Solved New to SSDs: best practices for Win8 optimization?

6forty

Member
Member
Messages
23
Hi everyone. I recently found some terrific deals on a few SSDs (two Intel X25-M 80GBs and a Samsung 830 120GB) to rejuvenate our not-so-new PCs, while taking advantage of the cheap Win8 upgrade offer. I've google and read around, found some conflicting info, and am wondering what the expert opinion is on current best practices to optimize SSD usage? I'm not necessarily aiming for top-of-the-line benchmarking performance since these are ~4-5 yr old PCs, I just want to use them optimally as I can without screwing them up/wearing them out unnecessarily. I figure they can always be moved to another PC in the future when upgrading.

PCs in question are all Win8 x64, either Core2 Quad or Athlon X2, have 4GB RAM, and have an HDD in addition to the SSD. Usage is web browsing, some MS Office, light Media Center usage.

1. I've read a lot about moving the C:/Users folder to the secondary drive. It also looks like some folks say that with current SSDs, worries about overusing the drive by keeping User files on the SSD are largely overblown. Would you say it's best to move the entire User folder to the HDD, or just leave it on the SSD?

2. hiberfil.sys. Is it best to disable hibernation and delete? None of these PCs use hibernation much (one is a laptop, the others are desktops), but I believe they all use hybrid sleep. Again, looking for the best balanced approach: not too worried about losing a desktop session if the power goes out, minimizing the # of watts used is nice, but I don't want to unnecessarily wear out the SSD.

3. pagefile.sys. Is it best to keep the pagefile on the SSD, move it to the HDD? I've read where some suggest just keeping a minimal-size pagefile on the SSD or disabling paging altogether, but 4GB of RAM isn't massive nowadays. Is there a current consensus on this?

4. TRIM/cleanup/maintenance. I've got BIOS set to RAID, as I don't have explicit AHCI settings on these computers. My understanding is Win8 is supposed to be pretty good about SSD maintenance. I see it sets itself to do a once-weekly optimization. Do you recommend anything beyond this, either in optimization frequency, or using other tools in addition to Win8's?

Since this is my first post, thanks for taking the time to read and respond. Looks like a great site, I appreciate the terrific tutorials you guys have put together, am still reading up. Thanks!!
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 530
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
    Motherboard
    stock
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GT430
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M SSD + spinners
My opinion:

Let Windows 8 take care of it. Don't move anything.
Leave defrag alone, it will do trim instead.
Leave the page file alone so it can also benefit from SSD speed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
ad 1) If you have room on the SSD for the user folders, you might as well leave them there. Most of us move them to a spinner because of the size restrictions on the SSD.

ad 2) I always delete the hiberfile. Yes, in Windows 8 you will lose hybrid sleep, but given the speed of the SSD, that is neither here nor there. Saves as much space on the SSD as the size of your RAM.

ad 3) keep the pagefile on the SSD but reduce it to 2GBs. Works well.

ad 4) You should be OK with that setup.

If you plan to migrate your current OS to the SSD, here is a tutorial:
SSD - Install and transfer the Operating System - Windows 7 Forums
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Set recycle been to delete immediately instead of moving files to recycle bin they say is a good setting. I had my pagefile turned off on my Laptop and finally it keep telling me it was needed. S I turned it back on, using Windows 8 Pro with 2 120 gig SSD. I use D drive to back up my C drive with stuff that would take up too much space on the drive like old pictures ,document, downloads etc.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built Antec P-180B Case
    CPU
    Intel E8400
    Motherboard
    Asus P5QPro Turbo
    Memory
    Kingston PC6300 4 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD5670
I used xcopy to copy user folders to a spinner.

It makes more sense if you download a normal amount of programs, files, music and/or movies.

You won't be needlessly writing to the ssd, and taking up space for no reason.

It doesn't effect anything in terms of how you use or navigate windows either.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
I didn't do anything special. Just relocated most of my User folders to a HDD due to the fact that I won't store my movies onto a SSD :).

Other then that..... nothing. Let Windows select what it think is best for it. They know best is my motto!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64 Media Center Edition
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Made
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 750
    Memory
    6 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD HD 7750
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Iiyama ProLite B2481HS-B1
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1x 120 GB SSD Samsung 830;
    1x 1.5 TB HDD Seagate;
    1x 2 TB HDD Western Digital;
    1x 3 TB HDD Seagate
    1x 80 GB SSD Vertex 2
    PSU
    Corsair CX 600
    Case
    Corsair Carbide 300R with Side Window
    Cooling
    Intel RTS2011 LC
    Keyboard
    DasKeyboard (blue switches)
    Mouse
    Wacom Baboo Tablet Pen & Touch
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbit FullDuplex Fiberglass
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    I also own the following Microsoft devices:
    * Surface Pro 2 128 GB
    * Windows Phone HTC 8X
1. I've read a lot about moving the C:/Users folder to the secondary drive. It also looks like some folks say that with current SSDs, worries about overusing the drive by keeping User files on the SSD are largely overblown. Would you say it's best to move the entire User folder to the HDD, or just leave it on the SSD?
I don't worry about it on my X25-M 80GB Gen 2. As long as you aren't running out of space due to the size of these folders, I wouldn't move them anywhere.

