CD-ROM and Ultra-ATA

[Nuclear Krusader]

So I got this new Samsung 52X CD-ROM drive, the specifications say that this is Ultra-DMA capable. What's that s'posed to mean? Currently I have this new CD drive as master and my old Creative burner as slave, with a 40 wire cable; so, will I have better performance if I use an 80 wire cable?

[Rancher]

Originally posted by Nuclear Krusader So I got this new Samsung 52X CD-ROM drive, the specifications say that this is Ultra-DMA capable. What's that s'posed to mean? Currently I have this new CD drive as master and my old Creative burner as slave, with a 40 wire cable; so, will I have better performance if I use an 80 wire cable?

This is a loose term them cdrom makers like to use to compete with the hard drive folks. No the cd will run pio mode but check the DMA box after install, this will make you THINK it's on high octane, [direct memory access]
If you plan on burning on the "FLY" then you don't want both cdrom & burner on the same ide channel. Rancher

[Cricket]

Hi Nuclear Krusader,

Most current CD-ROM drives do run at ATA33 (uses the 40 wire cable) and there are some that are said to be ATA66 (I haven't seen any, but would require the 80 wire cable). I find it a hit-and-miss sort of thing when enabling DMA for the CD-ROM drive. It will sometimes freeze up the system using certain programs (audio rippers).

You can most likely just use the 40 wire IDE cable, enable DMA in Device Manager and see what happens.

Cricket