Partitioning an SSD

[LeeYoh]

Good day and Merry Christmas everyone! So today I got a 5TB WD Easystore SSD or HDD (Speccy said it is an SSD but I'm not sure).  I was thinking of partitioning the roughly 4.5TB into either 2TB + 2TB + 500GB or 4 sets of 1TB and a 500GB.  Would partitioning affect its performance considering it's only 5400 rpm?  My reasoning for partitioning is that, I think 5TB is a bit hard to manage when it gets full over time (I'm just thinking ahead of time because my 1TB atm is very hard to manage lol).  Also, while we're in this topic, can you guys help me get an exact value to achieve 1TB or 2TB partition value (I think it's what to put in the kb section when partitioning? not entirely sure)  Thank you so much in advance!

[nick name]

It sounds like it may be a SSD Hybrid drive so breaking out 500GB may not accomplish what you want.  

 

And if you are partitioning for performance then you may want to short stroke it and this Linus NCIX video can help with that.

 

 

[Eigenvektor]

11 minutes ago, LeeYoh said:

Would partitioning affect its performance considering it's only 5400 rpm?  My reasoning for partitioning is that, I think 5TB is a bit hard to manage when it gets full over time (I'm just thinking ahead of time because my 1TB atm is very hard to manage lol).

RPM means it's not an SSD, those have no rotating platters. You would also know because a 5 TB SSD would still be quite expensive.

 

Not sure how multiple partitions will help, because you'll have to estimate how much storage to use for each partition and if you misjudge you'll have to move stuff around.

 

In any case, partitions should have no influence on performance per se.

[Juular]

10 minutes ago, LeeYoh said:

5TB is a bit hard to manage when it gets full over time

Eh ? Why is that ? Just make one 100GB partition for OS and second partition for the remaining capacity for user data.

[LeeYoh]

9 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

RPM means it's not an SSD, those have no rotating platters. You would also know because a 5 TB SSD would still be quite expensive.

 

Not sure how multiple partitions will help, because you'll have to estimate how much storage to use for each partition and if you misjudge you'll have to move stuff around.

 

In any case, partitions should have no influence on performance per se.

yeah I just realized that while I was in the shower, I remembered SSDs don't have that rotating platters you mentioned lol.  Like what Nick Name said, I think it might be a hybrid. And partitions do help me in a way kinda like organizers.  and I think 1 or 2TB is enough for what I need (mostly light storage or otg game folders).

[Eigenvektor]

3 minutes ago, LeeYoh said:

yeah I just realized that while I was in the shower, I remembered SSDs don't have that rotating platters you mentioned lol.  Like what Nick Name said, I think it might be a hybrid. And partitions do help me in a way kinda like organizers.  and I think 1 or 2TB is enough for what I need (mostly light storage or otg game folders).

You could probably achieve the same by organizing things into folders But hey, whatever works for you.

 

What are you using for partitioning? Most tools should allow you to enter a size in TB/GB/MB, etc.

 

Otherwise, it's a little tricky, the program may use a factor of 1,000, while Windows uses 1,024 to go from e.g. MB to KB. Partition sizes are usually aligned to sectors/cylinders etc. so perfectly acurate sized usually don't work out.

 

1 TB is either 1x1000x1000x1000 KB or 1x1024x1024x1024 KiB.

[LeeYoh]

Just now, Eigenvektor said:

You could probably achieve the same by organizing things into folders But hey, whatever works for you.

 

What are you using for partitioning? Most tools should allow you to enter a size in TB/GB/MB, etc.

 

Otherwise, it's a little tricky, the program may use a factor of 1,000, while Windows uses 1,024 to go from e.g. MB to KB. Partition sizes are usually aligned to sectors/cylinders etc. so perfectly acurate sized usually don't work out.

 

1 TB is either 1x1000x1000x1000 KB or 1x1024x1024x1024 KiB.

yeah, on my 1TB I had folders, but still get messy. yeah I'm that type of person lmao.  Anyways, yeah, your calculation might be right.  I only know how to do 500gb exact partition and it is 513,024 MiB when you type it in the disk manager.  Other than that, I'm not sure about the exact value for 1TB and 2 TB or even the in betweens.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

7 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

You could probably achieve the same by organizing things into folders...

Exactly!

18 minutes ago, LeeYoh said:

...And partitions do help me in a way kinda like organizers.  and I think 1 or 2TB is enough for what I need (mostly light storage or otg game folders).

Partitioning is a poor way to organize data. Using folders is far more efficient. One problem with using partitions is you almost never have enough space in one and too much in another, requiring adjusting partition sizes, which can be a pain in the neck. 

 

Folders, on the other hand, use only the space they need, leaving the rest available for other folders to use as they expand. Also, navigating between folders is easier than navigating between partitions. I use 4TB data drives and never found the volume hard to manage. I use folders with sub folders (sometimes more than two layers of folders, branching out kind of like a tree).

 

Pretty much the only time I recommend using partitions is to segregate System files (OS and programs) from data files. Doing so simplifies backing up data and the System. 

[Eigenvektor]

9 minutes ago, LeeYoh said:

yeah, on my 1TB I had folders, but still get messy. yeah I'm that type of person lmao.  Anyways, yeah, your calculation might be right.  I only know how to do 500gb exact partition and it is 513,024 MiB when you type it in the disk manager.  Other than that, I'm not sure about the exact value for 1TB and 2 TB or even the in betweens.

It's quite easy. TB > GB > MB > KB (> Byte) and for every step you multiply by 1024.

[.Apex.]