2. hiberfil.sys. Is it best to disable hibernation and delete? None of these PCs use hibernation much (one is a laptop, the others are desktops), but I believe they all use hybrid sleep. Again, looking for the best balanced approach: not too worried about losing a desktop session if the power goes out, minimizing the # of watts used is nice, but I don't want to unnecessarily wear out the SSD.
I disable hibernate because I don't use the feature and it takes up lots of disk space on the SSD. It boots fast enough without hybrid boot because of the SSD, so I don't care about that at all.

3. pagefile.sys. Is it best to keep the pagefile on the SSD, move it to the HDD? I've read where some suggest just keeping a minimal-size pagefile on the SSD or disabling paging altogether, but 4GB of RAM isn't massive nowadays. Is there a current consensus on this?
On my Windows 7 desktop, I followed the adage of 1.5x the amount of RAM. So, since I have 8GB of RAM, that was 12GB of pagefile, which I didn't want on my SSD taking up space. On my work computers, which have 4GB of RAM and a single HDD, I set the pagefile to 2GB and leave it on the SSD.

4. TRIM/cleanup/maintenance. I've got BIOS set to RAID, as I don't have explicit AHCI settings on these computers. My understanding is Win8 is supposed to be pretty good about SSD maintenance. I see it sets itself to do a once-weekly optimization. Do you recommend anything beyond this, either in optimization frequency, or using other tools in addition to Win8's?
Every few months I fire up the Intel Toolbox and run the SSD Optimizer. It only takes a few seconds and I honestly have never noticed any benefit to doing it. I let Windows take care of all other maintenance.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Just relocated most of my User folders to a HDD due to the fact that I won't store my movies onto a SSD

Movies are big and bulky and can clog a small SSD in a jiffy. They play just as well from the HDD where I would put them.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Just relocated most of my User folders to a HDD due to the fact that I won't store my movies onto a SSD

Movies are big and bulky and can clog a small SSD in a jiffy. They play just as well from the HDD where I would put them.


That's why I store them on a HDD ;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64 Media Center Edition
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Made
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 750
    Memory
    6 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD HD 7750
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Iiyama ProLite B2481HS-B1
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1x 120 GB SSD Samsung 830;
    1x 1.5 TB HDD Seagate;
    1x 2 TB HDD Western Digital;
    1x 3 TB HDD Seagate
    1x 80 GB SSD Vertex 2
    PSU
    Corsair CX 600
    Case
    Corsair Carbide 300R with Side Window
    Cooling
    Intel RTS2011 LC
    Keyboard
    DasKeyboard (blue switches)
    Mouse
    Wacom Baboo Tablet Pen & Touch
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbit FullDuplex Fiberglass
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    I also own the following Microsoft devices:
    * Surface Pro 2 128 GB
    * Windows Phone HTC 8X

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Thanks for the replies, folks--reps to all. Sorry I posted and disappeared, real life happened and I've been offline all week, save for email on my phone.

Just to follow up, I did a fresh install of Win8 on all three machines in question--I didn't want to gum things up by migrating, and I tend to prefer clean installs over upgrades. Some of you suggested leaving the User folders on the SSD, but with the small capacity, I will run out of room. I'll look into Ruwanwij's Xcopy suggestion, but to avoid unnecessarily complicating things, for now I'm moving the Pics/Vids/Downloads/etc folders over to the spinner.

Also taking the suggestion most of you have made to disable hibernate altogether. From what I gather, both the SSD drives and Windows have evolved rapidly over the past few years, to where many of the "issues" one reads about online have been addressed and don't require any extensive tweaking that I was wary of.

Thanks again!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 530
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
    Motherboard
    stock
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GT430
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M SSD + spinners
On my Windows 7 desktop, I followed the adage of 1.5x the amount of RAM. So, since I have 8GB of RAM, that was 12GB of pagefile, which I didn't want on my SSD taking up space. On my work computers, which have 4GB of RAM and a single HDD, I set the pagefile to 2GB and leave it on the SSD.
Heh, same here. I always followed the suggested 1.5x RAM too. On these setups though, I've also set a smaller pagefile. I'm at 1GB right now on each machine (on the SSD) and haven't noticed any problems so far. If I notice problems, I'll increase the size, but so far so good!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 530
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
    Motherboard
    stock
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GT430
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M SSD + spinners
Back
Top