IDE device configuration

[malcore]

Hi Everybody.
Building a new computer. Any advice on configuration? WD 80 Gig HDD, Plextor 40/12/40 CD-R, Pioneer 106-s DVD. I want top performance. Should I go with a Promise IDE controller card and isolate them all, or get another cd-rom or DVD-rom same DMA as my hard drive so I can burn from this one and play games from the Pioneer(slave to the Plextor)? Any suggestions? Cost is not a concern here. Thanks, Malcore

[saphalline]

Do you already have your motherboard? If not, there are plenty of mobos out there with IDE RAID built-in, giving you 4 separate IDE connectors for 4 isolated devices.

Copying disk to disk would require the DVD drive and CD-RW drive to be on separate chains, but putting one with the hard drive would slow down your hard drive to ATA/33! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif Probably not something you want to do, is it? Generally speaking, isolate them all, but try to do it on the mobo itself. It's just easier when it comes time to adjust the BIOS.

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"No, we do not gnaw on our kitty." - Dr. Evil

[malcore]

Thanks,
I have my mobo already, P4S533 (Asus). I can get another DVD rom here (ASUS also) that is true ATA 100. What do you think, add a controller card or go for a second drive?

[saphalline]

Hmmm... that's a tough one! On the one hand, having a controller card is just so darn useful and you could go straight for a full ATA/133 controller card. On the other hand, a true ATA/100 DVD-ROM drive also sounds appealing and quite useful down the line in a secondary system.

However, the overriding factor is that you already have a perfectly useful DVD drive and connecting even a true ATA/100 DVD drive with your HDD will mean non-simultaneous transfers when installing. Get the controller card, and if cost really is of no concern then go for an ATA/133 one, or an ATA/100 or /133 one with RAID.

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"No, we do not gnaw on our kitty." - Dr. Evil

[rond36]

Originally posted by saphalline:
Do you already have your motherboard? If not, there are plenty of mobos out there with IDE RAID built-in, giving you 4 separate IDE connectors for 4 isolated devices.

Copying disk to disk would require the DVD drive and CD-RW drive to be on separate chains, but putting one with the hard drive would slow down your hard drive to ATA/33! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif Probably not something you want to do, is it? Generally speaking, isolate them all, but try to do it on the mobo itself. It's just easier when it comes time to adjust the BIOS.



My Plextor 40X12X40 CD-RW on IDE 2 master and Pioneer 16X40 106S DVD-ROM on IDE 2 slave work great coping disk to disk. On modern motherboards ATAPI devices do not slow other IDE devices down. The Plextor drive does not work well as a slave it needs to be master but the Pioneer works great as slave to the Plextor even though the Pioneer drive is faster. I could put all my drives on separate IDE channels. I see no need for it using my settup I can burn a CD using Roxio's easy CD creator 5 standard(included with the Plextor drive) copy CD utility in under 3 min and haven't made a coaster yet. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Burning at 40X 6000kb per sec on media only rated for 16X.

This is how my drives are setup:
IDE 1
Master WD 100GB 7200RPM WD1000JB "SPECIAL EDITION" UDMA mode 5
Slave WD 100GB 7200RPM WD1000JB "SPECIAL EDITION" UDMA mode 5

IDE 2
Master Plextor 40X12X40 CD-RW UDMA mode 2
Slave Pioneer 106S slot load DVD-ROM UDMA mode 4

IDE 3
Master Empty
Slave Empty

IDE 4
Master Empty
Slave Empty

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Antec SX1040B 400W, Soyo P4S-Dragon Ultra, Intel P4 2.0GHz(northwood), 768MB Samsung PC2700 DDRSDRAM, 2 WD 100GB HDDs, ATI A-I-W 8500DV 64MB AGP video, SB Audigy MP3, Creative Inspire 5.1 Digital 5700 speakers, Plextor 40X12X40 CD-RW, Pioneer slot load DVD-ROM, Multi-boot Win ME, XP Pro, XP Pro striped down for games, Viewsonic G90mb 19" monitor.



[This message has been edited by rond36 (edited 06-20-2002).]

[saphalline]

Thanx, rond36, good to know. My Plextor 16x had problems doing disk to disk, even tho it was on its own IDE chain. I've since been having a few... "known issues" with my PC, traced them down to a Win ME problem. Gonna upgrade to Win XP within the month, and will definitely use your info for my fresh install!

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"No, we do not gnaw on our kitty." - Dr. Evil

[malcore]

Thanks!! I trust experience over opinion. I already picked up the Asus DVD rom AND the promise controller. You guys wouldn't believe how inexpensive things are here in Taiwan! I won't say how much I paid, because I don't want you to feel bad.....ahh hell..... $7 US for the card and $20 US for the DVD rom.
I'm going to try the Plextor/Pioneer master/slave configuration. The card may come in handy somewhere down the line as will the Asus DVD which I might throw into my old PIII system for now. Thanks for the advice and info.

[Fruss Tray Ted]

malcore,
http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif WOW!!! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif It would be cheaper it seems for me to fly to Taiwan buy myself a better pc than I can afford here and fly back for around the same cost as just buying one here!

I had a writer on my primary IDE cable (I only have 2) with my HDD and CD-ROM was on the secondary. I had nothing but problems this way. I put the ROM and writer on the secondary with the writer as slave and have had no problem other than if wanting to burn straight to disk at full speed (16x). If I burn to HDD cache first, no problems and copying to the HDD (52x ROM) seems much faster as well.

Man, a trip overseas would be nice though... http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/cool.gif With my budget though I'd have to take a balloon. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/frown.gif