SSD Defrag: New Info?

[timw128]

Hi-

Please read this carefully, and please do not jump to conclusions.

I'm running a Samsung SSD 850 PRO 256GB drive for my OS (C:\; Win 7 Pro SP1 x64)) and a Seagate

Barracuda 1 TB HDD (D:\) for storage. I have moved Downloads, My Pictures, and Page File over to this

drive.

I stumbled across an article by Scott Hanselman, an MS Developer, who has explained the Win 8 and

Win 10 feature that automatically Defrags SSD's, once a month. Here's a link:

The real and complete story - Does Windows defragment your SSD? - Scott Hanselman

So, I ran an analysis of my Samsung SSD and this indicates 33% fragmentation. Furthermore, we have

run a Performance Test from within Samsung Magician.

We have perceived, perhaps, a slight slow down and a bit longer boot time recently. Of course, this may

be a figment of my imagination.

The purpose of this thread is to get some opinions on the matter BEFORE I run defrag and optimization

with Piriform Defraggler.

We've attached some screen shots that may help with opinions. The results from the Performance Test

are foreign to me- I truly do not know how to interpret the Read/Write values. Also, please note the

difference in Read/Write data between Jan 2017 and March 2017.

Thanks, in advance, for chiming in on this.

tim

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I've had problems using Defraggler with Win 7. I suggest using Win 7's defragger to check the amount of fragmentation and defrag only if it is over around 20%. I would not defrag over once every year or two to avoid unnecessary writes to the SSD.

 

[timw128]

I've had problems using Defraggler with Win 7. I suggest using Win 7's defragger to check the amount of fragmentation and defrag only if it is over around 20%. I would not defrag over once every year or two to avoid unnecessary writes to the SSD.

I turned Windows 7 internal defrag back on and analyzed. Results: 20%

A 13% differential from Piriform Defraggler... Weird.

Thanks for your input.

 

[AddRAM]

Do you have Rapid mode enabled or something ? You`re not getting a true reading of your ssd`s speed.

 

[timw128]

Do you have Rapid mode enabled or something ? You`re not getting a true reading of your ssd`s speed.

Yes, I did... your numbers look far better than mine. Here's performance with RAPID disengaged...

Hmmm, why is this?...

 

[timw128]

"RAPID mode is a form of RAM caching for the SSD. Being as such, RAM is faster than an SSD by multiple orders of magnitude, which is why you see the results in the screenshots."

Back to the defrag deal... after much research, it appears that the advice from Scott Hanselman is bogus.

The notion that Windows 8 and 10 defrag SSD's automatically on a monthly basis is open to conjecture, and

if indeed true, may be a bug in those systems.

Furthermore, in both Defraggler and Windows 7's own internal defrag, the analysis aspect more than likely is giving

a false reading. Those programs are designed to analyze HDD's with a moving disc, according to studies I've found.

Piriform, on the other hand, claims otherwise-

Defraggler - File and Disk Defragmentation - Free Download

I'm having a difficult time finding the article with above info!- will post link when found.

I just discovered that I had System Restore turned on!... that MAY be causing low sequential read/write values.

Sequential write improved with SysRestore off-

 

[AddRAM]

Ya something`s a little off, my 850 Pro 256 GB gets over 550 read and over 520 write.

 

[timw128]

Ya something`s a little off, my 850 Pro 256 GB gets over 550 read and over 520 write.

LOL!...no doubt!... so what's going on?... throughput's cool-

 

[AddRAM]

Having system restore should have no affect, I had it on why I ran my test.

Not that it should matter, but you should update to the latest Samsung Magician software.

 

[timw128]

Considering we're running HD 4600 integrated graphics... 116% SSD score...

HP 700-515xt Performance Results - UserBenchmark

 

[timw128]

Having system restore should have no affect, I had it on why I ran my test.

Not that it should matter, but you should update to the latest Samsung Magician software.

Oh yes it does... better research, my friend... where's the easiest portal to update Magician?...

 

[AddRAM]

So why did it make no difference for me ? Why would having system restore on or off make a difference on the benchmark ???

