Is it bad to partition an SSD?

[AlexAL]

I plan to get, say, a Crucial M4 256Gb. I would like to have C: be about 70 Gb and D: the rest. Reason? I'll have Windows 7 64bit Pro and programs, Steam, and cache(s) on C:, and data plus random folders on D: and E:, latter being my 320Gb laptop HDD moved to a caddy.

I always have C: like this, letting me backup/restore my system minus data quickly in case I have a virus, broken OS, or other gremlins, without disturbing my data, which is relatively neatly ordered on D: and backed up on HDD for 'large' data (audio, video), and a SD card for 'fine' data (personal text files, databases).

Can I cause any harm to the SSD if I partitioned it? I understand that there are certain tweaks when one uses an SSD, but just looking at partitioning, what is recommended?I am really used to the way I structure my storage space. Would feel awkward if I couldn't partition, since I'd have to either move some data to the C: drive or get something more like a 80Gb C: drive for just OS, programs etc. and no data.

I tried to google this problem but there seem to be epic arguments on the topic which I don't even know if they are relevant to current SSDs and Win7x64.

 

[Nothinman]

Partitions can't cause any damage, you should just make sure you align them properly for performance reasons.

 

[mathurnitin]

Why would a partition cause damage to an SSD?
Partitions are a logical way to make your drive look cleaner within the Operating System environment. For an SSD, it wouldn' t know, block range xxxx to yyyy belong to partition c:\ or d:\. The SSD would have its own way of calculating the block number where an read/ write access has to be made and this would be hidden from the user and as well as the OS.

 

[AlexAL]

Partitions can't cause any damage, you should just make sure you align them properly for performance reasons.

Great to hear the answer so simply and clearly! Yes, it does make sense, and now I am sure.

Is it true that I do not need to worry about aligning if I format the partition(s) from within Windows 7 during a fresh installation?

 

[jackstar7]

Just something to consider... if the prices work out, why not get 2 128gbs and then let one be your C and one your D for probably half the trouble? Or a smaller C and then a slightly larger D?

 

[AlexAL]

Just something to consider...

Yep, great idea. It is just that I have to start with something. Something like a 128 and a 256 GB would work great. 80+512 even better, but that starts to sound like real money.

I'll what new SSD deals the rest of June brings and go from there.

 

[nk215]

I vote for a dual 128 setup. One of my comps uses this setup and it works out very well. You can move programs in and out of the boot drive using junctions when more space is needed. I take image of my boot drive almost weekly.