SSDs and clean installs

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
T

Tedfoo25

Honorable
Jun 3, 2013
85
0
10,660
Hi there!

I understand that for SSDs (being flash memory), it makes no difference what blocks data is written to since they can all be accessed at the same speed, unlike mechanical hard drives.

My question is this: does this mean that 'clean installing' software which has undergone a large number of changes in file structure (through updates/patches) is completely pointless?

I think the best example is WoW, which has had several expansions since release, with numerous changes to file structure and removal of old files (which do remain on the drive, they just aren't used).

With a mechanical hard drive, if the game isn't clean installed every expansion or two, it can start to perform poorly. I assume this is because the needle on the HDD needs to move back and forth more, totalling a greater distance travelled and hence longer time to read and hence load data.

Since an SSD does not care where data is, reading it at the same speed regardless, I can't see any benefit to 'clean installing' programs like this (other than saving some drive space). Would I be correct?

Thanks!
 
Solution
B
Since obviously the SSD can address any memory location with no apparent speed penalty, the only benefit I can see is space saved, if indeed file size comes down or files no longer used are removed, or not installed. In the grand scheme of things, unless your software is malfunctioning, I would see little reason to remove and reinstall it.
Sort by date Sort by votes
T

Tedfoo25

Honorable
Jun 3, 2013
85
0
10,660


Thank you for the reply. I understand that SSDs read faster than mechanical drives. However, my question was: is there any benefit to doing clean installs of software on SSDs?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

bigpinkdragon286

Splendid
Oct 3, 2012
4,648
35
28,590
While there can be benefits to a fresh installation of a program, we can't say there will always be benefits. Programs that require patches after installation may or may not be optimized to remove unused files, or bits of files. That is up to each company releasing software. As the cost of storage has come down over the last 10+ years, it is my own opinion that the efficiency with which most companies maintain a small footprint for their software also appears to have come down. Others' experience may vary.

When it comes to spinning platter storage such as a HDD, you have at least two things you should consider which can affect speed. One is file fragmentation, the other is the physical location of the file on the spinning platter. Good defragmenter software should be able to deal with both situations for you, but the big picture may reveal that the return on your investment in both time spent and wear and tear on the drive has not given you as much of a speed boost as you hoped. I suspect a significant portion of the speed degradation you are noticing is psychological. If you haven't done any actual tests to confirm, one way or the other, it's really just a case of things seeming slower. Also, there are so many other things that can affect game loading performance, I would refrain from making a definitive statement until you look into those as well.

There is no guarantee you will be saving anything by 'clean installing' software to an SSD as you're calling it, but you will certainly be performing write cycles that may be unnecessary, and depending on the software, a great deal of them. Any benefit from a new installation of software to an SSD will have to be evaluated for each program you install. If the program is not otherwise broken and in need of reinstallation, you will likely gain nothing, other than using different physical storage locations on the SSD, which you already realize won't make a difference here. Patching routines aren't likely to be rewritten to conserve space, just because you're patching software on an SSD.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

Tedfoo25

Honorable
Jun 3, 2013
85
0
10,660


Thanks for the info. I think you are misunderstanding the question.

Let's say i fist installed a piece of software at version 1.0. I have since patched through 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 etc. and now I'm on version 2.4, for example. A number of features have been added, some have been scrapped and some have been changed. This means that some files have been added (new features), some files are redundant (old, now unused features) and some files have been changed. This software is not 'clean.'

If I wanted to clean install this software, the installer would only add the files currently in use by it. Redundant files would not be installed, and files would not have their original version (from 1.0) installed and then updated to the latest version, but only the new version (the version of the file from 2.4).

In short, a clean install only installs what needs to be installed. WoW is the best example I can think of, as explained in my original post. This is important to do on an HDD because the needle doesn't need to move as much to load data, and hence can load it faster. Since an SSD will draw all data required at the same speed regardless of where on the drive it is stored, I assume that there would be no benefit (again, other than saving space) to clean installing such software on SSDs. I would like to know if this is correct.


Update: @bigpinkdragon286, the load times and in-game stutters are much greater for people who first installed 1.2.2 (release version) and have since updated to 5.4.8 (latest version) over a number of years, than those who installed 5.4.8 directly using the standalone installer. This is why I used WoW as an example.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

bigpinkdragon286

Splendid
Oct 3, 2012
4,648
35
28,590
You assume too much when you say that only pertinent files will be installed with your properly patched version of a newly installed software program. There is no requirement that software companies remove unused bloat from their software, or optimize in any way, just because they are releasing a patch. You really do need to evaluate the benefits on a case by case basis.

You can't assume that, if you patched directly from version 1.0 of your software to version 2.4, skipping the incremental updates, that internally the patching routines aren't going through the same motions as the previous patches. While it would make sense to go internally from 1 to 2.4, it's not a necessity or guaranteed.

As for your WoW example, it sounds like bad programming of the game, to me. I can't speak to the performance of the game specifically, as I've never played it, but if file structures have been changed, but not cleaned up after patching, there could be issues with how the game accesses the data there. A new installation may indeed render great results, but that is just WoW. Benefits have to be evaluated for each program, not based on one program that very likely has had some really bad programming in it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

Tedfoo25

Honorable
Jun 3, 2013
85
0
10,660


Thank you! This is good to know.

WoW will not install currently redundant files if you install the latest version directly. As you implied, this is not the case for all software.

Only considering software which does this, there is a benefit to doing a clean install on a HDD. Would there be any for an SSD, which doesn't care about where the files it needs are, in this case?

Thanks!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

bigpinkdragon286

Splendid
Oct 3, 2012
4,648
35
28,590
Since obviously the SSD can address any memory location with no apparent speed penalty, the only benefit I can see is space saved, if indeed file size comes down or files no longer used are removed, or not installed. In the grand scheme of things, unless your software is malfunctioning, I would see little reason to remove and reinstall it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
T

Tedfoo25

Honorable
Jun 3, 2013
85
0
10,660


Thank you. Sorry I was unclear, but we arrived at the answer eventually :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

bigpinkdragon286

Splendid
Oct 3, 2012
4,648
35
28,590
Well, I'm a little confused as to how many potential benefits can even be gained by reinstalling otherwise properly functioning software. The only possible benefits I can think of at the moment would be functionality, speed, and storage space. If the software is already working and can't gain any speed, what is left? :pt1cable:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom