I used it to add several DVD/CD writers and extra HardDrives to a SATA system that gets components switched often. I did not notice any data speed transfer issues and the motherboard recognized the IDE connection fully allowing me to choose any of the drives as primary boot or place them anywhere in the cue. The only drawback I can see is if you are connecting to the top bay components, the IDE cable has to stretch over top of the power supply cord bundle to reach the top bay DVD writers and space gets into a bit of a tangle with all the wiring.