PCMark 05 Benchmark Test Results

I digressed from the task at hand to run some tests on the PcMark 05 benchmarking program. The results are shown in order of testing. High score is best.
First, I ran the program with the initial file layout, and a minimal install. Not surprisingly the HDD score is lowest, because the drive is fragmented.
Initial setup: 4453 points. No defrag.
After Windows Disk Defrag: 4448 points. This is the recommended configuration. The hard drive has been defragmented using the standard WDD program.
After JKDefrag -a5: 4493 points. This is the best result, obtained by moving all the files to the start of the drive, leaving the rest of the drive completely open.
After JkDefrag -a 3: 4474 points. The second best result, obtained using the standard configuration adopted by JkDefrag, with a 1% open space at the start of the drive, followed by another 1% after the "program" files.
After JkDefrag -a 6: 4471 points. All the files have been moved to the slow end of the drive, with almost no performance penalty.
In theory, the last result would be the worst result if actual file performance was being measured, since all the files are in the slowest part of the drive. Conversely, it would be the best result if the trace results were being used, since the entire start of the drive would be available for reading or writing, and so it would match the reference system perfectly.
Now look at the actual performance graph of the drive, measured by HD Tune. There are some clear sectors at the beginning of the drive that run much slower. Presumably these sectors were damaged and have been swapped out for other sectors, but it is impossible to know for sure without an inspection of the drive that I don't have tools to perform.
These "glitch" sectors may account for the drop in 20 points (0.4%), but in any case the overall variation between high and low is all within a 1% range, and so could well fall within a measuring error.
My conclusion: the benchmark does not significantly determine any effects caused by file placement or fragmentation when the drive has a minimal install, i.e. just Windows XP, DirectX and the PCMark 05 software. So MaximumPC's conclusions are flawed because of the way they measured the effects of the defrag program. The PCMark benchmarks don't claim to measure the effects of fragmentation: they are designed to compare the hardware configurations of a wide variety of PCs. "The Disk Defrag Difference" was a good idea. Hopefully my tests will give a better result. We can only be patient and see what transpires.

Benchmarks*: JkDefrag 3.28

You can find a review of the GPL freeware JkDefrag program (JKD), as well as the benchmark results obtained. You can download this version in an easy setup format. The version used for testing is 3.28, but newer ones are available.
The graph shows JkDefrag 3.28 (JKD) in dark blue, and the results from Windows XP in light blue. The first test is at the bottom, and shorter lines mean faster times. The magenta lines are the results obtained after running JKD from a BartPE environment, which allows the page file and other system files to be moved.

• "Basic XP" refers to the standard install, without Office 2007, so there are only 710 files to be tested.
• "Defrag" refers to the read times of the same 710 files, after two defrag passes using the JKD default defrag, with no "Optimize Files" or "Optimize Boot" options enabled. A 15% performance improvement is measured, not as good as the WDD result.
  
• "Defrag+Auto" refers to the read time after enabling both the "Optimize Files" and "Optimize Boot" function in Windows, and then running JKD. An improvement of 11.5% is recorded, still slower than WDD.
• "Defrag+BartPE" refers to the read time after rebooting into the BartPE environment (running from a CD) and then running JKD from the command line. The result was almost as bad as no defrag at all, and I have no idea why. I tried this because the "Optimize Files" option seemed to be contradicting the file placement method of JKD.
  
• "XP+Auto" is the result obtained after enabling both "Optimize Files" and "Optimize Boot" functions in Windows, and then running WDD, i.e. the best that Windows XP can manage.
  
• "Basic Office" refers to the read time of all 802 test files, where no defragmentation has been done whatsoever, after the installation of Microsoft Office 2007 Professional (Trial).
• "Full Defrag" refers to the read time of all 802 test files after several reboots and two passes using the JKD program, with no "Optimize Files" or "Optimize Boot" options enabled, using the default defrag option. A 21.8% performance improvement has been measured, still 8.5% short of the "Office Auto" below.
• "Full+BartPE" refers to the read time after rebooting into the BartPE environment (running from a CD) and then running JKD from the command line. This performance improvement of 18.9% is 12.4% slower than "Office Auto".
• "Office Auto" is the result obtained by allowing Windows XP to do its own defrag after enabling both "Optimize Files" and "Optimize Boot" functions.

