how to hook up multiple drives

[cesto]

I have a lian-li case that can hold up to 5 hard drives and 4 drives (floppy, cdrom, dvd). Currently I have two hdds and 1 dvd-rw, 1 cd-rw. I don't see any cables that allow the connection of more than 2 devices (master & slave). How can you hook up more devices? My motherboard has only two connectors, and I was told from another forum that the cables do not support more than two devices. Please advise. Thanks!

 

[Matthias99]

You'll need a PCI drive controller card if you want to add more hard drives (or to use SATA or SCSI drives on a system that doesn't have onboard SATA or SCSI). You can get them pretty much anywhere that sells computer parts. You just install the card (and any required drivers), then plug the drives into the card and your OS will be able to use them.

 

[Zepper]

Yes, most mobos support up to 4 drives on the standard two IDE (PATA) channels (two drives per channel). If you have SATA connectors, you can add one more drive per SATA connector. Beyond that you have to use one or more add-on adapter cards or USB 2 or FireWire external drive cases.
. I recommend the SiliconImage based Syba adapers for their flexibility and low cost - carried by dealsonic.com and now newegg.com et al. If you like a higher priced (and perhaps higher quality) version, LSI Logic makes SI based PATA and SATA adapters - available from newegg.com et al. And there are lots of decent external drive cases. The ATF denizens seem to like the Bytecc ones.
. Oh, I forgot... There's always SCSI (pronounced scuzzy by insiders) - up to 15 devices per channel! Available devices are: hard drives, tape drives, optical drives (CD burners, etc.), scanners, etc. And there are even adapters to hook IDE drives to the SCSI channel.
.bh.

Where's the :sun: ?

 

[Cheetah8799]

Originally posted by: cesto
I have a lian-li case that can hold up to 5 hard drives and 4 drives (floppy, cdrom, dvd). Currently I have two hdds and 1 dvd-rw, 1 cd-rw. I don't see any cables that allow the connection of more than 2 devices (master & slave). How can you hook up more devices? My motherboard has only two connectors, and I was told from another forum that the cables do not support more than two devices. Please advise. Thanks!

Another option is to replace your motherboard with a board that has a RAID controller and allows another 4 IDE devices. Or maybe SATA if you go with a newer board. I think Zepper was hinting at this.

Matthias99's idea is also good. I use a Promise PCI Raid controller, you can get them in the FS/FT forum usually for around $20 - $25 shipped. Maybe less. HighPoint is also a good controller chipset.

 

[Comparisonman]

You dont need to replace your motherboard unless you want to or it is going bad. Just get a PCI IDE controller that supports another 4 drives and off you go.

 

[cesto]

thanks for the replies all. i looked on dealsonic.com and saw a ide controller. i see where the drives cables hook into, but how about the power connector? does this require another type of hardware adition?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: cesto
thanks for the replies all. i looked on dealsonic.com and saw a ide controller. i see where the drives cables hook into, but how about the power connector? does this require another type of hardware adition?

Just plug them into your PSU like anything else. What the hell else are you going to plug them into?

 

[cesto]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: cesto
thanks for the replies all. i looked on dealsonic.com and saw a ide controller. i see where the drives cables hook into, but how about the power connector? does this require another type of hardware adition?

Just plug them into your PSU like anything else. What the hell else are you going to plug them into?

thought there was a certain amount of connectors on my PSU. ..sorry it was my first build and I was aided by a friend which was 2+ years ago. ;/ Just wanted to make sure I didnt need anymore connectors

 

[yelo333]

Originally posted by: cesto

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: cesto
thanks for the replies all. i looked on dealsonic.com and saw a ide controller. i see where the drives cables hook into, but how about the power connector? does this require another type of hardware adition?

Just plug them into your PSU like anything else. What the hell else are you going to plug them into?

thought there was a certain amount of connectors on my PSU. ..sorry it was my first build and I was aided by a friend which was 2+ years ago. ;/ Just wanted to make sure I didnt need anymore connectors

If you need more, a y-pwer adapter can satisfy that. chances are you won't, but, just in case, you do have options.

 

[Zepper]

If you run out of drive connectors on your PSU, you can use some power splitters (1 male to 2 female drive powerconnectors). They are about one or two dollars and are usually available from all of the popular computer equipment vendors. I like the ones that are straight wires with 3 rt. angle IDC AMP connectors (rather than the Y-shaped ones, but they are harder to find and usually more expensive.
.bh.

:moon:

 

[LtPage1]

does the pci card interface with the motherboard slower than plugging a drive in directly? does it affect performance?

 

[wuduhel]

not to bastardize on this thread, but what is the best way to hook up 2HDD and 2 optical drives on a standard 2 EIDE channel mobo?

when i had both HDD on the same channel, master/slave, it took like 3-5min to copy a 700mb avi

when i tried one HDD on each channel, both master with the optical drives as slave, it took like 1:35 to copy a 700mb movie

are these normal speeds? if so, damn, it's going to take a couple hours to move my movies and mp3's to my new HDD

the speeds i was seeing in this article seem a lot faster than what i'm getting!

TIA

edit:

not only was it faster to have the HDD's on different channels, i'm also able to actually use the computer while copying files.

BTW my machine is p4 2.4 1gbRAM both HDD's are 160GB WD 7200