37 minutes ago, LeeYoh said:

Good day and Merry Christmas everyone! So today I got a 5TB WD Easystore SSD or HDD (Speccy said it is an SSD but I'm not sure). 

Consumer 5TB SSD doesn't exist yet, it's definitely an HDD or a Hybrid
 

41 minutes ago, LeeYoh said:

Would partitioning affect its performance

Not at all, partitioning only affects what you see on screen, it doesn't stress the hard drive in any way, it just groups the data into partitions by assigning start and end markers.
 

43 minutes ago, LeeYoh said:

while we're in this topic, can you guys help me get an exact value to achieve 1TB or 2TB partition value

1073741824 kb = 1TB
2147483648 kb = 2TB

[.Apex.]

2 minutes ago, _Syn_ said:

1073741824 kb = 1TB
2147483648 kb = 2TB

Or is it 1099511627 for 1TB? I'm not sure anymore

[Eigenvektor]

1 minute ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Partitioning is a poor way to organize data. Using folders is far more efficient. One problem with using partitions is you almost never have enough space in one and too much in another, requiring adjusting partition sizes, which can be a pain in the neck.

Pretty much what I meant by moving stuff around. You'll either have to move files around or resize partitions if one fills up and the other has free capacity. Been there, done that.

[LeeYoh]

Just now, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Exactly!

Partitioning is a poor way to organize data. Using folders is far more efficient. One problem with using partitions is you almost never have enough space in one and too much in another, requiring adjusting partition sizes, which can be a pain in the neck. 

 

Folders, on the other hand, use only the space they need, leaving the rest available for other folders to use as they expand. Also, navigating between folders is easier than navigating between partitions. I use 4TB data drives and never found the volume hard to manage. I use folders with sub folders (sometimes more than two layers of folders, branching out kind of like a tree).

 

Pretty much the only time I recommend using partitions is to segregate System files (OS and programs) from data files. Doing so simplifies backing up data and the System. 

completely agreeing with you about partitioning is recommended when separating OS from Data files.  I might give folder another shot then.  But this time I'll try not to have 10 branches of folders lol.  My old 1TB has branches after branches after branches that's why I always have a hard time navigating.

[Eigenvektor]

3 minutes ago, _Syn_ said:

Or is it 1099511627 for 1TB? I'm not sure anymore

1x1024x1024x1024 = 1,073,741,824 KiB

[LeeYoh]

Just now, Eigenvektor said:

1x1024x1024x1024 = 1073741824 KiB

so his first comment is pretty much on point then?

[Eigenvektor]

2 minutes ago, LeeYoh said:

so his first comment is pretty much on point then?

Yup

[.Apex.]

6 minutes ago, LeeYoh said:

completely agreeing with you about partitioning is recommended when separating OS from Data files.  I might give folder another shot then.  But this time I'll try not to have 10 branches of folders lol.  My old 1TB has branches after branches after branches that's why I always have a hard time navigating.

You can just create folders called Partition 1/Partition 2/etc and it would end up organized the same way, you're trying to look for solutions while completely ignoring the main problem

[nick name]

@LeeYoh Did you watch the video I posted?  I know folks are saying partitioning doesn't have value, but if done right you can make a faster partition and a slower partition.  

[Lady Fitzgerald]

1 hour ago, _Syn_ said:

You can just create folders called Partition 1/Partition 2/etc and it would end up organized the same way, you're trying to look for solutions while completely ignoring the main problem

Nailed it!

1 hour ago, nick name said:

@LeeYoh Did you watch the video I posted?  I know folks are saying partitioning doesn't have value, but if done right you can make a faster partition and a slower partition.  

You're comparing apples to kumquats. The OP is wanting to use partitioning to organize his data, not to gain speed. With the prices of SSDs being as low as they are now, there really is no point in using a short stroked HDD anymore since an SSD will leave a short stroked HDD in its dust.

[nick name]

14 minutes ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

-snip-

You're comparing apples to kumquats. The OP is wanting to use partitioning to organize his data, not to gain speed. With the prices of SSDs being as low as they are now, there really is no point in using a short stroked HDD anymore since an SSD will leave a short stroked HDD in its dust.

*Ahem* From OP:

 

Quote

Would partitioning affect its performance considering it's only 5400 rpm?

And the answer is . . . yes.  If you short stroke it.  

 

Also, you aren't getting 5TB of SSD for anywhere close to the price 5TB of 5400RPM HDD.  So if you want to get every bit of speed out of it then short stroking is the way to do it.  

[LeeYoh]

4 hours ago, nick name said:

@LeeYoh Did you watch the video I posted?  I know folks are saying partitioning doesn't have value, but if done right you can make a faster partition and a slower partition.  

yep, I've watched it!! But I don't think partitioning it to a specific spec to reach a certain speed isn't gonna help, not in my case at least. (it's a good idea though, I might do it on my main drive).  I mainly just want easy organization for my ocd lol. 

[LeeYoh]

4 hours ago, _Syn_ said:

You can just create folders called Partition 1/Partition 2/etc and it would end up organized the same way, you're trying to look for solutions while completely ignoring the main problem

LOL, omg, I feel really stupid after reading that .  Thank you ahaha

[.Apex.]

15 minutes ago, LeeYoh said:

LOL, omg, I feel really stupid after reading that .  Thank you ahaha

Wasn't my intention , but there's still advantages to having partitions, as an example in case you wanna reinstall Windows, you can simply format the partition Windows is in while keeping everything else intact, that's an important one but there's no reason in your scenario to have more than 2 when you can simply create folders, it's mostly Windows that creates those issues for itself because it has to format the whole partition/drive for a clean install.