Solved Is it worth it defragging 100+ GB?

[FrankieD]

Hi there! I'm new to the forums

My computer was running a little bit slow so I decided to download Piriform's Defraggler.
Upon analyzing my 2TB WD Blue drive (my OS drive and the one I am currently using) I noticed that There was 110GB of fragmented files.
There are 2,726 fragmented files and 19,853 total fragments. Defraggler states that my drive is 16% fragmented.

I'm not sure if the amount of fragmented gigs is something to worry about or not. Timewise, I can't leave my PC on all night because it is in my bedroom, not too far from me. The whirring would keep me awake.

How should I go about this? Should I leave it be? Any general help on the subject of defragging?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Megahertz07]

Welcome to the Forum.
Data is stored on a disk in tracks in small pieces (clusters). To read a file, the disk searches and read the clusters in the same sequence it was written. If it has to search and read the clusters that aren't one after the other, or worst, they are on another track, the disk head must move many times and it will be slower than if data where stored in physical sequence.
Defragmentation is to move clusters data in order to put them in a physical sequence so it can be read faster and moving disk head less possible.
In other words, defragmentation increases performance. Normally Windows does it on the background.
I would recommend you to do it once.
You can start (begin the defrag) and after a while interrupt and then proceed (restart it) another day.

 

[FrankieD]

Thanks much for all the information! It's much appreciated and very helpful

 

[AddRAM]

110 GB is nothing, so defrag it, and you don`t need any 3rd party software to do it, windows defragmenter is fine.

You should consider getting a ssd for windows.

 

[Megahertz07]

Brien is right. You have no idea what a SSD can do for your computer.
Buy a 128 G SSD for Windows and programs and use the HDD for data. You'll will have the speed of a SSD and the space of a HDD.
I have one of these and they are in offer (US$56) PNY CS1311 2.5 SSD7CS1311-120-RB-Newegg.com
Read this thread
Is recommended new drives compatible? Solved - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

[FrankieD]

I've considered an SSD but I'm not sure I can afford one at the moment. Do you have any suggestions for a budget drive?
I'm planning a full upgrade/rebuild of my PC, but it's not doable at this point in time. I'm currently seventeen and don't have a steady source of income to fulfill the monetary needs for upgrading.
I think it's worth noting that my WD Blue drives are hybrid SSHD drives.
I'll take a look at the thread, thanks!

 

[Megahertz07]

As many people are replacing the HDD or just adding a SSD, the prices are high.
I've bought my PNY CS1311 for only US$ 39 last year and I saw it for US$ 75 last week.
Believe me, US$56 is a budget price for a good SSD.
With a SSD, boot time dropped from 3 minutes to 30 seconds and programs opens instantly.

 

[FrankieD]

I'll definitely look in to getting one, thanks!
And, although it's not relevant, I was curious if you'd mind taking a look at my current specs and the build I'm looking to make? Or should I make a new thread about this all together?
I'm having trouble prioritizing my upgrades. So far, I've only upgraded my graphics card being that I game a good amount and that was most relevant.

 

[Megahertz07]

You have a good CPU ( i5-2500k) and a good MB (ASUS P8B75-V).
I have a 6 year old sandybrige and a new skylake and there is no significant difference between the two.
On a gamer computer, the sky is the limit (or I may say the bank account is the limit).
And remember, at high end, you pay double to have 20% performance increase and a few months later, with a new state of the art, it will became a budget.

If you haven't done it yet, as you have a unlocked CPU, you can do a 10 to 15 % overclock (don't do it higher as you'll need to increase voltages to get stability, generating a lot more heat and it can easily damage the components)

 

[FrankieD]

I'll look in to overclocking. My current build (Old Specs - Album on Imgur a list of when I bought the parts, ignore the GPU and hard drive) is quite off from what I am hoping to upgrade to in the future (Finalized Build - FrankRDs Saved Part List - Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Qua... - PCPartPicker).
Any suggestions on some cheaper alternatives in my list?
Once again, thanks for taking to time to help me out

 

[Megahertz07]

