round cables w/ 2 heads?

[Guest]

hey,
i am new to pc building and am planning on getting some round cables. The ones i have found (the antec "cobra" cables) are set-up for 2 devices. Does this mean that i can plug both my cd and dvd into one cable going to the motehrboard? is this advisable? If i only plug in one device on the cable, like 1 harddrive, and not plug the other end of the cable (the one for the second device) into anything, will it still work?

 

[Civilized]

A dual cable yes will allow you to plug up a master and a slave device onto one cable. This is totally normal and it is what it is made for. And yes you can use dual plug cables and just hook up one device and it will work fine. Just know that if you are using a cable select setting on the drive that you need to plug the right plug into the drive to get the master/slave settign you prefer. For example cable select will set a device slave if you hook up the cable to the second plug instead of the first. The antec cables are pretty nice. Also check out the coolermaster and vantec cables. You are making a good investment because these cables really help in airflow and are super easy to manuver

 

[Guest]

ok, 2 weeks have passed.

i have the cables right infront of me now. I am not sure (and it isnt written on the box) which cable plugs into the mobo, which is master, and which is slave. it's like there are two cables, one with a red connector and one with a black connector, and they both met in the middle, where there is grey connector.

the cable with the black connector seems to have a grounding wire or something sticking out of it.

here is a pic of it straight from the antec site:
http://www.antec-inc.com/images/400/Cobra_ide-cable.jpg

Which is which?

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by backflash001 on 02/03/03 09:44 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Guest]

...any one?

 

[jlanka]

I'd put the red connector into the mobo and the other 2 into the drives. Doesn't matter which goes into master or slave, thats handled by the jumpers.

Not sure what that grounding wire is for. Never seen it on an IDE cable. I would ignore it.

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>