You can upgrade right through Magician itself. Should be a button up the top right corner, but I`m using the latest, I`d assume yours is in the same location.

You should get a 1070 After you upgrade the PSU.

EVGA - Intelligent Innovation - Official Website

 

[timw128]

So why did it make no difference for me ? Why would having system restore on or off make a difference on the benchmark ???

You can upgrade right through Magician itself. Should be a button up the top right corner, but I`m using the latest, I`d assume yours is in the same location.

You should get a 1070 After you upgrade the PSU.

EVGA - Intelligent Innovation - Official Website

Like I said, do your research... look at my benchmarks above 'before' and 'after' turning SysRestore off.

They improved.

I removed my install of Magician (came on CD with drive) and installed latest version (v5.0 UI).

It says there's a new firmware update. So, we'll try that.

Of further note, when I installed the SSD, we migrated the OS over from the HDD, AFTER running

'sfc /scannow' and defragging. SOMETIMES (but rarely) this can cause a problem.

As far as GPU and PSU upgrades, I've had all the stuff to do that for a year- just don't know if I can

stuff it all into this mATX case without getting the die grinder out! :roflmao:

I'll open the case, lay the GPU and PSU out next to it, snap a pic and post to show you- you should see

what I mean and get a decent chuckle out of it. I guess I could always modify air flow management

through the case. I really need to throw a Win 10 machine together before messing with this anymore,

because it's the only rig that's running at present.

I've got a Corsair RM750i PSU, and an MSI GeForce GTX 960 GPU...

CORSAIR RMi Series RM750i 750W 80 PLUS GOLD Haswell Ready Full Modular ATX12V & EPS12V SLI and Crossfire Ready Power Supply with C-Link Monitoring and Control-Newegg.com

MSI GeForce GTX 960 DirectX 12 GTX 960 4GD5T OC 4GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready SLI Support ATX Video Card-Newegg.com

The deal is that I'm not a gamer and haven't really needed it yet. I was using AutoCad 3D but haven't

even needed that very recently.

I guess I could buy another Samsung 850 PRO 256 and do a clean install of Win 7 Pro, but dealing

with all the updates isn't fun. I have a significant list of suspect updates that would need to be

monitored, too.

Anyway, I don't really like to run with SysRestore off- but some say turn it off, and some say don't.

All of the other settings for SSD are where they should be.

I'm going to turn SysRestore back on and set an RP before doing the firmware update. I don't do running

backups, and only have a complete system image on a flash drive (Macrium Reflect)...maybe I should put

an image on my Storage drive, as well.

 

[timw128]

Updated firmware... sequential read is still sub par, and can't figure out why...

Thinking about moving SysRestore over to storage HDD.

Now, there's another thing I would like to do, and I'll need help and sound advice on this-

This machine I purchased new from HP. HP hasn't offered any Driver Updates in some time. I do not

have Support Assistant installed, but check HP site from time to time.

I did fing a newer HD 4600 graphics driver available from the Intel site, installed it and don't think I've

had any issues. With that said, I'm wondering if I should see if there's any newer Chipset and AHCI drivers

available from Intel. HP has told me NOT to use drivers from anywhere other than HP Support and

Drivers, because of signing issues. What say you, AddRAM?...

Note the 2 attach'mts showing HP display adptr driver and the Intel one (again, Intel in use now).

Please note version and date on Intel chipset drivers from HP... I can't find the AHCI driver.

Thanks for the help.

 

[timw128]

Hmmm...didn't attach with prior post-

 

[AddRAM]

I don`t have to do any research, I do that before I buy something, your performance did not really improve, it only brought your write speed up closer to where it should be, but it`s still a bit low, and your read speed did not improve at all, you have to do some research, not me

You want to make sure you have the latest Intel sata drivers. And make sure your drive is connected to Intel sata port 0 on the motherboard. (dark blue) but all 5 sata ports should run at 6 Gb/s.

It will show you right on Samsung Magician if AHCI is activated and your interface speed.

I`m running W10 on my Evo, but the Pro interface should look similar.