What`s the best alignment for a single Intel 80GB SSD?

Sylver123

Sylver123

Sylver123

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Hello!

I was wondering if anyone can tell me what is the best partition alignment configuration for a single Intel 80GB SSD for best drive performance? The reason why im asking is because im planning on align my Intel 80GB SSD system partition using the Vista Recovery Disc using the second guide on the website below to align the drive before installing my Windows 7 on it.

Thank you for responding.

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...-show-how-to-use-Vista-recovery-disk&p=326656
 
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Makhaira said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't partition alignment just to fix issues with Win XP?
Click to expand...

As far as i've read, if your SSD is not aligned properly, it could affect the drives performance quite a bit.

-=EDIT=-

Also people say that different alignments on SSD Drives can improve performance.
 
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Should I just let windows 7 do the alignment for me when creating a partition in the Windows 7 install DVD which should be the same alignment as Windows Vista uses which is 1024kb Alignment/Offset partition or should I tweak the alignment for even more speed, Anyone?? If tweak yes, then what alignment would give even better drive speed than 1024kb on a single SSD???

Thanks for responding.
 
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If it hasn't been previously formatted on an XP system then Vista should have already set the correct alignment by default. I set up my own drives initially in Win 7 (uses same offset as Vista) and they both seem to be at optimum performance without any further tweaks required.
 
Windows 7 will align the drive correctly for you. Its only Vista etc that you need to align the drives manually.
 
Well it's entirely possible that you could see slight improvements in benchmarks if you are willing to spend some time messing around but using the default has the drives performing to spec and I suspect any small difference in a synthetic benchmark will amount to a negligible gain in real use. Having said that XP's bizarre alignment is known to slow things down but since you did the original initialisation in Vista then you should be good to go. Updating to the latest firmware will give you some improved performance also. The 160 GB drives now run at over 100 MB/s write with the current firmware. Note also that performance can be noticibly affected by your HDD controller and which drivers you decide upon.
 
Thanks a lot guys for responding.

I just thought I would ask if it would be worth me tweaking the alignment for a bit more speed but it seems that it would not be worthwhile me doing this especially if i`ll not really gain any noticeable speed improvments over the default drive alignment.
 
When installing win 7 or Vista make sure to go into the advanced options and delete the partitions that already exist.
Otherwise if they are out of alignment before you start then they still will be after the install.
 
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