Performance Optimization
NOTE: Windows 7 supports TRIM natively, so this feature is less necessary for Windows 7 Users. Those using Windows XP, which does not support TRIM, should run this feature regularly to keep their SSD in top shape. Of course, Windows 7 users can use Performance Optimization as well if they wish to force Garbage Collection and TRIM to run at a particular time rather than in the background.
The Performance Optimization feature automatically consolidates disparate data and prepares invalid memory for future use. It accomplishes these tasks by force executing two very important SSD maintenance features: TRIM and Garbage Collection.
By nature, SSDs are a bit obsessive about how they organize their data. They prefer to have it neatly stacked together, and they run more efficiently when they can keep it that way. Everyday use makes this type of neatness difficult, because the OS is constantly writing and deleting data of various sizes, leaving data strewn haphazardly throughout the SSD. Garbage Collection remedies this by combing through the Swiss cheese of data left behind, collecting any data and carefully placing it together.
TRIM helps to make Garbage Collection more efficient by preparing invalid data for deletion. When the OS “deletes” data, the data does not actually go anywhere. The space in which it resides is simply marked as “free space” that may be used later. Unfortunately, the OS doesn’t let the SSD know which data is now free, at least not without TRIM. TRIM allows the OS to inform the SSD which data is no longer valid, allowing the SSD to skip over invalid data when performing Garbage Collection instead of moving around old data.
SSDs are just as particular about how they delete data as they are in storing it, preferring to delete in blocks of equal size. Working in concert, TRIM and Garbage collection allow the SSD to clear and prepare unused and invalid blocks of space. SSDs perform faster when writing to empty blocks, so the end result is better performance.
13