How to configure IDE? (2 CDRW, 1 DVD, 2 HD)

[dvdapex]

I'm building a pc with some parts from my old machine and some new parts. My question is, how should I configure the IDE drives? I do have an ATA100 pci card with 2 additional IDE channels.

Here are my IDE components:
2 Lite-ON 12x burners
1 Lite-ON 16x DVD drive
1 Maxtor 7200 45 GB drive
1 Maxtor 7200 20 GB drive

I'd like to have the 20 GB drive be my system drive and the 45 GB drive be totally for storage.

Here's how I'll be using this computer
I will be doing video capture
I plan to do dvd ripping (I want to play around with SVCD creation for MY own use)
I will, at times, want to burn to both burners at the same time from the 45 GB drive (using diskjuggler or CDRWIN)
I will NOT be doing on-the-fly copying from either the CDR or the DVD drives
I will be doing a lot of downloading to the 45 GB drive
I will be playing a lot of RTS games (3D 1st persons make me ill)
I will be ripping my own CDs to MP3 (is there any program that will allow me to rip from both burners--or my burners and DVD drive--at the same time?)

I was thinking about having the following configuration:
20GB drive on it's own IDE channel (IDE 1)
45GB drive on IDE channel 2 as master
DVD drive on IDE channel 2 as slave
each burner on it's own IDE channel

What do you think?

The problem I forsee is when I add another storage drive in a year;would I then put that storage drive as a slave on IDE1?

 

[Scootin159]

If your PCI card supports CD-ROM devices:
IDE1: 20GB
IDE2: CD-RW/DVD-ROM
PCI1: 45gb
PCI2: CD-RW

If your PCI card only supports HDD's
IDE1: CD-RW/DVD-ROM
IDE2: CD-RW
PCI1: 20gb
PCI2: 45gb

Why?

Having the 'boot' drive not be on your PCI card will make OS instalations 'a little' easier, but it's really not hard at all.

If you're gonna do a cd-cd copy, just use one burner -> the other, but since you said you won't be doing this, it's really not an issue.

MAKE SURE THOUGH: that you have the CD-RW's as master on their own channel if you're planning burning 2 at once (and that the 'source' isn't slave to either of them).

 

[tazdevl]

Or you could get a Soyo Dragon+. It has switchable RAID in addition to the regular IDE channels, so it can handle up to 8 IDE devices. Much cleaner solution IMO. They're going for ~$150.

 

[dvdapex]

<< Or you could get a Soyo Dragon+. It has switchable RAID in addition to the regular IDE channels, so it can handle up to 8 IDE devices. Much cleaner solution IMO. They're going for ~$150. >>


I just bought the Epox 8Ha+ so I won't be doing that.

 

[RaiderJ]

IDE CHANNEL 1: CDRW #1 as Master
IDE CHANNEL 2: CDRW #2 as Master
DVD as Slave

ATA100 CHANNEL 1: Hard drive #1 as Master
ATA100 CHANNEL 2: Hard drive #2 as Master

This is assuming that the ATA100 card is faster than the onboard IDE. I'm not sure if that is true, or if it really makes no difference. If it does, just switch where the drives are. The downside to this setup is that you will have lots of cables running around in your case.

With both hard drives running on their own channels, you won't have them slow down since there is no other drives to be accessed on the channel. You can burn to both drives at once with this setup, provided you don't flywrite from the DVD drive, but you said this wouldn't be an issue anyway.