The performance improvement ranges between 11% and 21%, with slower results obtained when both built-in Windows functions are employed; "Optimize Boot" is enabled by default and does not appear to cause any performance loss, only "Optimize Files".
An average 16.8% performance improvement over no defrag at all is pretty good, better than the freeware Auslogics Disk Defrag program, and not too far behind the "heavy hitter" commercial packages. This is more remarkable because JkDefrag does not do any specific processing of the files listed in the "layout.ini" file.
This image is how the drive looked before the first defrag test was done. The yellow blocks are fragmented files, the pink part is the MFT reserved space, darker green files are "spacehogs" and lighter green are "normal" files. When the defrag has finished (as in the top image) the directories are stored first (bottom left), then there is a 1% free space gap, then the "normal" files, then another 1% gap, then the "spacehogs".
The file at the top of the top image is the pagefile.sys file, which was moved there during the BartPE defrag. In the bottom picture it is halfway between the pink section and the bottom of the image.
The next program to be tested is UltimateDefrag, from DiskTrix.

*See: Benchmarks*: Why the Asterisk?

Award Winning JkDefrag 3.34 Freeware Bundle

I have five defrag programs installed on my laptop at present: Diskeeper 2008 Pro Premier ($100) for testing, PerfectDisk 8 ($40) for emergencies and metadata defragmentation, JkDefrag 3.34 for daily tidying up, PageDefrag for quick boot-time defragmentation of critical system files, and Contig, for a quick defrag of Access data files that I'm working on. The last 3 programs are free: two from SysInternals (now part of Microsoft) and one from Jeroen Kessels.
Whenever I fix up a home PC for someone who can't afford PerfectDisk, or if it is already installed, I also install the last 3, along with NTREGOPT for getting rid of excess registry space. So I keep a setup file with all these utilities included, made with Inno Setup. The latest one is listed below. It's freeware and virus-free. And it works better than any version of Diskeeper, from their cheapie Home version ($30) to their eye-watering Server version ($300).
The large yellow blob in the middle of the screen shown above is a 4.88GB SQL Server critical data file that DK2008 doesn't want to defrag. The light green files are ones that JKD would want to put in Zone 2, and the dark green ones in the "spacehogs" zone 3. Notice how the free space is divided into chunks by DK2008's "NEW! COMPLETE FILE AND FREE SPACE DEFRAGMENTATION" feature. I guess I shouldn't mock them because they're new to free space defragging, while PerfectDisk has been getting it right for years.

Download JkDefrag 3.34 + NTREGOPT + PageDefrag + Contig, all in a simple setup program (759,489 bytes). The install program is unsigned but works fine.

Update 18 Feb 2008: The setup program now includes JkDefrag 3.34, and leaves out the JkDefrag GUI included before. If you want a GUI instead, get it here (3,726,575 bytes)

Update 28 January 2010: If you are using your computer for private or non-commercial purposes, then check out Puran Defrag Free Edition, which is awesome.

The Great Defrag Shootout: The Winners

Ultimately, it is the reader who is the winner, and I hope that all my reviews (15 commercial, 16 freeware products reviewed) will help others. There are the two winners, in no particular order:

Best Commercial Defrag Program:
Raxco PerfectDisk 8

The category is hotly contested, with stiff competition from O&O Software and Golden Bow but the Raxco product won for the following reasons:

• PerfectDisk is easy to install and use, both for the novice and the power user;
• The features are well integrated, and relevant;
• The default method of organising files is well thought out and extremely effective;
• The boot time defrag solves problems that many other defrag programs ignore; and
• The overall performance improvement is well worth the cost of the software.

Any commercial environment not using this product is wasting money. I use it whenever my hard drive gets really messy.

Speaking of money, the folks at Raxco sent me a discount coupon to publish on this blog. If you buy any PerfectDisk product from their download store, use the following coupon code:

BLOG-SHOOTOUT

It's good for a 20% discount before 31 October 2007 on combo packs, power packs or individual copies of PerfectDisk 8. If you're planning on buying the server product, visit the PerfectDisk Blog first, because there is an incredible promo offer available there. Read the blog entries and you'll save yourself a fortune and make yourself popular with your accounts department.
Update 8 Feb 2008: I have tested and reviewed PerfectDisk 2008, and feel that it is a worthy successor and retains the "winner" status for the best commercial defrag program.

