The only downside is that it can be difficult to set up. There are a few good user guides for download that give you step by step instructions on how to get the best rip's. Just follow the instructions and you'll be OK.
I'm not too familiar with Jriver, so I'm not sure how good it is for ripping. If you use EAC (its a free program), its at least as good as any other ripping software and it has a utility for checking how good your optical drive is. The only downside is that it can be difficult to set up. There are a few good user guides for download that give you step by step instructions on how to get the best rip's. Just follow the instructions and you'll be OK.