Effects of SSD Partitions

[UaVaj]

running out of space on a 128gb ssd.
win 8.1 x64 - 17.4gb (no page, no restore, no hibernate)
office - 3gb
bf4, sc2, wow, lol - 102gb

single - 240gb partition for all
vs
dual - 60gb partition for win 8.1 and office / 180gb for games



can an expert explain if partition size has any effects if any on
performance (speed, latency, etc)
and
maintenance (trim, wear, etc)

 

[Jovec]

Just go single partition. There are reasons for partitioning, none which seem to apply to your usage scenarios. There should be no effect of single versus multiple partitions with respect to performance and drive lifespan.

 

[UaVaj]

reasons for wanting dual partition is.

if the games are in the other 180gb partition (aka data partition). when windows gets corrupted (it always does eventually). do not have to copy the games back to the ssd from backup. just fresh install windows (aka os partition) then relocate/relink the games.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

That's a reasonable idea, yes.

If you find yourself reinstalling Windows frequently, though, there may be other issues at work.

 

[UaVaj]

no other issues. basically until all spywares and viruses are eliminated. it is only a matter of time before windows goes south. anti-spyware and anti-virus are nothing more than bandages. nothing like fresh install/re-image.


so "proactively" like to re-image windows every 3-6 month.

 

[CoPhotoGuy]

no other issues. basically until all spywares and viruses are eliminated. it is only a matter of time before windows goes south. anti-spyware and anti-virus are nothing more than bandages. nothing like fresh install/re-image.


so "proactively" like to re-image windows every 3-6 month.

Uhm...what?

I run systems for years without getting spyware or viruses.

 

[UaVaj]

good for you staying adware free, spyware free, virus free.

clearly your usage does not include a teenager, a toddler, and a grade school randomly surfing the internet "unrestricted" for games, news, trends, etc.



anyway - please get back on topic.
what are the effects if any regarding partitions on a ssd?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

good for you staying adware free, spyware free, virus free.

clearly your usage does not include a teenager, a toddler, and a grade school randomly surfing the internet "unrestricted" for games, news, trends, etc.



anyway - please get back on topic.
what are the effects if any regarding partitions on a ssd?

None.

Although practicing more hygenic computing and teaching your kids the same habits would be a good long term goal.

 

[CoPhotoGuy]

good for you staying adware free, spyware free, virus free.

clearly your usage does not include a teenager, a toddler, and a grade school randomly surfing the internet "unrestricted" for games, news, trends, etc.

That's what a sandbox is for.

 

[UaVaj]

thanks for the laugh and the parenting tip.
kids will be kids. only thing that gets police is xxx.



anyway back on topic.

the real question is. are ssd 1) random access or 2) sequential access.

if random access. a "partition" would simply be a file system level division. not an the actual division of the actual nand cells. all physical data are "random access" and are spread over the whole ssd.

if sequential access. the 60gb partition will definitely wear much quicker than the 180gb partition.

 

[npaladin-2000]

running out of space on a 128gb ssd.
win 8.1 x64 - 17.4gb (no page, no restore, no hibernate)
office - 3gb
bf4, sc2, wow, lol - 102gb

single - 240gb partition for all
vs
dual - 60gb partition for win 8.1 and office / 180gb for games



can an expert explain if partition size has any effects if any on
performance (speed, latency, etc)
and
maintenance (trim, wear, etc)

Partitioning an SSD is bad. Main reason is that moving files from one partition to the other will now involve writes, which could contribute to shortening the drive lifespan. Might not be noticeable for a long while, but it will definitely increase the wear.

 

[OlyAR15]

Partition the drive however you want. It won't affect drive performance. It might affect wear if you perform significantly more writes in one partition than another.

 

[tweakboy]

A low life span. But thats like 20 years LOL

 

[VirtualLarry]

good for you staying adware free, spyware free, virus free.

clearly your usage does not include a teenager, a toddler, and a grade school randomly surfing the internet "unrestricted" for games, news, trends, etc.

You need to look into limited-user accounts and using the Windows' parental controls feature.

 

[UaVaj]

back on topic.



the "source cited" are helpful.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wear_leveling

looks like it is random access after all.

 

[kasakka]

reasons for wanting dual partition is.

if the games are in the other 180gb partition (aka data partition). when windows gets corrupted (it always does eventually). do not have to copy the games back to the ssd from backup. just fresh install windows (aka os partition) then relocate/relink the games.

This is what I've been doing for years, first with HDD partitions and now with separate SSD for OS and software but games on another HDD. Planning to eventually upgrade to a big SSD for games but waiting for prices to come down.