Best Freeware Defrag Program:
JkDefrag 3.25

I'm glad I found this utility. I thought that Contig was the best freeware defrag program, and I still use it heavily, but JkDefrag is a masterpiece, and for a cash-strapped small business I have no problem installing it on all the workstations.

• It is simplicity itself to use;
• It is fast and effective;
• The file placement alogorithm is excellent; and
• The screen saver option is logical and helpful.

The latest stable version can be found on my Defragmentation Utilities Page, in a simple setup program. Version 3.16 is stable, and version 3.26 works fine on my current system, although there are some remaining bugs in this release. My guess is that these will be ironed out shortly. My original review was version 3.8, and I have used it regularly since then, especially the screen saver component, which is awesome.
Download JkDefrag 3.26 + NTREGOPT + PageDefrag + JkDefrag GUI + Contig, all in a simple setup program.

The Great Defrag Shootout: Part I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | XIII | XIV | XV | XVI | XVII | XVIII | XIX | XX | XXI | XXII | XXIII | XXIV | XXV | XXVI | XXVII | XXVIII | XXIX| winner | all | why

JkDefrag Gets a Fresh Look

JkDefrag has been a work in progress for some time now, and I only discovered it in the last few months. I have been using it ever since, and version 3.16 is both stable and usable.
But Jeroen Kessels has been hard at work, making constant improvements and fixing problems. Starting at version 3.17 and continuing though 3.24, he has added a new analysis method and finally an icon. If you like testing software, try downloading the latest version, but he has suggested that casual users hold back for a few weeks until the new version(s) stabilise. This program is getting better all the time.

The Great Defrag Shootout: Part I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | XIII | XIV | XV | XVI | XVII | XVIII | XIX | XX | XXI | XXII | XXIII | XXIV | XXV | XXVI | XXVII | XXVIII | XXIX| winner | all | why

The Great Defrag Shootout: Why Defrag at all?

There are a few interesting myths and misconceptions out there about PCs and defragmentation. The first myth is that NTFS drives don't need to be defragmented. The second is that "modern" operating systems don't need to be defragmented at all. The third is that simple defragmentation on its own keeps your PC working fast.
The last one is the easiest to deal with. Recently I converted my brother's old Pentium II machine running WindowsXP into a "backup server". The WDD defrag program had been run occasionally, and the drive was pretty full, so most files were not too seriously fragmented.
As you can see from the "before" picture, the green files are all defragmented, but not particularly well organised. This was partly because I had just uninstalled a whole load of games and other junk from what was at one time a family PC.
Then I set to work on the drive using JkDefrag, allowing it to do its standard default defrag. Here is the result:
Given the choice between the two drive layouts, which one do you think will work more efficiently? The answer is pretty obvious. It was easily demonstrated on the PC in question because of its low processing horsepower in the first place. By the time I had defragmented the drive, cleaned the registry with CCleaner, and then compressed it with NTREGOPT, the machine was starting to "run" instead of "walk".
Defragmentation isn't the only strategy to make a PC run faster, but it is one of the strategies that are useful. "Regular" defragmentation is better than "random" defragging, but how often is "regular"? It depends on your PC. If you are generating lots of files, or editing databases, a daily defrag may be required. If your files are pretty small, a monthly defrag is probably good enough.
My own rule of thumb: if the defrag takes longer than an hour you need to do it more often. If it takes less than 10 minutes, defrag less often. You don't want to waste a lot of time in order to save a little time. Do the defrag during a quiet period, such as when you're away from your desk for a meeting, or after hours. In that way you don't waste productive time.
The other myths take longer to explain, but every drive on the planet runs the risk of fragmented files. Consider the following scenario: I install a 10GB drive on a server, and connect 2 PCs to the server. User A saves a 4GB data file to the server. The next day user B saves a 3GB file. So the drive has 3GB free. Now user A modifies his data file so it grows to 4.1GB. Even if he deletes the old file before saving the new one, there are only 2 gaps of 3GB each on the drive, unless the server moved the files around, which it isn't likely to do. So the 4.1GB file will be fragmented. Now it's up to the server to sort out the fragmentation. Different operating systems will do this in different ways, but every OS has to have a solution, even Linux.

