Is defraggler any good?

[Aaron9546]

Just installed it and for my HDD but I checked my SSD just to see what it looked like and it has an optimize option and a defrag option, I've heard it isn't good to defrag your SSD but I've had this drive about 4 years now and it's showing me that it is 30% fragmented.... Not quite sure what the optimize button does either.

 

[CorsairSSC]

Defragging the SSD is NEVER a good idea. Since the way an SSD stores data is inherently different from the way an HDD does, defragging an SSD will only result in lower read and write speeds. The Defragger thinks you're SSD is an HDD, and it interprets various filled and empty blocks as "fragmented". There is no need to defrag an SSD.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Defragging doesn't to anything really to improve performance on an SSSD and that is why it is not recommended. But the only bad thing defragging an SSD does is add a few writes against you "rated number of writes.

As for wearing out ya SSD, it could have an effect perhaps if you did iut every day for those 4 years, but like letting laptop batteries go to 0 charge and VRAM voltages, the "ooh scary scary warning" stuff is simply not fact based. Doing a defrag once every 4 years would have no real impact on your SSD. BTW, Windows has a built in Defragger... you don't need to d/l another one.

 

[theyeti87]

SSD's and HDD's store their data very differently, which is why you should NEVER DEFRAG A SSD.

SSD's use the TRIM function in lieu of defrag.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Well not according to Samsung ... when inquiring about RAID 0 performance I asked the question and they had no issue with it other than why would you wanna performing unnecessary writes when it will have no impact on performance. You'll note in the article below, they state unequivocally that the only impoact is on write cycle related longevity.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2047513/fragging-wonderful-the-truth-about-defragging-your-ssd.html?page=2

PerfectDisk did a bang-up job with my test hard drive, defragging and optimizing it in short order. And with an SSD, PerfectDisk—unlike Intelligent Defrag, Diskeeper, and Defrag Pro—actually spent some time with the drive. Nearly two hours, in fact. A jump of about 20 megabytes per second in the sequential read speed followed. This begs the question of whether two hours of sustained writes is worth a 5 percent gain in performance (one that you are unlikely to ever notice). For myself, and I’m guessing the majority of users, the answer will be no...but kudos to PerfectDisk for actually making a difference.

From my limited tests, I’m firmly convinced that the tiny difference that even the best SSD defragger makes is not worth reducing the life span of your SSD.

So if using it as a periodic maintenance utility would be a bad idea.... using it once every 4 years ... will have an insignificant impact.

And the fact remains, Windows itself defrags the drive

The author here quotes and debunks all the usual "ooh scary scary" web posts

http://www.hanselman.com/blog/TheRealAndCompleteStoryDoesWindowsDefragmentYourSSD.aspx

First, yes, your SSD will get intelligently defragmented once a month. Fragmentation, while less of a performance problem on SSDs vs traditional hard drives is still a problem. SSDS *do* get fragmented.
This kind of fragmentation still happens on SSDs, even though their performance characteristics are very different. The file systems metadata keeps track of fragments and can only keep track of so many. Defragmentation in cases like this is not only useful, but absolutely needed.

No, Windows is not foolishly or blindly running a defrag on your SSD every night, and no, Windows defrag isn't shortening the life of your SSD unnecessarily. Modern SSDs don't work the same way that we are used to with traditional hard drives.

Yes, your SSD's file system sometimes needs a kind of defragmentation and that's handled by Windows, monthly by default, when appropriate. The intent is to maximize performance and a long life. If you disable defragmentation completely, you are taking a risk that your filesystem metadata could reach maximum fragmentation and get you potentially in trouble.