PerfectDisk is one of the more extensive disk defragmenter software products we reviewed. The average user may find the software a little daunting at first because of the large amount of tools. However, after taking a few minutes to look around, you will find that all you really need to do is select the drive you wish to defragment and let the software do its job. Sporting features like OptiWrite, S.M.A.R.T. monitoring and intelligent optimization of SSDs, PerfectDisk offers a ton of powerful tools to keep your system running smoothly every day. The software has enough tools to satisfy even the most experienced computer user, and its simple design means that nearly anyone will be able to master many of the advanced features. The addition of helpful tools and advanced features make it easy for us to give PerfectDisk our TopTenREVIEWS Silver Award.
PerfectDisk offers a system that gives you the freedom to scan and defragment any type of computer hard drive manually or automatically. Automatic sessions are easy to set up, and you can schedule them for a specific time each week or each day if you plan on installing and removed software regularly. Its intuitive interface and graphical maps for each drive make the overall experience feel very familiar and make the application enjoyable to use.
If you’re looking for disk defragmenter software that has a lot of extra features you can use to defragment your hard drive and also keep it running smoothly, PerfectDisk has you covered. The application's well-rounded feature set includes SMARTPlacement mode, which will organize data on a drive according to your unique usage patterns. In other words, the application is able to reduce the rate of fragmentation based on your recent computer use history. The visual drive map helps you better understand the condition your hard drive is in, and it even comes with a legend to help you identify the different file types. Other features include automatic updates, online support, online webinars, detailed statistical reports for each drive connected to your computer and much more.
Since most people don’t enjoy watching disk defragmenter software do its job, PerfectDisk also includes stealth mode. This feature reduces the resource footprint of the application so you can simply have it run the defragmentation process in the background and continue working or playing. The software can be set to run a defragmentation session during boot time if you don’t want to worry about possible interference or simply want to run the process when you know the computer will not be in use.
One of the biggest improvements in the latest version of PerfectDisk is the use of OptiWrite, a technology developed to help keep your hard drive running at top speed all the time. This feature is designed to prevent up to 100% of file fragmentation while at the same time minimizing free space fragmentation for decreased energy consumption. By eliminating fragmentation in real time, PerfectDisk is able to ensure that files are written to the file system in a single continuous stream, thus avoiding fragmentation from the beginning. OptiWrite is able to identify when Windows is going to fragment files and is able to redirect the files so that most of the fragmentation never occurs.
Another strength of this disk defragmenter software is its real-time charts which display a variety of different drive status reports. The reports are easy to understand and make it easy to identify which files are becoming fragmented most often. Once the application has been installed for some time, you will be able to check and see whether OptiWrite has been able to reduce the fragmentation in these drives. Advanced users will enjoy being able to view the information contained in each block on the PerfectDisk Drive Map.
Custom SMARTPlacement is what we like to think of as the cornerstone of this disk defragmenter software. It gives you the freedom to change the layout of a drive, extend drive life and additional features designed to improve the overall performance of your computer. With a little work, you will learn how to enable specific file-size limits in order to process larger file types and prevent fragmentation from getting worse – or from even occurring in the first place. Free space consolidation is yet another tool SMARTPlacement uses. It takes the largest chunks of information not in use and reduces the rate at which the information is fragmented; the result is less resource consumption, which is always a plus.
When it comes to overall performance, PerfectDisk is not the fastest disk defragmenter software we reviewed, but it gets the job done. The hard drive on our test machine was highly fragmented and required extensive care; PerfectDisk handled the job with ease and was very responsive. The drive map was constantly updated throughout the process and pausing the application for a few minutes did not cause any problems. The software runs very well even when you're multitasking. We were able to browse the web and even take notes in a Word document while the disk defragmenter software did its job. PerfectDisk was even able to run in lower power mode while we used other software or applications.
While PerfectDisk is not the fastest disk defragmenter software, it makes up for when it comes to disk optimization. The combination of SMARTPlacement and other features make it possible to not only defragment a heavily fragmented drive, but also to optimize the file placement on that drive. Placing files where they can easily be located is sure to speed up read and write times on the disk. The ability of this disk defragmenter software to defrag boot files and system files are also very welcome features.
The disk defragmenter software offers support through a built-in help system and, as with most software, you can also find help online. The software itself has one of the best help systems among the disk defragmentation software we reviewed. By simply clicking on help you will be greeted with a pull-down menu containing FAQs, online manuals, forums and a variety of other helpful support options. No matter what question you have, the software’s help feature will most likely be able to answer it. If you wish to talk to someone from the company, you can either send an email or call them directly.
PerfectDisk is well-rounded disk defragmenter software that offers a number of extremely helpful features. The software is designed to not only clean up an already fragmented drive, but also to keep that drive in tip-top shape. The interface is a bit daunting when you first open the application, but after some time it becomes easy to navigate and use. You will have the freedom of setting up automatic defragmentation sessions that take place behind the scenes, or you can take the time to manually defrag a specific drive. The software has enough features to make even the most experienced users feel right at home. If you’re looking for a solid disk defragmenter software that includes the latest features, PerfectDisk is very hard to beat.
