Build Query

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ted K
  • Start date Start date
T

Ted K

I am plan to bujild with the the Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe MB and two 30GB
hard drives and a CD-Rom and CD-Burner.

What are the pros ande cons of setting them up as:

Primary IDE Master = HDD0
Primary IDE Slave = HDD1

Secondary IDE Master = CD Burner
Secondary IDE Slave = CD-Rom

Or in the alternative:

Primary IDE Master = HDD0
Primary IDE Slave = CD burner

Secondary IDE Master = HDD1
Secondary IDE Slave = CD-Rom

Does it really make any difference?

Also (since I am only built one some 5 years or so ago) is it
preferable to install this hardware in two steps (i.e., HDD0 and the
burner, then HDD2 with the CD-Rom)?

(Don't say it -- I admit to being a "nervous Nellie.")

Incedentally, if there is a "build" NG, I would appreciate knowing it.

TIA

Ted
 
The first choice is better; when copying from hard drive to a burner,
it's best if the burner and the hard drive(s) are on different IDE
channels. Also, SOME software requires burners to be "master" drives.

However, I would strongly suggest some changes to your proposed
configuration (not that it won't work "as-is", it will).

First, replace the CD-ROM with a DVD drive (just a DVD-ROM, not a burner
unless, of course, you WANT a DVD burner). Things have reached the
point at which ALL PCs should have DVD drives (for data on DVD media, as
well as for movies).

My recommendation for optical drives is:

1st choice:
-DVD burner (Pioneer A06/106)(burns CD's as well; burns EVERYTHING, in fact)
-DVD rom drive (also CD-ROM drive)

2nd choice:
-CD-ROM burner
-DVD drive

3rd choice (single drive):
-Samsung "combo" drive (CD-burner that READS DVDs)

Also, why are you using 30 gig drives? These days, when OfficeMax has
had 80 gig drives for $19.95 and 120 gig drives for $49.95, it makes no
sense to use a 30 gig drives (by the way, these were both WD 7200rpm
"JB" (high-end "special edition" large cache drives). Going over 120
gigs per drive means dealing with the 137 gig barrier, which is
certainly possible but it's a complication. Drives have gotten cheap,
and using anything less than 120 gigs is probably a bad choice when 120
gig drives are as cheap as they are.
 
Do NOT pair each harddrive with an optical drive on an IDE channel. The
harddrive's data transfer rate will slowww to that of the optical drive.
Pair the harddrives together, and pair the optical drives together.
 
That is not true. It was, once, the case that an IDE channel would run
at the speed of the slower of multiple devices connected to it, but that
has not been the case since about 1997.
 
where can I read up on this. I was still under the belief that the
channel speed will only be as fast as the slowest drive, ie udma 2 for
optical drives and udma 5 for hd's

Locust
 
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