So I have three IDE devices: A LS-120, a Plextor Plexwriter Premium CD burner, and an NEC 3520A DVD burner.

I have only one IDE channel.

I bought a $6 IDE->SATA adaptor, and it worked great with the LS-120... for about a week. Now I'm back to the original problem.

I've got three possible directions:

1) SATA optical drive.

Price: $30-60 (depending on if I replace both or just one)
Drawback: Nasty cable mess, because I'll need to add a SATA-style power cable or adaptor to the otherwise tidy case.
Benefit: Future proofing

2) Try another IDE->SATA adaptor.

Price: $6-25
Drawback: Almost all of them look exactly like the one which failed, and those which don't tend to be on the expensive side.
Benefit: May be useful down the road when the next mainboard has ZERO IDE channels.

3) IDE PCI card.

Price: $10-20
Drawback: Do they have problems with using LS-120s or optical drives? Especially for boot? Do they require extra drivers?
Benefit: Potentially reusable if the next board lacks IDE, but if it lacks IDE, will it have enough PCI slots to go around either? (I need two already, for TV tuner and 802.11 card)

Thoughts? Any place to acquire one of these solutions spectacularly cheaply? (most of the cheap IDE->SATA convertors are on eBay-- you pay like $20 for one from even a conventional online shop)

Quote: 1) SATA optical drive. Price: $30-60 (depending on if I replace both or just one) Drawback: Nasty cable mess, because I'll need to add a SATA-style power cable or adaptor to the otherwise tidy case. Benefit: Future proofing

Since I have no real mental picture of what your cabling looks like right now, nor what the added cable/connector(s) would entail, personally, I would disregard the cable mess and focus on the future-proofing side of the coin...

Quote: 2) Try another IDE->SATA adaptor. Price: $6-25 Drawback: Almost all of them look exactly like the one which failed, and those which don't tend to be on the expensive side. Benefit: May be useful down the road when the next mainboard has ZERO IDE channels.

The low cost would kind of push me to buy not just one, but perhaps half a dozen (if the cost + shipping was right). I realize that the dime-a-dozen nature is a turn-off...

However, taking future-proofing into account, and seeing as how a SATA optical will cost you about the same or less, depending on how many you end up buying, I would start getting used to the idea that sometimes you just can't recycle old parts for nostalgia/sentimentality sake... Wipe the old drive and take it down to the Salvation Army or something...

Alternately, you could focus your next mobo-buying efforts into finding a board that actually DOES have more than one IDE channel... Perhaps an easy solution now, who knows about the future...

Quote: 3) IDE PCI card. Price: $10-20 Drawback: Do they have problems with using LS-120s or optical drives? Especially for boot? Do they require extra drivers? Benefit: Potentially reusable if the next board lacks IDE, but if it lacks IDE, will it have enough PCI slots to go around either? (I need two already, for TV tuner and 802.11 card)

This one is kind of a moot point, IMO. If future-proofing is a concern, then it seems, no offense, that you're half-arsing the solution. From what I can tell, the trend in mobo slots is moving away from PCI in favor of more and more PCI-E slots... Either fight to keep the IDE devices, abandoning all hope of future-proofing, or dump them and get with the future, SATA opticals and HDDs and all that fun stuff...

The bottom line, I guess, IMO, is to go ahead and invest in the future. Appearance vs performance/compatibility/future-proofing is a losing argument. It is your machine and ultimately your money, granted, but I don't see that it would be too much of a stretch of the imagination to believe that the cables and connectors for future devices won't adopt the same "modability" factor as those we use today employ...

Remember the flat ribbon cables that everyone used to ghetto-rig with electrical/duct tape for more unrestricted airflow? When was the last time you saw someone's case with that situation? Rounded cables became so commonplace they're a dime a dozen these days. Any length, color, connector color, etc... Heck, if you look around enough, you can find right-angled to right-angled SATA data and power cables for a decent price, without your case looking like a shiite bomb went off inside it...

My $.02, yours to do with as you like...

I too would go with the SATA optical drive. The newer ones seem to be extremely well-built and not to mention quiet.

Having said that, the IDE PCI card wouldn't be a bad idea either. Not sure about the functionality with an LS-120, but I have used them before with good experiences. And yes, you can boot from the drives. It's not exactly the best choice for everyone, but it might be the answer you're looking for.

Quote: Originally Posted by GrandpaNoob72 Remember the flat ribbon cables that everyone used to ghetto-rig with electrical/duct tape for more unrestricted airflow? When was the last time you saw someone's case with that situation?

Err... about an hour and a half ago.



This is not Maximum Clutter Factor. There's no data-cable for the LS-120 right now.

If I give it up, I also have to give up the 5.25" floppy, and that does tend to reduce cable clutter (because I can use a shorter, tidier floppy cable, rather than one of the few ones I have which has a 5.25" size connector). However, it seems like such a loss-- not only losing the cool "Yep, it does it..." factor of a LS-120, but also that of the 5.25" drive!

(I'd be the one writing nasty letters that the new IBM 5150 wouldn't read punch cards in 1980, I think!)

[quote=Sn0wMan]
I too would go with the SATA optical drive. The newer ones seem to be extremely well-built and not to mention quiet.
[/quote]

Quiet? Optical drive? The last quiet optical drive I saw said "16x max" on the bezel.