 

[corkyg]

I have had partitions on my SSD (laptop) for over a year - no noticeable degradation in performance. Reasons are simple - it is done to simplify sync of financial files and some spreadsheet files. Laptop is basically for travel, and it is only used regularly when on the road.

 

[Charlie98]

Any chance you can add another SSD...? You can get another ~120GB SSD for $60 or so, use one as your OS drive, and retain the other for data...

Personally, I just have one big SSD with everything on it, backing it up with a full image with Acronis every night. As far as reinstalling every 6 months...? You must have too much time on your hands. If I were you, reinstall... make an image of your full-up new install... and then reinstall the image when you feel the need, and then make an image of that new, updated install... and so on.

 

[hhhd1]

There should be no issue at all with partitioning, I wouldn't worry about wear of the SSD unless you do application with really heaving writing, in you scenario, installing windows and games doesn't seem that much write intensive.

SSDs re-allocate data all the time to even out wear, I do not think your partitioning to the SSD will come in the way of that.

 

[Elixer]

Partitioning an SSD is bad. Main reason is that moving files from one partition to the other will now involve writes, which could contribute to shortening the drive lifespan. Might not be noticeable for a long while, but it will definitely increase the wear.

And, why would you copy files from partition A to partition B ?
And how is this different than copying ANY file to the SSD, of course any time you write to it, the drive life shortens, but, realistically, you have tons of writes to make this on non issue. The only time it is a issue is if you copy >50GB a day, and I don't see anyone doing that for home use.

You can partition the SSD anyway you want. It will not have any impact on the drive's internals.

Splitting the SSD (or HD) to have a dedicated OS partition IS smart, especially when you need to reinstall for OS for whatever reason. It is also easier to backup as well.

 

[evilspoons]

Use a single partition, get rid of your space headache.

Get yourself a backup hard drive (external USB, whatever) and make system images overnight or whatever so if your toddler/teenager/etc nukes the computer you can just restore.

Sometimes the solution to a problem is finding out what the problem actually is!

 

[hojnikb]

Partition the drive however you want. It won't affect drive performance. It might affect wear if you perform significantly more writes in one partition than another.

Thats complete bullshit. SSDs are not aware of what kind of partrition arrangment you have or what kind of files you have. Writes will be spread evenly across entire drive, even if you stick to a 1GB partrition and trash it all day with random data.

 

[Z15CAM]

I think you are missing the concept behind partitioning a Storage Media whether it is HDD or SSD.

The reason to partition is to separate the OS from your Personal Files with say "My Documents" placed on another Drive or Partition.

If your OS gets messed up you can easily over-write it with your OS BackUp Partition Image without loosing your Personal files, Preferably placed, on a Partitioned Separate Drive.

I will Partition an SSD with say an 1GB DOS access Boot able FAT32 Primary "ACTIVE" the rest as Extended DOS with say 2 Logical NTFS Drives with a 64CG Volume to contain the Windows OS and the remainder for Games.

Your other Media can be run in RAID-0 for a Playground with a BackUp HDD Partition for saving SetUps and your Personal Data.

This way you are not unnecessarily writing to your SSD which contains the OS, plus you have your BackUp Images , SetUps and Personal Data organized on separate media.

 

[hojnikb]

This way you are not unnecessarily writing to your SSD which contains the OS, plus you have your BackUp Images , SetUps and Personal Data organized on separate media..

Why would you bother with that, if its been proven numerous times , that SSDs just don't die because of writes.
http://techreport.com/review/27062/the-ssd-endurance-experiment-only-two-remain-after-1-5pb
As you can see, all of them topped 700TB (but even because they are programmed to die, when 3k p/e are exceeded), before giving up, and some are going strong even after 1.5PB. And that with 256GB capacity, this only increases if you go bigger. So yeah, endurance is the last thing to worry about. Seriously.

 

[Z15CAM]

hy would you bother with that, if its been proven numerous times , that SSDs just don't die because of writes.

Ever run a RAMDisk Sluff for Windows or for that matter any OS assign your Personal Files on another media: It limits writes to a SSD and saves a smaller Volume BachUp Image Volume elsewhere and does not contain your Personal Data.

Really what enthusiasts gives a crap about the OS Boot and OS partition as long as you keep an updated and bug free BackUp Image of the OS - And Hence why we Partition Drives formatted DOS Boot accessible FAT32 or NTFS.

Everybody's need is different and we design what we do.

Basically what I'm saying is Partition your SSD any way you want but suggest you assign your BackUp Images, Windows slough and Personal Files elsewhere ;o)