The 20-Drive CD Ripping Monster: Why Build One in 2026?
You're staring at a collection of hundreds—maybe thousands—of CDs. Music, software, old archives, family photos burned decades ago. Each one represents hours of manual ripping. Or does it? That's exactly what one data hoarder on Reddit asked before building what can only be described as a beast: 20 optical drives connected through a SATA controller, all humming away simultaneously. In 2026, when most people consider optical media dead, why would anyone build such a contraption? Simple: scale. When you need to preserve data at volume, individual drives just won't cut it.
I've been there. I've spent weekends swapping discs, labeling files, dealing with read errors one by one. It's tedious work that makes you question your life choices. The 20-drive rig isn't about showing off—it's about solving a real problem. It's the difference between spending months on a project and finishing it in days. But as our Reddit builder discovered, it's not as simple as plugging in drives. The ATAPI compatibility issue they mentioned? That's just the first of many hurdles you'll face.
This guide isn't just about replicating their setup. It's about understanding why such systems matter in 2026, how to build one that actually works, and—most importantly—how to avoid the pitfalls that turn ambitious projects into expensive paperweights.
Understanding the Core Challenge: ATAPI vs. AHCI
Let's start with the problem that stumped our Reddit builder initially. They went through four different SATA controller cards before finding one that supported ATAPI. Why does this matter so much? Most modern SATA controllers default to AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) mode, which is optimized for hard drives and SSDs. Optical drives, however, use the older ATAPI (ATA Packet Interface) standard for command sets.
Here's the technical reality: ATAPI allows the host system to send packetized commands to optical drives. Things like "read sector," "eject tray," or "get disc status"—operations that hard drives don't need. An AHCI-only controller might see your optical drive, but it won't know how to talk to it properly. You'll get detection without functionality. The drives show up in Device Manager but refuse to read discs.
From my testing, the most reliable controllers for these builds come from companies like Syba, StarTech, and Orico. Specifically, look for controllers based on the JMicron JMB585 or ASMedia ASM1166 chipsets—these typically maintain good ATAPI compatibility. The cheap no-name controllers from Amazon? They'll disappoint you. I've wasted money on three different models before learning this lesson.
One pro tip: Check the controller's specifications for mention of "optical drive support" or "ATAPI compatibility." If it doesn't explicitly state it, assume it won't work. Manufacturers know this is a niche use case, so they'll mention it if they support it.
Hardware Selection: Building Beyond the Controller
The SATA controller is just the beginning. A 20-drive rig needs careful planning across every component. Power is your first consideration. Each optical drive draws about 15-25 watts during spin-up. Twenty drives means 300-500 watts just for the drives at peak. Add your motherboard, CPU, and other components, and you're looking at an 800-1000 watt power supply minimum.
But here's what most guides don't tell you: it's not just about total wattage. You need enough SATA power connectors. A single SATA power cable from your PSU typically has 3-4 connectors. For 20 drives, you'll need 5-7 cables. Modular power supplies are essential here. I recommend the Corsair RM1000x or similar—it has plenty of connectors and stable power delivery.
Drive selection matters too. Not all optical drives are created equal for bulk ripping. You want drives with good error correction, reasonable speed (not necessarily the fastest), and durability. The LG WH16NS40 Blu-ray drives are workhorses—they handle CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays, and they're built to last. Avoid the cheapest drives; they'll fail faster under constant use.
Physical mounting is another challenge. Twenty drives generate heat and vibration. You can't just stack them. I've used modified server chassis, custom 3D-printed brackets, and even repurposed mining rig frames. The key is airflow. Each drive needs space to breathe. If you're building this in a standard ATX case, you'll probably max out at 8-10 drives unless you get creative with external enclosures.
Software Stack: The Real Magic Happens Here
Hardware gets the discs spinning, but software does the actual work. And this is where most bulk ripping projects fail. You can't just install twenty instances of Windows Media Player and hope for the best. You need automation, error handling, and proper metadata management.
For audio CDs, Exact Audio Copy (EAC) remains the gold standard in 2026. It's been around for decades, but here's why it still matters: perfect rips. EAC uses multiple read passes and compares results to ensure bit-perfect copies. For a multi-drive setup, you'll want to script it. EAC has command-line options that allow automation. Combine it with a scripting language like Python or PowerShell, and you can queue rips across all drives simultaneously.
