Which of 3 discs should be alone?

[Dinosaur]

This question is related to two others I have posted.

I am going to have 3 IDE drives on two connectors.

I am expecting to put OS (Win98) and major software on one physical drive, data files on the second, and the virtual memory swap file on a third drive. Which two physical drives should share a connector? Does it matter?

Should drive containing Win98 & major software be alone on a connector? Is some other possibility better?

Thanx for any ideas.

Ideas anybody.

------------------
Gouverneur
Eschew Obfuscation!
If one hundred million people believe a foolish idea, it is still a foolish idea.

[Randy_tx]

Unless you are running a system under 200 mhz.....I dont think you will gain a thing by going to all of this "multiple drive" setup to begin with! Additionally, it leaves you zero room for multiple CD's in the future (as in a burner should you want one). My advice is to go with OS and Data on one drive(in two partitions if you want) and swap file(even though it only improves results on benchmarks-not in noticable difference) on the second smaller drive. You will have a lot more flexibility for future add-on's by taking this path now in my opinion http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

------------------
"As hard as a rock & dumb as a brick"...Windows CEMeNT

[tjaymadison]

Dedicating an entire drive to the swap file is not very efficient, especially if you have plenty of RAM. You could add a separate controller card, either RAID or not, allowing you to run as many as eight IDE devices. That way all your drives could be the master on its own channel, but good luck with the cabling rat's nest! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Probably should watch the power requirements either way - that's a pretty big hit on the power supply at startup. If not, here's one possibility:

Primary Master:
Windows in first partition
Major, every-day applications in second part

Primary Slave:
Minor apps in a part
Games in a part

Secondary Master:
Swap file in first part
Data in a part

You could also include partitions in the slave or secondary master for data backup and Windows backup or image. You might even want to make a partition for downloads. You'll have a lot fewer problems if you decide on your physical/logical configuration before installing any software.

Without a separate controller, this leaves only one channel to handle additional devices like CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW drives. Like Randy said, you're limiting your growth possibilities. I think non-RAID controllers are less than $40 US.

[This message has been edited by tjaymadison (edited 03-21-2001).]

[Dinosaur]

Gee, fellows I tried to keep this query simple by not mentioning that my system has two pairs of IDE connectors (total 4 connectors), allowing for up to 8 IDE devices if I put a master and slave device on each connector. I intend to have 5 IDE devices.

The planned configuration is a CD-ROM and a CD-RW on the second pair of connectors, and three 20 GB drives on the first pair of connectors.

My Motherboard supports RAID-0, but my I/O tends to involve lots of small records rather than huge graphic files, film editing, streaming video files, et cetera. Without synchronized spindles, RAID-0 would make data transfers faster but would increase latency time, resulting in perhaps little overall gain in speed and possibly a slower system. There are other drawbacks to RAID if it does not really suit your applications.

I do not intend to dedicate an entire disk to the Swap file. What I want to do is minimize Disc head movement, which takes milliseconds and decreases the life of the disc due to extra mechanical activity.

My thoughts about the drive organization is as follows.
Windows 98 and major software on first physical disc.
All (or most) data files on second physical disc with less used software.
Swap files and backup on third physical disc.
Various CD applications in small partitions on all three discs, cutting down on requirements for changing CD's.

I am not sure which two drives should share an IDE connector. Perhaps it does not matter.



------------------
Gouverneur
Eschew Obfuscation!
If one hundred million people believe a foolish idea, it is still a foolish idea.