New to SSD. Questions abroad!

[Demeus]

Hey everyone, I recently got myself a Kingston Digital 240gb SSD which was on sale for a whooping $60. My computer has been bogged up, filled to the brim on registry errors and etc. Boot time of approx 6-10 minutes. So I decided to do a fresh install of Windows 7 on the SSD, wiped the old drives and use them as storage/games now. I know you can change the directory without doing all that stuff, but like I said, It was best to have a fresh start. Boot times are at 40 seconds.

I'm new to the whole process of using an SSD as an OS booter (I've been using WD Blacks/Green all my life), and I have a couple of questions:

How does an SSD slow down? What do I watch out for? Is it JUST by not filling up to the brim? Not de-fragmenting them?

Where does my editing software go? I do VFX and many post-film productions on this PC (Adobe suite), but where do those programs go now? Do I put them on the WD Black? I heard that programs and files that don't get accessed often will slow the SSD down. In other words, it's BAD to put VFX software because it isn't as accessed as the OC files/Antivirus softwares/ etc. (which obviously gets used all the time)?

What maintenance tools, if any, should I consider? Any general tips? I can confirm that TRIM is active and on.

Thanks!

[Chris_R.]

Yep, never de-frag an SSD, and also make sure TRIM is enabled.

 

I personally have a daily routine to where before I turn off my PC I do a disk clean-up, and I check and clear the system logs. That ensures 1. The drive is nice and clean for tomorrow's boot. And 2. That the system isn't throwing a million Error logs and critical error logs before I shut it down.

 

I've heard that keeping them not 100% full also helps. Something like 10 gigs free is optimal not too sure on that one.

[Demeus]

Yep, never de-frag an SSD, and also make sure TRIM is enabled.

 

I personally have a daily routine to where before I turn off my PC I do a disk clean-up, and I check and clear the system logs. That ensures 1. The drive is nice and clean for tomorrow's boot. And 2. That the system isn't throwing a million Error logs and critical error logs before I shut it down.

 

I've heard that keeping them not 100% full also helps. Something like 10 gigs free is optimal not too sure on that one.

Thanks for the tips! I'll try my best not to clutter.

[techguru]

Thanks for the tips! I'll try my best not to clutter.

80% full is about the max you wanna do for a ssd

as for the programs

..the programs go on the ssd

your work files tho...the big ones will go on the hdd..basically your saving your stuff to the hdd

[techguru]

if your projects are pretty small..1-2gbs..you could probably save those to the ssd

[Demeus]

if your projects are pretty small..1-2gbs..you could probably save those to the ssd

I make about 30 minute length movies, so that's obviousl going to the Harddrive, but the Adobe programs go to the SSD?

[xc3ll]

Please don't do any maintenance-tools. Windows 7 (or later) and a not ancient mainboard and you are good to go.

Most "speed-up" programs or registry-cleaner create more problems, then they solve. Put all your programs on the SSD as long as there is enough space. If you run out of space, you can move some not so important programs to your HDD.

[techguru]

I make about 30 minute length movies, so that's obviousl going to the Harddrive, but the Adobe programs go to the SSD?

yea the programs on the ssd

[Captain_WD]

~snip~

 

Hey there Demeus,

 

I would check which applications and games can actually benefit from the SSD's faster access times and transfer speeds and then see which of them would make sense putting them on it. Gaming, for example, takes advantage from faster storage performance only for the loading times and autosaves. FPS and graphics stay completely unaffected. SSD may affect certain games (usually open world or MMOs) that need to load huge texture packs while in-game for faster loading of your surroundings, but that can be handled without affecting game performance by almost all storage drives. 

 

As for the maintenance of the SSD itself, do make sure TRIM is enables as well as the other features that are recommended by the manufacturer, never defrag it as it degrades the lifespan of the drive and make sure you leave some free space on it for caching purposes. Newer SSDs don't have a problem being 95% or more full, but I'd leave some free space just to be on the safe side. 

 

Checking the health of the drive every once in a while with a tool provided by the manufacturer is also a great idea to monitor the condition of the drive and ensure data safety. 

 

Captain_WD.