IDE cable configuration

[freyport]

I have a question about how I should connect my IDE devices.

Here are the relevant components: Abit IS7 mobo, WD Raptor SATA drive, a DVD/CD-ROM drive, and a CD-RW drive.

Because I do not have any IDE hard drives (right now), I was thinking that I would connect my optical drives on one IDE cable with the DVD/CD-ROM drive as master and the CD-RW as slave.

I assume that I should use IDE-1 (although I don't know if it matters).
Is there any advantage or disadvantage to putting the optical drives on separate IDE channels? (I'd prefer the keep them on one channel for cable neatness.)
If I add an IDE hard drive in the future, I assume I would need to put it on IDE-1 and the optical drives on IDE-2.

Thanks a lot for any comments, answers, and opinions.

[doctorgonzo]

There is an advantage to having them on separate channels. If they are both on the same channel, only one drive can be active at a time. If you are copying one CD to another on the fly, this can affect performance. I would put the two drives on different channels.