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Sterndogg02

88 Posts

7247

March 20th, 2007 13:00

XPS Gen 2 UDMA Specs and DVD burner on Primary Master

I just purchased a Samsung Writemaster SH-182M DVD burner and a Lite-On LH-20A1H DVD burner. I currently have the Samsung as the secondary master and the lite-on as the secondary slave (I ditched the cable select option although it probably doesn't make a difference since the samsung is at the end of the cable). Anyway, since my hard drives are connected via SATA ports, and the primary IDE port is free,  I'm wondering for better performance can I switch one drive to the primary IDE port using an 80-pin cable (master) and keep one drive on the secondary IDE port (master)? The Samsung supports UDMA mode 2 while the Lite-On supports UDMA mode 4...does the xps gen 2 support mode 4 transfer rate - I couldn't find it in the specs.
 
Thanks,
Adam 

Predator

15.3K Posts

March 20th, 2007 13:00




Hi Adam,

Enter the BIOS/System Setup and turn the Primary IDE channel to auto and or ON. Dell defaults it to off and at times it does not automatically adjust.
The Primary IDE Channel should support UDMA-5, so yes it is a good idea to use the channel and separate the drives.
I built my last PC using an Asus motherboard, SATA hard drive and a Plextor 708A on the Primary IDE channel, Master/End connection (I still set mine up from the old school but recommend Cable Select for the Dells to stay with their standard); Sony CD/RW on the Secondary IDE Channel, Master/End connection. The Primary is in UDMA-5 and the Secondary is in UDMA-2.
The specs sheet for the Gen 2 does not mention the modes, you have to check the chipset, which according to the manual is 875 and supports the Ultra ATA/100 which if my notes are correct supports UDMA-5. Anyway being honest it may or may not run in a Mode higher than 2 but since the Lite-on does support the higher mode; I would place it on the Primary channel if it was mine.


Best Regards!



God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do and the eyesight to tell the
difference.

CD/RW Link


Message Edited by Predator on 03-20-2007 10:42 AM

Sterndogg02

88 Posts

March 20th, 2007 18:00

Jeff,
 
Thanks so much! You are absolutely correct in your analysis. I don't know why I didn't put a drive on the primary channel for all this time since I'm running the hard drives on the SATA channels.
The CD Freaks forum also recommended the same setup for best performance:
-Place Lite-On (supports UDMA mode 4) on the primary IDE channel as master
-Place Samsung (supports UDMA mode 2) on the secondary IDE channel as master
I will also pick up at least one new 80-pin cable. I believe both new drives are connected to the original 80-pin cable supplied from Dell for the cable select config.
 
Best,
Adam

Sterndogg02

88 Posts

March 22nd, 2007 16:00

Does your 8200 have a serial ATA hard drive? If not, manufacturers do not recommend installing an optical drive on the primary IDE channel as a slave. Using Jeff's suggested setup (message above) here are two possible scenarios for your system:
 
Non-Serial ATA hard drive:
Make the new Plextor (760) as the secondary master and the old Plextor (708A) as the secondary slave using the 80-pin cable (the cable should have support to connect two devices).
 
Serial-ATA hard drive:
If you do have a serial ATA hard drive and your primary IDE channel is empty, make the 760 the primary master (use the 80-pin cable) and place the 708 on the secondary IDE channel as secondary master (you might need a new 80-pin cable).
 
Both drives should support at a min UDMA mode 2.
 
All along my primary IDE channel was empty so for greatest performance and stability I'm making the Lite-On as the primary master and the Samsung as the secondary master.
 
Best of luck,
Adam

JJB3932

15 Posts

March 22nd, 2007 16:00

Sorry about that up post. I got a phone call in the middle of it. I will be brief. Dell 8200 bought Plextor 760A 16x DVD Writer/Burner. Plan to replace my Plextor708A and use as secondary drive. Plextor recomends that I use 760A as Master and 708A as slave.I also intend to use 80 pin ribbon that Plextor proivides. Does anyone see any potential problems. I would appreciate any advice or comments. JJB

JJB3932

15 Posts

March 22nd, 2007 16:00

I have a Dell Dim. 8200 with 2.8GHZ and 1024 of DRAM. I presently have a Plextor 708A 8X DVD Burner and the original CD drive. I bought a Plextor 760A 18XDVD writer/Burner. I was told by Plextor Tech to Install the 760I intend to use the 80 pin ribbon that Plextor provides as they suggested I do. Thanks for any comments or help. JJBA as Master and The Plextor 708A as slave. The CD drive will be replaced by the 708A. Does anyone forsee any problems I might have?

JJB3932

15 Posts

March 22nd, 2007 22:00

Thanks for your quick reply. I have not used these boards for along time but I can see that they still contain a whole lot of good people willing to help others. I do have an ATA hard drive and another one hooked up to the original . I think your solution or Jeffs' is probably the right one I will try and I hope to get back to this page to report my progress. Thanks again for the help. JJB

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