The Great Defrag Shootout: Part I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | XIII | XIV | XV | XVI | XVII | XVIII | XIX | XX | XXI | XXII | XXIII | XXIV | XXV | XXVI | XXVII | XXVIII | XXIX| winner | all | why

The Great Defrag Shootout, and all the defragmentation utilities I can find

The new defrag web site is under construction, and all this information will eventually land up there. It takes time to get these results, because testing is done on Windows XP, Windows Vista 32-bit and Vista 64-bit environments, and numerous tests are carried out. Windows 7 testing will be added only once the final product actually ships.

• Windows Disk Defragmenter: Version 5.1.2600.5512 supplied in Windows XP.

Check below for information on other packages, and the 2007 winners of the previous "Great Defrag Shootout".

I have listed all the utilities below, as they fleetingly appeared on the Wikipedia defragmentation article before they were removed by the Wiki trolls.

Boot time defrag programs (explained):

• PerfectDisk 2008 [link] $39.99
• UltimateDefrag 2008 [link] $39.95
• Puran Defrag 7 [link] $19.95
• PageDefrag [link]
• UltraDefrag 2.0 [link]

Commercial defrag utilities for Windows:

• Abexo Defragmenter Pro Plus [review: thumbs down] $34.95
• Advanced Defrag [link] $34.95
  
• Ashampoo Magical Defrag [review: thumbs down] [link] $14.99
  
• Buzzsaw (on the fly defragmenter) and DIRMS (removes tiny spaces) [article] [link] $10 for 5 licenses.
• Defrag-A-File 2.0 [review 1.1: thumbs down] [link] $7.97
• Defrag Express from Disktrix. [link] $14.95
  
• DefragMentor Outlook Accelerator 2.0 [review: thumbs down] [link] $19.95
  
• DefragMentor Premium [link] $24.90
• Defrag Timer 1.1 [link] $19
  
• Diskeeper Pro Premier 2007 [review: thumbs down] $49.95/$99.95 [benchmark] no longer sold.
  
• Diskeeper Pro Premier 2008 [review] [link] $49.95/$99.95. First Impressions of DK 2008 and preliminary results. [benchmark]
• DiskMagik [review] [link] $29.95
  
• hsDefragSaver [link] free/$29.95
  
• Mindsoft Defrag [link] $34.95
  
• mst Defrag [review: thumbs down] [link] $15.90/$29.90
• Norton Speed Disk - part of Norton SystemWorks [review and benchmark] $49.99 (basic)/$69.99/$99.99 (premier) [link]
  
• Nova Development - Disk Accelerator Pro [link] $39.95
  
• O&O Defrag 10 [review:thumbs up] [review: version 8.6] [link] $44.95 [benchmark]
  
• Paragon Total Defrag 2007 [review: thumbs up] [link] $29.95
• PC Mesh Defrag for Windows 4.0 [link] $19.95
• Power Defrag [link] $29.95
  
  
• PerfectDisk 2008 [review: thumbs up] [review version 8] [link] [PerfectDisk blog] $39.99
  Best Commercial Defrag Program winner. [benchmark PD8]
  
  
• PerfectDisk Rx Suite [review] [link] $29.99 [benchmark]
  
• Puran Defrag 7.0 [preview 5.0] [review 3.0: thumbs up] [link] $19.95. [benchmark]
• Rapid File Defragmentor [link] $14.95
• TuneUp Utilities 2009 - TuneUp Drive Defrag [link] $49.95/£29.99
  
• UltimateDefrag 2008 [review: 1.72 thumbs up] [link] $39.95 [benchmark]
  
• Vopt [review: thumbs up] [link] $40 [benchmark]
  
• Winternals Defrag Manager 4.0 [review] no longer sold
  

Freeware defrag utilities for Windows:

• Auslogics Disk Defrag [review] [link] [benchmark]
  
• Contig* [article] [link]
• Defraggler [first test] [another look] [link] still in beta, review pending.
  
