How to Build Your Own PC - Save A Buck And Learn A Lot  9  Chapter 6: Connecting Components

Chapter 6: Connecting Components 1 Connecting the Sound Cable

Because we have two IDE connectors on the mainboard, we’ll use one for the hard drive and the other for the CD-RW. Each device will be set as primary on its own cable. Each ribbon cable can have one primary and one secondary device.

The jumper options on CD-RW drives are the same as for the hard drive, because both are IDE devices. The choices are primary, secondary and cable select. Double check your jumpers before installing the 5.25" devices. You can put two CD-RWs on one cable or more commonly a CD-RW and a DVD on one cable.

It’s common to have both a CD-RW and a DVD. That allows you to play DVDs and record to CDs as well as read CDs. Unless you plan to make movies on your PC, you probably won’t need a DVD burner. However, prices for DVD burners have come down significantly. We’ll discuss DVD burners in another chapter.

If you operate two devices on one cable, just be sure each device is set to cable select or be sure one is set to primary and the other to secondary. If you ever have a conflict, sometimes it helps to change the order of the devices. Make the one that’s currently primary secondary and vice versa.

Chapter 6: Connecting Components 1 Connecting the Sound Cable