Questions for Samsung Magician users

[TVeblen]

I just upgraded Magician to v4.3.
It's the first time I've looked at the program in many months. I made some choices when I first installed the SSD, but I'm wondering about some of these now.

Program: Do you allow Magician to run at startup? Reasons?

Over Provisioning: Do you enable this? Why?

Rapid Mode: Do you enable this? Why?

Firmware Update: Do you bother doing a full backup before updating the firmware?

Thanks for any instruction or opinions.

 

[Layback Bear]

I'm glad you asked those question.
I can't give you answers but I do have a Samsung ssd coming and that information should be handy to all Samsung ssd users.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Program: Do you allow Magician to run at startup? Reasons? No. Magician is useful when first setting up an SSD and occasionally optimizing it in case TRIM isn't fully doing its job.

Over Provisioning: Do you enable this? Why? No. Samsung SSDs are already over provisioned by the manufacturer and additional overprovisioning isn't really necessary. Studies have shown that Sammy SSDs will last longer than what has been projected by Samsung.

Rapid Mode: Do you enable this? Why? Yes and no. I tried to enable RAPID when it became available on the 840 Pro in my desktop machine but I couldn't see any difference in real life performance or in benches. I've since learned that I would have to update the firmware first and, being the coward I am, I would rather not do that. I've also seen posts in various forums reporting occasional problems with RAPID on the older 840 Pros like mine. The 840 EVO I put in my notebook, on the other hand, responded reasonably well to RAPID. Performance improved noticeably; the benches were much higher. Be aware that RAPID works by stealing 1-2GB from system RAM to cache the SSD. I upgraded the RAM in my notebook from 4GB to 8GB before enabling RAPID.

Firmware Update: Do you bother doing a full backup before updating the firmware? Being a confirmed coward, I've never updated the firmware of my SSDs but, if I were to, I most definitely would do a full backup first. I do make a full image of my boot drive (or partitions, in the case of my notebook's SSD) once a week and anytime I make a major change, such as install a new program. You would be very wise to make a full image before attempting to update the firmware.

Thanks for any instruction or opinions.

 

[TVeblen]

Thanks for the input Jeannie!

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

No problem, I'll send you a bill at the end of the month,

 

[dsperber]

Program: Do you allow Magician to run at startup? Reasons?

Yes.

I have a 256GB 840 Pro on a Lenovo M93p desktop machine (along with a second 1TB spinner), and also have a 512GB 840 Pro on a Lenovo W530 laptop (replacing the original 512GB spinner).

Both machines have Magician installed, and both installations launch Magician at Windows startup. I assumed it was necessary to provide all the functionality (but I may be wrong). I rarely open it (from the system tray icon), but I certainly was automatically advised the other day with a popup message about a firmware update that was available.

Can't see why it should not be run at startup.

Over Provisioning: Do you enable this? Why?

Yes, on both machines.

This required leaving out just a bit under 10% of total capacity for each 840 Pro as "unallocated" to partitions. So obviously there is about twice the unallocated space on the 512GB 840 Pro than on the 256GB drive.

These two drives were my first experience with SSD, and from what I read (documentation HELP available with Magician) it seemed to be something to improve performance or longevity if you selected it. Seemed reasonable, and the 10% loss of storage capacity was not critical or objectionable to me.

So I went with it.

Rapid Mode: Do you enable this? Why?

Yes.

I have 8GB of memory on both machines. Aida64 shows memory utilization on both rarely go above 50% and quite regularly sit at 25-40% tops. So I have 4GB of main memory in the machine that's not being used, and might as well be re-purposed for use by the SSD drive if that aids SSD performance.

So why not do it? That was my reasoning. I believe SSD performance is definitely improved on both machines.

Firmware Update: Do you bother doing a full backup before updating the firmware?

I didn't, though it might have been appropriate.

But on both machines I already have regular automatic "system image" backups taken weekly to an externaal USB 3.0 drive. And I also have regular automatic monthly FULL "data" backups taken, along with regular automatic daily INCREMENTAL "data" backups taken.

I had confidence enough in Samsung (and my existing backup system) to not feel the need to do a one-off special backup before upgrading the firmware. But I suppose it wouldn't have been wrong to do so.

Now my regular "system image" backups are only of the system reserved and C-partitions, not for the other partitions I've allocated on the SSD (which are backed up as "data"). So in theory I would have needed a "system image" of the ENTIRE SSD (i.e. all of its partitions) for proper protection. Just didn't seem necessary.

 

[Britton30]

As with each person we all have opinions.
Program: Do you allow Magician to run at startup? Reasons?
No, it's not needed to startup, all settings made "keep" without it running. I like to have a very clean startup.

Over Provisioning: Do you enable this? Why?
Yes. It's used as part of the TRIM and Garbage collection features of the SSD.


Rapid Mode: Do you enable this? Why?
I do have it running, but as Jeannie said, I really don't see any performance boost.


Firmware Update: Do you bother doing a full backup before updating the firmware?
I didn't and it all went fine. The pro version had a FW update just a few days ago and I installed it successfully.

I also have let Super Fetch continue running but not indexing. With SSD speed indexing isn't a real need.

 

[TVeblen]

Thanks Gents!

 

[Britton30]

Thanks Gents!

You're welcome. Jeannie may not like that.

 

[TVeblen]

She got her thank you!

 

[TVeblen]

I keep a clean start up and wanted to keep it that way. Good to have the confirmation on that.

Also keep periodic images, so I don't think I'll bother with another so soon to do firmware.

