I don't think so. I have no intention of overclocking anyway but would the load times affect other software as well?
the load times would effect all software that you use often have a quick google on Intel Smart Response
I don't think so. I have no intention of overclocking anyway but would the load times affect other software as well?
Hopefully the prices of the Z68 will come down when ivybridge comes out. I'm guessing the ivybridge will use a different socket.
My tips based on my build are:
If your PSU doesn't work... give it a bit of time and try again. Bizarrely mine wasn't working when first connected but after swapping around with another and replacing again it did!
Secondly, don't buy your Gigabyte motherboard from anyone except OCUK - my statistically significant sample of... erm... one has a 100% failure rate from another supplier.
All joking aside, it's pretty straightforward and after assembling, taking it all apart and reassembling a few times just to get the cable routing right, you'll feel like an expert!![]()
Hopefully the prices of the Z68 will come down when ivybridge comes out. I'm guessing the ivybridge will use a different socket.
Defragmenting your HD is a necessary process with Windows (presume it's still the same with Win 7 because of NTFS?)
The slow bit of reading data off hard drives isn't getting the data, it's getting TO the data - i.e. the access/seek time to move the head to the right part of the disk.
If you imagine filling up your hard disk completely with data - not one byte free and then deleting 1/3 of the files randomly, chances are you'd be left with 1/3 of your space but all of the free space scattered all over the disk. In some cases (e.g. if you just deleted lots of tiny files) you'd have thousands of tiny gaps with no data but no big gaps left.
To get around this problem, when the hard disk starts getting a bit fuller, NTFS (the file system) begins to break up larger files into chunks so that it can squeeze it into the available space - otherwise you'd be limited not to the total free space on the disk, but the largest continuous free space block left.
The problem this causes is that if a file is split across 10 chunks, all on different bits of the disk, the time taken to read that file could well be 10x longer because it will have to seek to 10 different places (the slow bit) and read a tiny bit off each (the quick bit).
To get around this problem, there are defragmentation tools. These basically move chunks around (assuming you have enough free space) until most or all files are back in one piece. It then moves whole files around until all the free space is in one or two places, meaning fragmentation won't happen for a while.
The problem is this doesn't cure it forever - just for a while...
I tend to reinstall Windows every year or so... it's a pain but you get a nice clean install which definitely seems to speed things up. You can back up your profile to make it easier, too.
HTH.
Dont defrag a SSD, it kills it quicker.
I always disable defrag, someone once said that the windows experience index check will automatically disable it also.
ivybridge will use the same socket, most z68 boards support ivybridge
So how often should you defrag a HDD?
I see. Cheers for clearing that up. So how often should you defrag a HDD?
Yeah I so that somewhere else too! Always good to know!
Damn! So they won't be cheaper!
Edit: Sorry, forgot to thank stulid for the videos, they will come in handy![]()
Once a week must be sufficient.
Unless you have a SSD just let windows 7 manage the defrag for you
I thought it was going to be every month or so!
I thought it was going to be every month or so!
I will have an SSD. Why can't windows 7 manage it with a SSD?
Well the scheduler is automatically every Wednesday.
the more you write to a SSD the more you shorten its life span, defrag is a very write intensive task. SSD's are fast enough not to require defragmenting; im not even sure if the seek time changes when a SSD is fragged?
So... the disadvantages outweigh the advantages
Does it take a long time?
Not if you stay on top of it, I dont defrag my PC as I have a SSD, but my sisters with a 500Gb HDD takes I guess about 5-10mins, but there isnt that much on it.
Microsoft Disk Defragmenter
Copyright (c) 2007 Microsoft Corp.
Description:
Locates and consolidates fragmented files on local volumes to
improve system performance.
Syntax:
defrag <volumes> | /C | /E <volumes> [/H] [/M | [/U] [/V]]
defrag <volumes> | /C | /E <volumes> /A [/H] [/M | [/U] [/V]]
defrag <volumes> | /C | /E <volumes> /X [/H] [/M | [/U] [/V]]
defrag <volume> /T [/H] [/U] [/V]
Parameters:
Value Description
/A Perform analysis on the specified volumes.
/C Perform the operation on all volumes.
/E Perform the operation on all volumes except those specified.
/H Run the operation at normal priority (default is low).
/M Run the operation on each volume in parallel in the background.
/T Track an operation already in progress on the specified volume.
/U Print the progress of the operation on the screen.
/V Print verbose output containing the fragmentation statistics.
/X Perform free space consolidation on the specified volumes.
Examples:
defrag C: /U /V
defrag C: D: /M
defrag C:\mountpoint /A /U
defrag /C /H /V