Defrag for Optimal Performance

SINGAPORE--(Business Wire)--
Unprecedented hardware advancements have put powerful multi-core
CPUs, multiple GPUs, fast memory and large hard drives within the
reach of the power user. Yet the overall performance of desktops and
servers is often limited by the speed with which Windows and programs
access files on the hard disk. Much of this bottleneck is attributed
to fragmentation of files on the hard disk, which, if allowed to
propagate unchecked, can bring even a high-end system down to its
knees.

What exactly is disk fragmentation, and why should it concern the
power user who demands the maximum performance from his expensive,
cutting-edge hardware? In a nutshell, disk fragmentation occurs when a
file is broken up into smaller fragments and placed in a physically
non-contiguous manner on the disk platter. This can be due to file
modification, deletion and creation which alters the file and space
distribution on the platter resulting in fewer or smaller contiguous
free spaces. If the read/write head of a hard disk has to traverse the
platter in a non-sequential manner for collection (reading) or
placement (writing) of file fragments, I/O operation time increases.
The larger the file, the worse is the impact of fragmentation. While
faster hard drives may mitigate this to an extent, no Windows PC is
immune from this phenomenon -- even with speedy SCSI or SATA drives in
RAID 0 arrays.

Power users desire to exploit the entire performance envelope of
their hardware but fragmentation often makes this unachievable;
consequently denying users the full performance and monetary value of
their systems. Video encoding and editing, scientific computing and
modeling are all processes that involve large file sizes, and hence
severely affected by I/O delays.

Drive fragmentation is invariably increased over time with file
modification, creation and deletion, but this recurring problem can be
combated by defragmenting the hard drive regularly. Defrag rejoins
file fragments and rearranges the files contiguously to reduce delays
in I/O operations. While Windows includes a built-in defragmenter, it
lacks the speed, options and flexibility of operation demanded by
power users whose time is valuable.

Profusion PR
Lisa Zocco, 310-503-8151
press@profusionpr.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008