For data CDs and DVDs, I prefer a combination of tools. ImgBurn works well for straightforward copies, but it lacks automation. For bulk operations, I've had success with CDRoller in batch mode. The key is finding software that supports simultaneous operations and provides detailed logs. When you're ripping hundreds of discs, you need to know which ones failed and why.
Then there's the metadata problem. Music CDs need accurate track names, artists, and album art. Data discs need proper volume labels and directory structures. Services like MusicBrainz for audio and custom scripts for data can handle this, but you need to integrate them into your workflow. This is where many DIY solutions fall apart—they rip the data but create an organizational nightmare.
Bottleneck Analysis: Will Your System Actually Work?
Our Reddit builder mentioned they hadn't tested for bottlenecks yet. Smart concern. With twenty drives reading simultaneously, several potential choke points could slow everything to a crawl.
First, the SATA controller bandwidth. Most PCIe 3.0 x1 controllers offer about 985 MB/s theoretical bandwidth. Twenty CD drives reading at maximum speed (about 7.5 MB/s for 48x drives) would need 150 MB/s—well within limits. But that's just the controller. The PCIe lane allocation matters too. If your motherboard shares lanes between slots, you might hit limits.
Then there's the storage target. Where are you writing all this data? A single hard drive might struggle with twenty simultaneous write operations. RAID arrays help, but they introduce complexity. In my testing, a good NVMe SSD handles this workload best. The Samsung 990 Pro 2TB has the sustained write speeds and queue depth to manage multiple streams. But at 2TB, you'll fill it fast with DVD rips.
CPU usage is often overlooked. Error correction, compression, and metadata lookup all use CPU cycles. With twenty simultaneous rips, even a modern CPU can hit high utilization. I recommend at least a 6-core processor for this workload. The sweet spot is 8-12 cores—enough to handle the workload without breaking the bank.
The real bottleneck, though, is often human. Loading twenty drives, checking results, handling errors—that's time-consuming even with automation. Which brings us to...
Automation Strategies: From Manual to Hands-Off
The dream is a system where you load discs, press a button, and come back to finished rips. The reality requires careful planning. Physical automation—robotic disc changers—exists but costs thousands. For most of us, software automation is the practical solution.
Start with scripting your ripping software. Both EAC and MakeMKV (for DVDs and Blu-rays) support command-line interfaces. Write scripts that:
- Detect when a new disc is inserted
- Identify the disc type (audio, data, video)
- Launch the appropriate ripping software with optimal settings
- Handle naming and organization based on disc content
- Eject the disc when complete
- Log everything for review
On Windows, AutoHotkey can simulate keypresses for software that lacks proper CLI support. On Linux, bash scripting with cdparanoia and dvdbackup works beautifully. The key is error handling. What happens when a disc is unreadable? What about discs with copy protection? Your script needs to handle these gracefully.
For the truly ambitious, consider integrating with web scraping automation tools for metadata collection. While Apify is typically for web data, its automation capabilities can be adapted to fetch album art, track listings, or movie information from online databases. This saves hours of manual lookup.
But here's my honest take: full automation is overkill for most projects. Semi-automation—where the system handles the ripping but you handle disc swapping—is often more practical. Focus on automating the hard parts: file naming, error checking, and organization.
DVD and Blu-ray Considerations: The Next Frontier
Our Reddit builder mentioned DVDs as their next challenge. They're right to be concerned—DVDs are a different beast entirely. While CDs max out at 700MB, DVDs can be 4.7GB (single layer) or 8.5GB (dual layer). Blu-rays go to 25GB or 50GB. The storage requirements multiply quickly.
Then there's the ripping complexity. DVDs have region coding, CSS encryption, and sometimes additional copy protection like ARccOS. Blu-rays add AACS and BD+. In 2026, these protections are still active concerns. MakeMKV remains the best tool for this job—it handles most protections transparently and has excellent batch capabilities.
But here's the practical reality: DVD ripping takes longer. Much longer. A DVD can take 15-45 minutes to rip depending on speed and content. Twenty simultaneous DVD rips could take 5-15 hours per batch. You need to plan for this time commitment and ensure your system is stable for long runs.
Storage becomes critical too. Twenty DVDs at 4.7GB each is 94GB per batch. A thousand DVDs is 4.7TB. You'll need serious storage solutions. I recommend a NAS or large external array. The Western Digital 8TB Elements drives offer good value for bulk storage, though for critical data, consider RAID for redundancy.
