DaveDDS wrote on Yesterday, 20:50:

The first PC CD-ROM I ever got was one that connected to a SoundBlaster (Pro or 16) - IIRC it was a 2x! - I don't think it was I […]
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Cuttoon wrote on Yesterday, 15:59:

Oh, 4x did indeed exist.

The first PC CD-ROM I ever got was one that connected to a SoundBlaster (Pro or 16) - IIRC it was a 2x!
- I don't think it was IDE - but the connector looked like it.

I think I had one at one time that took caddies that was 1x (but they were rare)

It actually started with one, IIRC. 1x refers to the original speed of music CDs which translates to roughly 150 kB per second. But even the oldest I've ever seen were 2x.

These really old pre-IDE drives have become rare AF. Maybe due to the fact that optical drives do indeed age with time and usage, much more than solid state electronics.
Many early to mid 90s sound cards had two or three different connectors, two of those were the same 40 pin ones as IDE uses.
My budged SB 32 from 1997 had an IDE interface, that was one of the earlier ones.

I did a dive on these really old CD-ROMs for proprietary interfaces.
Gathered a dozen model designations, ran an automated search on ebay for months. Very few, only at three figure prices.
Sadly, most privately owned relics will be thrown away or listed without designation...