Do SSDs need defragmentation like HDDs?

 

Many years ago, the term “defragmentation” was known and even more frequently used when talking about hard disk drives (HDD), as hard disk defragmentation was a strongly proposed solution to most computer problems related to slowness, and this situation can be formulated in the phrase “Your computer is slow? Hard drive problem, let's defragment it!" But over the years, and after the spread of HDD disks began to wane in front of the rise of the fast SSD disks, the idea of ​​"defragmentation" did not recede as much, and the question began about the impact of this process on the performance of the hard disk and thus the speed of the computer, and is defragmentation really still necessary in SSD era or not? Let me tell you from the following lines.

 

What is the defragmentation process?

 

This process simply arranges and organizes the data stored on the storage unit, including the hard disk (HDD), of course. Time and due to the nature of the work of HDD hard disks, the phenomenon of fragmentation occurs as a result of the data being distributed between spaced blocks.

 

To understand the idea, HDD hard disks store data digitally on magnetic discs called Platters, and there is a moving head above each disc to read and write data. Technically, when a new file is saved on the hard drive, it is divided into several sequentially arranged parts called "Blocks", but with repeated use and storage of a large number of files, the parts that were initially arranged sequentially are scattered, to be stored on different places between the cylinders.

 

This is called fragmentation, and once this happens, the hard needs to search for the blocks distributed between the cylinders in separate places when the computer is required to access a specific file, which leads to a decrease in performance, as the hard takes longer to collect the file blocks each time. Here comes the role of the defragmentation process, which arranges the data blocks sequentially to store them together in specific places on the disks, which speeds up file access and reading for the computer. This process is slow at first as the hard needs to find the first end of each stored file and then starts arranging the blocks in sequence — it's like the hard is solving a huge Rubik's Cube!

 

SSD drives do not need to be fragmented

 

That's right, SSDs work in a completely different way than old HDDs, there are no magnetic discs and read/write heads, but rather the data is moved at an amazing speed through the NAND flash memory so that accessing a specific file on the SSD usually requires less than 50 microseconds, while accessing a file stored on a modern HDD takes 15 milliseconds (equivalent to 15,000 microseconds), about 300 times faster! Which makes the defragmentation process useless, in other words, SSD disks do not require a long time to access the file blocks even if they are distributed in separate places among the flash memories, because the flash memories used in the SSD are connected to each other at a very uniform speed.

 

The foregoing translates to the fact that the computer's access to data in the case of disk fragmentation is at the same speed as access to it in the case of defragmentation! Thus, you will not notice any performance gain if you try to defragment your SSD. On the contrary, doing so will degrade performance and shorten its lifespan. Let me explain how.

 

Defragmentation might be the last thing your SSD wants!

 

If the SSD disk has enemies of its kind, their parents will not wish for the defragmentation process, as it is the last solution that can be resorted to and under certain circumstances that justify it, because defragmentation limits the performance of the SSD disk and shortens its lifespan. Note that the difference between an SSD and an old HDD is not only the lack of magnetic discs and improved data access time, but the SSD also contains smart algorithms that level the wear process of the cells responsible for storing data within the NAND flash memory.

 

Over time, as data is stored and deleted (read/write cycles), the cells in NAND flash memory wear out which prevents them from holding any new data. In modern SSDs, a single cell can perform more than 3,000 read/write operations before it is completely worn out. But to avoid individual cells wearing out, which would lead to faster loss of stored data, SSDs distribute reads and writes across cells simultaneously so that one cell does not wear out more than another. This ensures that all cells are subjected to a similar number of reads and writes, and this also ensures that the data does not become fragmented.

 

Performing SSD defragmentation, while permissible, will consume a large number of read and write cycles in a very short time, causing premature cell wear which translates into performance degradation. Not only that, the fragmentation process may just be a waste of your time especially if the size of the SSD disk is large. Depending on the way SSD disks deal with reading and writing data, the erasing and rewriting of these disks to arrange the data consumes its resources, because the disk performs the process of classifying and arranging data to and from it.

 

It is true that you will not notice the effect of this from the first time, that is, you can defragment the SSD once and up to five times, and you will not feel any difference, and the performance will not deteriorate now, except that the effect of this will appear in the long run.

 

For example, a Samsung 850 EVO 500GB disk can handle 150TB of total writes, meanwhile an average user writes less than 20GB of data per day on average, that means burning 150TB of writes would take more than 20 years. But when the disk defragmentation process is performed continuously as a routine to maintain disk performance, this number will shrink because this process will write hundreds of gigabytes of data in a short period of time, causing the NAND storage to wear out faster. So I don't recommend doing it unless you have a hobby of collecting damaged SSDs!

 

There are alternative ways to speed up your SSD

 

What if your SSD starts complaining about the stress of its complex, file-filled life? Are there alternative defragmentation methods that don't degrade performance? Although SSDs perform a number of behind-the-scenes operations on their own to maintain stable performance, there are many ways to speed up the performance or reduce lag.

 

One such method is trimming, which is a process that deletes unused blocks of data and makes them usable, in order to prevent unused data buildup that can slow down SSD performance. We have already explained in a previous article what TRIM technology is and how to activate it to extend the life of the SSD, but let me tell you that modern SSDs have become smart enough to automatically run this technology every once in a while in complete silence, and even the Defragment and Optimize Drives tool built into modern Windows versions will give you The option to execute the Trim command (by pressing the Optimize button) as soon as an SSD is detected connected to the computer.

 

SSD performance can also be accelerated by enabling the "Over Provisioning" technology. Simply, this technology is based on reserving an area of ​​storage on the SSD and this space is not usable, often representing 7 or 10% of the total size of the disk. The goal is to improve disk performance and lifespan by reducing the number of write cycles and freeing up additional unused space even if one day the disk fills up with files. Without this technology, the performance of the SSD will decrease significantly once the storage capacity is completely exhausted, due to the nature of the work of these disks in the first place. In fact, the more space reserved, the disk can perform more resource-intensive tasks without affecting its performance.

 

Most SSDs come with OP technology pre-activated, which is why the actual storage capacity may not match that stated by the manufacturer. But even if it is activated, you can control the percentage of space reserved through the plug-in provided by the manufacturer, such as Samsung Magician, SanDisk SSD Dashboard, and others.

Finally, try to keep your SSD free of rarely used files and unnecessary software, as this is one of the reasons why larger SSDs are faster than smaller ones.

In general, there are many ways to speed up an SSD or keep its performance stable, but of course, defragmentation will not be one of them, not only because the gains from doing so will be weak, but also because the additional wear that the SSD receives from the process.