One often-overlooked aspect: file formats. Do you rip to ISO (exact copy) or extract just the main content? For preservation, ISO is best. For practical use, extracting the main movie/title saves space. Your choice depends on your goals.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
After helping dozens of people build similar systems, I've seen the same mistakes repeatedly. Let's address them directly.
First, buying the wrong controller. As we discussed, ATAPI compatibility is non-negotiable. But even with compatible controllers, driver issues can arise. Always check for the latest drivers from the chipset manufacturer, not the card vendor. The generic Windows drivers often work better than the "official" ones.
Second, underestimating power requirements. Optical drives have high spin-up current. If all twenty drives try to spin up simultaneously, they can trip overcurrent protection on cheaper power supplies. Stagger the spin-up in your scripts, or use a PSU with strong single-rail design.
Third, poor cooling. Twenty drives generate noticeable heat. Without proper airflow, they'll fail prematurely. I've seen drives fail in under six months in poorly ventilated setups. Add fans. More than you think you need. Monitor temperatures with tools like CrystalDiskInfo.
Fourth, skipping verification. Ripping without verifying is like copying files without checking—you'll end up with corrupt data. Always enable verification in your ripping software. For critical data, consider creating PAR2 recovery files. The extra time is worth it.
Fifth, inadequate logging. When something goes wrong at 3 AM (and it will), you need to know what happened. Log everything: drive used, disc hash, rip time, errors encountered. I prefer text logs that I can parse with scripts later.
The Human Element: When to DIY vs. Hire Out
Here's the uncomfortable truth: building a 20-drive ripping rig isn't for everyone. The hardware costs, the time investment, the technical challenges—they add up. Before you start buying components, ask yourself: is this the best use of my time?
For small collections (under 500 discs), manual ripping or a single high-quality drive might be more efficient. For medium collections (500-2000 discs), a 4-8 drive setup hits the sweet spot. The 20-drive monster makes sense for truly massive collections or commercial operations.
If you're not comfortable with scripting, hardware troubleshooting, and system administration, consider alternatives. Professional digitization services exist, though they're expensive. Or you could hire someone to build the system for you. Many freelancers specialize in custom automation solutions.
But if you're like our Reddit builder—someone who enjoys the challenge, who wants complete control, who sees the value in preserving data at scale—then this project is incredibly rewarding. There's satisfaction in watching twenty drives work in unison, in seeing terabytes of data preserved that might otherwise be lost.
Looking Forward: Optical Media in a Post-Optical World
In 2026, optical drives are disappearing from consumer PCs. Laptops haven't included them for years. Desktop cases often omit the bays. Yet here we are, building systems with twenty of them. Why?
Because data preservation doesn't care about trends. Those CDs and DVDs contain music, photos, documents, and software that might not exist anywhere else. Cloud storage isn't a solution for everything—it has costs, privacy concerns, and dependency on corporate continuity. Local preservation matters.
The 20-drive rig represents a bridge between eras. It takes physical media from the late 20th and early 21st centuries and brings it into the modern digital landscape. It's not about nostalgia—it's about practical preservation. When that software manual from 1998 or that family video from 2003 only exists on a deteriorating CD, this rig becomes essential.
And honestly? There's something satisfying about it. In a world of intangible cloud services and subscription everything, this is physical, tangible, and under your control. You can see the drives spin, hear them work, watch the progress. It's computing in its most visceral form.
Your Next Steps: Building Your Own Beast
Ready to start? Begin with planning, not purchasing. Document your collection. How many discs? What types? What condition are they in? This determines your scale.
Then, start small. Build a 4-drive system first. Learn the software, understand the workflow, identify bottlenecks. Once that works reliably, scale up. Jumping straight to twenty drives is asking for frustration.
Join communities like r/DataHoarder on Reddit. The collective knowledge there is invaluable. People share scripts, hardware recommendations, and hard-won lessons. Our original builder's post sparked hundreds of comments with specific advice—that's the kind of resource you need.
Most importantly, be patient. This isn't a weekend project. It's a system that will evolve as you learn. You'll replace drives, rewrite scripts, reconfigure storage. That's part of the process.
In the end, whether you build a 4-drive system or a 20-drive monster, you're participating in something important: preserving data that might otherwise disappear. In 2026, that's more valuable than ever. The beast isn't just a collection of drives—it's a time machine, saving bits from the past for the future.