- For a Kabylake CPU (7700K) I would buy a Kabylake chipset (Z270) MB.
- Replace the 850 SSD with a 960 M.2 drive SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 250GB NVMe PCI-Express 3.0 x4 Internal Solid State Drive MZ-V6E250BW-Newegg.com
- Buy a HDD for data:
WD Black 1TB Performance Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6Gbs 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD1003FZEX-Newegg.com
WD Gold 1TB Datacenter Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM Class SATA 6Gbs 128MB Cache 3.5 inch - WD1005FBYZ-Newegg.com
- As a gamer PS>850 EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (220-G2-0850-XR) - PCPartPicker
- DVD BR is obsolete. Don't buy or buy a cheap CD/DVD
- Why a dedicate sound card? MB has all you need (6.1 or 7.1).
- US$ 150 for a desktop case? I would never spent more than US$ 40 for a case.

PS.: I'm not a gamer so I'm not the best one to advise you.
There is a better place at the Forum
- PC Custom Builds and Overclocking - Windows 7 Help Forums
- Gaming - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

[FrankieD]

As always, thanks again! Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'll probably check out the other forums mentioned.

As for the case pricing, it's very spacious, has amazing cord management, and has some of the best cooling I've seen from a stock case (with removable dust filters for easy cleaning).

I will definitely take a look at the parts listed.

One last question, if it's okay? If I need more than 1TB (and I probably will) should I opt for multiple 1TB or is a 2TB fine? I noticed that you listed 1TB drives that have alternative options for higher storage. Some game can take up 80GB plus.

I very much appreciate all of your help and fast responses!

The community seems to be a good one, and I'll be sticking around.

Anywhere prior to visiting SevenForums hasn't yielded much help, if any (just in general, not this topic specifically). This'll be my go to source.

EDIT: This is what I came up with. I know 4TB is overkill, but better safe than sorry. 7Forums Help - FrankRDs Saved Part List - Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-C... - PCPartPicker

 

[Megahertz07]

I would buy 2 HDD. One for data and one for backup. The size is up to you.

The backup MUST be saved on separate disk.
My backup drive has Win 7 installed, so I can boot from it and see my working drives as other drive than C:. This makes it easy to backup as the drive I'm making the backup isn't in use.
The backup drive is inside my desktop and is only physically powered (power connector) when I am going to do the backup ( On Fridays) . This way it cant be affected by virus and doesn't spin the rest of the week.
On the backup drive I have a disk image of the whole drive after a fresh installation, a image of the whole drive after Programs and updates and a backup (copy) of \Users\Luiz folder (where my data is).
For images - Macrium Software | Macrium Reflect Free

 

[FrankieD]

Coolio. Thanks for all your help!

 

[Layback Bear]

Upgrading to a SSD for your Windows 7 is the best upgrade you can do for the money spent.

Looking at your System Specs; if I had to do just one thing for improvement I would buy a SSD.

The danger of buying a SSD is you can't stop. You will want more SSD's

Jack

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...The danger of buying a SSD is you can't stop. You will want more SSD's

Jack

No kidding! I've spent more on the darned things than I have on my own home, including the home (in all fairness it is an old mobile home)!

 

[FrankieD]

If I had the money, I'd love to upgrade! Lemme tell you, the speed isn't the best by any stretch. My desktop is up fairly fast, but for DisplayFusion and the time waiting to be able to boot my internet the first time is probably a good 5-10 minutes.

 

[slam5]

Hi there! I'm new to the forums



My computer was running a little bit slow so I decided to download Piriform's Defraggler.

Upon analyzing my 2TB WD Blue drive (my OS drive and the one I am currently using) I noticed that There was 110GB of fragmented files.

There are 2,726 fragmented files and 19,853 total fragments. Defraggler states that my drive is 16% fragmented.



I'm not sure if the amount of fragmented gigs is something to worry about or not. Timewise, I can't leave my PC on all night because it is in my bedroom, not too far from me. The whirring would keep me awake.



How should I go about this? Should I leave it be? Any general help on the subject of defragging?



Thanks for any help!

There is no reallygood reason for defragging in this day and age. Windows does a very good job of it. If you want spped replace your boot drive with a SSD and you will see big performance gain