"Trimming" SSD?

[Kierenblade]

Hi all,

 

In Windows 8.1, I've noticed when I go to the Windows Disk Defrag, and I select my SSD and click "Optimise" (same as what you would do to defrag an HDD), the current status changes to "X% trimmed". 

So is this the same as defragging? I've been told countless times that defragging an SSD is not good.

So is this "trimming" actually damaging my SSD?

 

Thanks 

[Snazzy]

Hi all,

 

In Windows 8.1, I've noticed when I go to the Windows Disk Defrag, and I select my SSD and click "Optimise" (same as what you would do to defrag an HDD), the current status changes to "X% trimmed". 

So is this the same as defragging? I've been told countless times that defragging an SSD is not good.

So is this "trimming" actually damaging my SSD?

 

Thanks 

Nope

Windows is optimised to speed up your ssd without damaging it.

Here's how it works: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trim_%28computing%29

[blu4]

TRIM will not damage your SSD. As you said, it's a defrag for an SSD but works a bit different. Windows 7 and 8 won't let you defrag an SSD anyway for safety reasons. The difference between an SSD and HDD is the mechanical bit. Defrag on a HDD works by moving all the data to one physical portion of the disk inside the HDD, on an SSD however, TRIM erases data that is deemed to be crap and so on therefore freeing up space on your SSD. When you erase something from an SSD the system does not actually wipe fully the whole sector where the data has been stored but erases the file record from the OS- there is still crap there, you see That's what TRIM does!

 

TRIM should be enabled all the time.

[Counter-Strike Player]

In Win7+, trimming and defragging are done automatically by the Windows scheduler (and yes, Windows is smart enough to know not to defrag an ssd) so you never have to worry about manually doing these operations. However, it's a good idea to setup "over-provisioning" on your ssd (if you haven't already done so) in order to maximize its life. The setup will be different with each manufacturer but for Samsung, here is how it will look when you're finished (it's a 1-time setup):

 

 

Recommended settings are usually best. Some manufacturers might even have OP setup by default but I don't know since I've only owned Samsung and OCZ ssd's. Get familiar with their software like Magician.

[Kierenblade]

Thanks for the replies!

 

 

In Win7+, trimming and defragging are done automatically by the Windows scheduler (and yes, Windows is smart enough to know not to defrag an ssd) so you never have to worry about manually doing these operations. However, it's a good idea to setup "over-provisioning" on your ssd (if you haven't already done so) in order to maximize its life. The setup will be different with each manufacturer but for Samsung, here is how it will look when you're finished (it's a 1-time setup):

 

 

Recommended settings are usually best. Some manufacturers might even have OP setup by default but I don't know since I've only owned Samsung and OCZ ssd's. Get familiar with their software.

Does this option ("Over Provisioning") slow down the SSD? I have a Samsung SSD

[Counter-Strike Player]

Thanks for the replies!

 

 

Does this option ("Over Provisioning") slow down the SSD? I have a Samsung SSD

 

Nope. It will optimize memory cells, especially when your drive gets full to near-capacity. Now in that pic (which you might not realize), you're NOT going to be able to use those ~12GB since that's the reserve area for OP. If that's the only drive you have, space might be an issue so it's usually good to pickup a cheapo $45 hdd to store the rest of your data on.

[Counter-Strike Player]

Btw, if you're interested in reading about the technical details of Over-Provisioning and why it's desirable, you can read a fairly-good write-up on wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write_amplification#Over-provisioning  (It basically comes down to helping out garbage collection, wear-leveling, and reduced write-amplification -- which is a good thing because that decreases the overall number of "writes" to the ssd. The ssd is also smart enough to basically use "free space" on the drive as "extra" OP as well -- so that's why you really want it enabled when your drive gets more full with data.)

 

^In that article I learned something new, "Level-1 OP" is kind of a misnomer and I really wish it wasn't even labeled as "OP" since level-1 isn't counted in the overall amount of OP on the drive. :rolleyes:  Also, level-1 exists natively on basically every drive, including hdd's, because it's just the difference between a binary and a decimal "gigabyte" -- there isn't any "free space" leftover from this conversion that the ssd can use as "over provisioning." Now, I know my 840 pro doesn't have included "factory-set level-2 OP" because it's marketed as a 128GB drive. On the other hand, an 840 evo and the 850 evo probably have included OP set because the drives are marketed as 120GB, 250GB, 500GB...etc -- that should mean a 7% factory-set level-2 OP since flash memory comes in batches like 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, etc.

 

I'm curious for any of you Samsung EVO owners, can you please post a screenshot of your OP section in Magician? I'd be curious to see if factory-set OP already shows up without you setting up OP.

[Counter-Strike Player]

You know I just realized why Samsung might put factory-set OP on the EVO drives. I recall Linus talking about how companies will "bin" batches of flash memory and sell the higher quality (ecc, 3-bit nand MLC) flash at a higher price, like the pro drives. The pro drives also have a longer warranty too. I would assume that Samsung wants to maximize the life of the "slightly lower quality" drives by putting on mandatory-set OP and really pushing for things like RapidMode which takes even more writes off the ssd as well. Back when they first came out, the EVO drives were slightly less expensive per GB, but I really suspect that Samsung ultimately made more money off the EVO drives because they could cut corners with the flash bins.