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Showing posts with label HDD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HDD. Show all posts

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Hardware: Optimize SSD & HDD

As an owner of multiple computers it also comes with many disks to maintain. Physically checking them from time to time, recycling trash files and doing software checks for example.

I asked Bing for some additional tips for maintaining my SSD's and the HDD in my Minecraft server.

Optimizing SSDs

Overprovisioning your SSD
Usually done with tools from the manufacturer or during the partition size configuration during the SSD setup. You can also shrink a partition using Disk Management, found in the Computer Management. You end up with "unallocated space" and recommendations for the size of this area vary between 5-10%. Confirm the change by simply going to the file explorer and checking the drive size.
Basically you want to leave the rest for normal user data. Overprovisioning can increase performance by helping with the garbage collection and wear-leveling (spreading the use of the blocks). It increases lifespan and also gives room for error correction.

TRIM:
First tip was about the TRIM command, which essentially helps your computer keep track of where data is located that you want to move or delete.
Open PowerShell and run fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify and if it returns 0 on your results everything is fine. If you instead need to activate it, run fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 0 which then should optimize erasure and writing speeds on your SSD.

Disable disk defragmentation:
When left on default settings, your computer will optimize and defragment your drives on a weekly basis for example. This wears the SSD out more than necessary, the computer should be left to handle this on its own. Defragmentation is really best for HDD (spinning disks), as they operate functionally different from SSDs. Enter the defragmentation program and turn it off, this require administrative rights.

Disable indexing service?
To some small degree you can get benefits from disabling indexing, as it increases wear on the SSD. Usually indexing takes place when there isn't much load on the CPU anyway. The consequence is that you now manually have to find files or that search is slower. In theory you increase the lifespan, especially with older hardware. Search becomes slower and general system performance remains pretty much the same, but the SSD might live longer. So it is up to you.

Enable cache writing:
Go to the device manager and then go to your disk drives, select the SSD, click "change settings" and then policies. Make sure the write cache is enabled. Do not check the other box that mentions Windows write-cache buffer, this is for devices that has uninterrupted power supply.

Modify power plan so that SSD doesn't sleep:
If you plan to keep your PC running for a long time, you can try this setting in the power settings.
Go to "edit plan settings", select change advanced power settings. Under hard disk you can see how quickly the SSD will fall asleep. Try put it to never. This will increase power consumption, so monitor if this choice is right for you.

SSD Alignment:
SSD data is worked with in blocks. If the starting point is off, the SSD might need to work across two blocks. This slows performance and can cause more wear than needed, alignment makes sure that writing is even across the cells who have limited amount of write cycles. We can check for misalignment by opening PowerShell as administrator and writing "msinfo32". This brings up a new window, press components, storage and disk. Take the numbers from "partition starting offsets" and divide the numbers with 4096. If the result is a whole number the SSD is aligned. 


Optimizing HDDs

Defragmenting HDD
Unlike the SSD, the HDD benefits from being defragmented.
If you run an SSD and an HDD at the same time, you need to find a good way to only optimize the HDD, such as using PowerShell or selecting the specific disk.

Scan for errors
By going to your file explorer and right-clicking on your disk, press properties and go to "tools", there you can check for errors.

Adjust power settings
Just as with the SSDs you can adjust the power plan so that the HDD does not power off. This will of course consume more power, so monitor the results to see if it is worth it.

Move stored data to the HDD
By moving big data files that might seldom be used to the HDD and often used programs to your SSD, you may be able to optimize the use a bit more. Use the SSD for the OS and the HDD for storing files.

Update your system and firmware
This goes without saying perhaps, but it is always worth looking for firmware updates, software upgrades and running diagnostics as final touches.

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Desktop: Upgrading OptiPlex 3070 SFF

Background

Some time ago I bought an old used Dell OptiPlex 3070 SFF to use as a Minecraft server. This computer costed me 1249 SEK.

The computer came with an i3 8100 processor, and 8 GB of ram, using an NVMe with 128gb of storage.

I wanted to focus on budget and performance primarily. 

Upgrades

The first upgrade was actually an ancient HDD from the Windows XP era that I had laying around, it was seated in the computer and it worked just fine. The practical use of this drive is backup storage of my Minecraft world. For doing this backup I have made a PowerShell script.

The second upgrade was two sticks of DDR4 RAM, each using 16GB. They were both designed to run at 2666 mhz. However it turns out that Dell OptiPlex 3070 does not offer Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP) in the BIOS. In other word, you cannot manage the RAM from the BIOS. These ones I bought for 751 SEK.

The third upgrade was an i7 8700k processor, this required me to take out the HDD and the CPU-cooler. During this operation I also noticed a lot of dust build up, so I took the time to vacuum and apply new cooling paste. This one I bought for 1271 SEK.

How to install i7 8700k in the OptiPlex 3070 is pretty straightforward. Open up the side panel, move the HDD, loosen the CPU-cooler by untightening the screws with springs on. Lift the cooler to the side and remove the current CPU. Place the i7 8700k into the CPU holder, apply enough thermal paste and tighten the mechanism. Then put the computer back in the reverse order.

All these upgrades were practically plug and play. The total cost so far has been 3271 SEK.

Future potential upgrades

Next upgrades might be a better NVMe and Low Profile GPU.

Some of the GPUs that has been recommended by Bing AI are:

NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 730 (2GB GDDR5)

AMD® Radeon™ R5 430 (2GB GDDR5)

RX 550 (2GB GDDR5)


Meanwhile this forum recommends these:

RX 6400 Low profile, 4 GB DDR6

GTX 1050 Ti Low profile, 4 GB DDR5

GTX 1650 Low profile, 4 GB DDR5

RTX A2000 Low profile, 6/12 GB DDR6

It is important to look at the power supply as a bottleneck, some of these GPU - albeit low profile - might draw too much power for the PSU to keep the entire setup running. So my focus will be on getting a lower wattage with as much performance as possible, for the lowest price.