Also, there are some SSD models which stand out from the rest, and just to get an idea, you should look at the best SSDs on the market, but you can also find budget models with more modest speeds, which are still blazing fast when compared to magnetic HDDs (an example here would be the Silicon Power Velox V20). But even the best SSDs out there need regular maintenance and tweaks, so they operate at peak performance throughout their lifetime, this is where SSD optimization comes into play.
Best SSD Management Software
If you’ve gone through the process of setting up your operating system to better take advantage of your Solid State Drive, then the next step is to employ software which can it one step further and keep a watchful eye on your drive, making sure it works well. Here are a few ideas of what type of SSD management software you can use to keep your SSD working perfectly for a longer time.
Tweak-SSD
We’ve previously talked about Tweak-SSD and explained its features and how this utility can help you keep your SSD at peak performance. If you wish to see how the tool works, then do check out our review of Tweak-SSD. Here’s a quick recap of what Tweak-SSD offers its users:
Simple User Interface Easy to use wizard which allows you to modify system settings Fast Optimization Suggested settings Disk cleanup
Overall, Tweak-SSD is a great SSD management software which offers a wide range of features. Users who wish to try out this tool can download a free trial or buy the tool for $14.90.
SSD Boost Manager
The beauty of SSDs is their lightning fast speeds, but what most models lack is disk space (except high-end models which have a huge price tag attached to them). If you’ve bought a 60 GB SSD and installed Windows on it, then you might see that you’re disk space is quickly filling up. SSD Boost Manager is a free utility which can give you a helping had by copying programs to another hard drive and creating a link between the two. This way, you can move the programs you rarely use to a smaller magnetic hard drive and let preserve the precious space on your SSD for other applications you use on a daily basis. Even though the default language is French, you can change it to English from the main menu. You can download SSD Boost Manager from here.
SSD Tweaker
SSD Tweaker offers users the possibility to modify all the system settings which affect the performance of their SSD from a single console. This is a major time saver if you’re not too accustomed with Windows settings and furthermore, it provides an option to auto-tweak the most common settings in one go. Here are some of the options you can change with SSD Tweaker:
Windows Indexing Service Disable Boot Tracing TRIM Optimization
Like with most SSDD management software, it provides a free version which gives you access to the basic features, as well as a paid version which adds additional options like TRIM control.
SSD Life
SSD Life is a lightweight and simple SSD software which shows its users how much data was written and read during the drive’s lifetime. It also give information on how full the drive is and using the information it gathers, it provides the user with an estimate of how good the drive’s health is and how much it time it will go on working in the same operating conditions. While this software isn’t designed to change settings or tweak your system, it will give you an idea of how your SSD is working. Even more, it is a good tool to use when you buy a second hand SSD. You should always perform speed and health checks on any second-hand components as this can save you money and frustration in the future.
AS SSD
AS SSD is a simple benchmarking software which goes hand in hand with SSD Life. It allows its users to see exactly how fast their drive reads and writes data, which can then be compared to the manufacturer’s information. Similar to this software is the trusted CrystalDiskMark, which offers similar features. AS SSD was developed with SSDs in mind and it shows users all the relevant information that they would require.
CCleaner
CCleaner was also featured in our guide on how to declutter your computer and thought it would also be a great addition to this list, due to the fact that it can help SSD owners to keep their drives free of unwanted temporary files. This feature will free up space on any drive, but free space on SSDs is worth a lot, so it would be a good idea to run a utility like CCleaner from time to time. Apart from cleaning up temporary files, this utility can also:
Clean your registry Uninstall software Manage startup items
SSD Manufacturer Toolkits
Some SSD manufacturers give users to option to monitor and manage their SSDs via their own software. Just like what you’d see with other computer components. Here are a few examples of such SSD management software: Intel SSD Management Software OCZ SSD Management Software Samsung SSD Management Software Corsair SSD Management Software