The other two I will play with. They have been disabled since new.

 

[dsperber]

Rapid Mode: Do you enable this? Why? Yes and no. I tried to enable RAPID when it became available on the 840 Pro in my desktop machine but I couldn't see any difference in real life performance or in benches. I've since learned that I would have to update the firmware first and, being the coward I am, I would rather not do that. I've also seen posts in various forums reporting occasional problems with RAPID on the older 840 Pros like mine. The 840 EVO I put in my notebook, on the other hand, responded reasonably well to RAPID. Performance improved noticeably; the benches were much higher.

Can't speak to the EVO, as I have a PRO. And my PRO did come with what was the most recent firmware at the time. And I also have recently updated firmware to the very latest DXM06B0Q.

And as I mentioned previously, I have 8GB memory in my Lenovo W530 laptop (i7-3740QM @2.70GHz), which is only about 34% used. So I have lots of extra unused RAM (PC3-12800 800MHz) to re-purpose for SSD use with rapid mode.

But according to the Magician performance benchmark test there is absolutely no doubt that there is VERY SIGNIFICANT performance improvement related to "rapid mode".

(1) here's performance with "rapid mode" DISABLED:

(2) and here's performance with "rapid mode" ENABLED:

 

[TVeblen]

That is impressive.
I have 16GB RAM. Wonder if I can spare some?

 

[Ranger4]

I just upgraded Magician to v4.3.
It's the first time I've looked at the program in many months. I made some choices when I first installed the SSD, but I'm wondering about some of these now.

Program: Do you allow Magician to run at startup? Reasons?

Over Provisioning: Do you enable this? Why?

Rapid Mode: Do you enable this? Why?

Firmware Update: Do you bother doing a full backup before updating the firmware?

Thanks for any instruction or opinions.

Samsung 256Gb 840 Pro SSD
Answers to questions.
1. No, I keep start up limited to AV & Samsung Rapid Mode only.
2. Yes, recommended by Samsung
3. Yes, definitely improves speed
4. No, firmware update ran smoothly, but I do have a regular image backup


Screen shot of speed with Rapid Mode on. 16Gb of RAM & running in Samsung's Reliability Mode

 

[Torah Lishmah]

Being a confirmed coward, I've never updated the firmware of my SSDs but, if I were to, I most definitely would do a full backup first. I do make a full image of my boot drive (or partitions, in the case of my notebook's SSD) once a week and anytime I make a major change, such as install a new program. You would be very wise to make a full image before attempting to update the firmware.

Coward? Naaaah....just being smart! If it ain't broke, don't fix it I always say. As far as backup images go, I clone my OS drive every ten days or so whether it needs it or not. With Acronis True Image it only takes about 12 minutes to clone a 500GB SATA Barracuda @7200 Rpm's. Time wisely spent indeed. There is no such thing as being "overly cautious" when it comes to backing up data. But you already know that.

 

[Britton30]

Oh yeah, Rapid Mode make a big difference in all read/write benchmarks. I still se no difference in day-to-day usage though. I do a few graphics renders and a bit of video coding and it's no faster.

It doesn't seem to use much RAM like a RAM disk would either. Mine uses less than 1MB of RAM, the SamsungRapidApp is a notification service, while the SamsungRapidSvc is the rapid mode.
Running Magician uses a lot more RAM.

 

[Torah Lishmah]

Thanks for any instruction or opinions.

This comment is off topic, so please forgive me. TVeblen, I love the fact that you have been on this forum going on five years now, have about 5,000 posts, have earned "Guru" status, and yet you are still man enough to ask for advice, rather than cling to a "know it all" persona. Outstanding!

 

[TVeblen]

Aw shucks.
75% of what I know about PC's I learned from others in newsgroups and forums just like this one, the other 25% I learned by screwing up and needing to find a fix fast.
90% of what I know about Windows 7 I learned from this forum, the other 10% I learned by screwing around and experimenting. This also often involved screwing something up and needing to find a fix fast.

The great thing about this forum is that there are so many folks that each have a very unique set of skills and experience. Collectively it forms a fantastic body of knowledge. I would be a fool not to dip into that pool!

 

[Britton30]

Thanks for any instruction or opinions.

This comment is off topic, so please forgive me. TVeblen, I love the fact that you have been on this forum going on five years now, have about 5,000 posts, have earned "Guru" status, and yet you are still man enough to ask for advice, rather than cling to a "know it all" persona. Outstanding!

None of us here know all the answers. I've asked many questions myself, as Rob says there is a deep pool of knowledge here.

 

[essenbe]

My 2 cents. There is no reason to have magician running at start up unless you have Rapid enabled. I am under the impression, and may be wrong, that with rapid mode activated magician needs to run at start up.

I have enabled Rapid mode, and like Gary said, it gives fantastic benchmarks but I saw no difference in day to day usage. Therefore, I disabled it and stopped magician from running at start up. I have too many thins that I do need to run as it is, and I call myself being very judicious about that.

Yes, I use overprovisioning. I have no shortage of space and feel that it could help longevity and perhaps the performance to be maintained. If I was running short of space, I would not enable it. Personally, I don't believe it is absolutely necessary, just one of those things you can do that may help a little but is not necessary. All SSDs that I know of, come with some over provisioning built into them in order to replace used or damaged nand cells and help maintain wear leveling. I feel sure there is enough built in to do what is necessary. But, if I can give up the space without causing myself any problem, why not. It may help but certainly won't hurt. But absolutely necessary, I doubt it seriously.