DVD Drive Performance Issues

Recently built a new box with:

GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3LR LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard
Windows XP SP3

I have two DVD drives (Sony Optiarc and Lite On) and both have performance issues.

Problems
Eject Response Time - when pushing the eject button on both drives, sometimes response time to open/close the drive bay is slow;

Autoplay Response Time - sometimes, takes up to 2 minutes for the autoplay to start

Research Done

Ran Microsoft Autoplay Fix Tool and got the following result for both drives:

AutoFix [V5.2.3790.67]
Time [2009-06-20 18:58:05]
Microsoft Windows Version [5.1 (Service Pack 3) <2600>]

Test [The Shell Hardware Detection service is running.] - Instance [N/A]:
Result [AutoStart Setting]: OK
Result [The Shell Hardware Detection service is running.]: OK

Test [Policies] - Instance [E:\, Drive Type: 5]:
Result [HKCU\...\Policies!NoDrives]: OK {Absent}
Result [HKCU\...\Policies!NoDriveAutorun]: OK {Absent}
Result [HKCU\...\Policies!NoDriveTypeAutorun]: OK {Present}
Result [HKLM\...\Policies!NoDrives]: OK {Absent}
Result [HKLM\...\Policies!NoDriveAutorun]: OK {Absent}
Result [HKLM\...\Policies!NoDriveTypeAutorun]: OK {Absent}
Result [Driver level policies]: OK {
HKLM\...\Services\cdrom!Autorun (Present) <Allows>
HKLM\...\Services\cdrom\Parameters!Autorun (Absent) <Allows>
HKLM\System\CCS\Enum\...!AlwaysEnable (Absent) <Not set>
HKLM\System\CCS\Enum\...!AlwaysDisable (Absent) <Not set> }

Test [Drive Notification] - Instance [E:\, Drive Type: 5]:
Result [Legacy Notification]: OK
Result [AutoPlay V2 Notification]: Problems {
Service (Silent)
Shell (Deaf) }
>> Repair << [Autoplay V2 Event]
Step: No steps to take.
Result: This AutoPlay setting cannot be fixed. Either the device is malfunctioning, or the wizard cannot determine the problem.

>> Required action: The wizard found problems but cannot fix them -> None


Also reviewed XP logs and found the following messages:

Message 1:
Event Type: Warning
Event Source: PlugPlayManager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 257
Date: 6/20/2009
Time: 6:57:44 PM
User: N/A
Computer: MYPC
Description:
Timed out sending notification of target device change to window of "WndClass_CWinDrivesNotifyerHelperWindow"

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

Message 2:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: atapi
Event Category: None
Event ID: 9
Date: 6/21/2009
Time: 10:45:36 PM
User: N/A
Computer: MYPC
Description:
The device, \Device\Ide\IdePort0, did not respond within the timeout period.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 0f 00 50 00 01 00 a4 00 ..P...¤.
0008: 00 00 00 00 09 00 04 c0 .......À
0010: 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
0018: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
0020: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
0028: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
0030: 00 00 00 00 07 00 00 00 ........
0038: 40 00 00 0e 00 00 00 00 @.......
0040: 00 00 0c 18 48 01 00 00 ....H...
0048: 00 00 00 00 64 00 00 00 ....d...
0050: 80 f8 76 b8 90 9e 96 89 ?øv¸???
0058: 00 00 00 00 20 5f 99 8a .... _??
0060: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
0068: f5 01 50 49 58 b3 0c 00 õ.PIX³..
0070: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........

I've also checked both manufacturer websites and the firmware is current.

Does anyone have any suggestions?