• DefragMentor Lite CL [link]
• DiskTune from DIY Data Recovery [blog] [link]
  
• fragdown 2.4 [review] [link]
• HDiskDefrag 3.0 [link]
  
• IOBit SmartDefrag 3.1 beta [review: thumbs down] [link]
  
  
• JkDefrag* [review version 3.8: thumbs up] [links] (GPL)
  Best Freeware Defrag Program winner. [benchmark]
  
  
• Microsoft's Windows Disk Defragmenter [review] [2009 Defrag Shootout: WinXP]
• Multiple Applicator 6.8 [review] [link]
  
• PageDefrag* [see JkDefrag review] [link]
• Partition Logic [short review] [link]
  
• Power Defragmenter GUI [review: thumbs up] [link]
• Puran Defrag Free Edition 7.0 [link] free for non-commercial or home use. [preview: thumbs up]
  
• Quicksys DiskDefrag [link]
• Rapid File Defragmentor Lite [link]
• Puran Defrag 1.1 [review] no longer available: see 3.0 above.
  
• SpeeDefrag [review] [link]
• SpeedItUp FREE [review] [link]
• Ultimate Defrag 1.72 [review] [link]
  
• UltraDefrag 1.0.5 [review:thumbs down] [link]
• UnityPro Disk Idle Optimiser [review] [link] [benchmark]
  
• WinContig 0.75 [review: thumbs down] [link]
• Windows PowerTools 1.3 [review: thumbs down] [link]
  

* Combined setup for these excellent utilities available for download on my new defrag page.

Update: Having tested all the freeware packages listed, and the majority of the commercial ones, I have concluded the shootout and announced the "winners". Also check out the Disk Defragmentation Utilities page.

Disclaimer: None of the products reviewed were supplied as "freebies" by their respective companies, and they were not aware of the fact that I was reviewing the product until the review was posted. I have not solicited any financial favours from anyone during this process either. I write this because of the comment posted on the Paragon review, and because Raxco has provided a discount coupon code for blog readers. I have not reviewed defrag products where you have to buy them first in order to see if they actually work. All the commercial products listed have a free trial period.

The Great Defrag Shootout: Part I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | XIII | XIV | XV | XVI | XVII | XVIII | XIX | XX | XXI | XXII | XXIII | XXIV | XXV | XXVI | XXVII | XXVIII | XXIX | XXX | XXXI | winner | all | why | digg this article

The Great Defrag Shootout VIII: JkDefrag v3.8

Every now and then you come across a program that is so blindingly brilliant in its sheer simplicity that it takes you completely by surprise. JkDefrag v3.8 is one of those programs.
The first good point is that it's free (released under the GNU General Public License), and it uses very little disk space. The entire download is a skimpy 320kb, including documentation. It doesn't have a setup program (yet), just a few simple instructions. I was so impressed with the program that I used Inno Setup to make a setup program which is listed on my "defrag" page.
The second good point is that it has an intelligent screen saver. You can tell it to wait a predefined period (i.e. 6 hours) since the last defrag before trying again. The second brilliant feature is that once it has completed the defrag, you can tell it which other screen saver to run. So in my case I get it to run the Google Pack Screensaver, which is my favourite.
The third good point is that it has two defrag modes: fast or thorough. The default is fast, and it is as fast as Vopt8, and much faster than PerfectDisk. The thorough mode goes to the trouble of removing those tiny gaps between files that waste a lot of disk space, and took less time that PD normally takes. This is what DIRMS is supposed to do, and Vopt has a good go at tackling as well.
Another good point is the approach to temporary files. By default JkDefrag leaves 1% of the first part of your hard disk free, to be used by temporary files. The idea is that this would improve the performance of the system, but I haven't been able to measure it.
There are actually 4 programs in one: the graphical JkDefrag.exe, the command line JkDefragCmd.exe, the screen saver JkDefragScreenSaver.exe and JkDefragScreenSaver.scr. The command line version works great for me, because I can include it in a batch file I use to keep my hard drive in order.
When I ran my "torture test" involving the 4GB SQL file, JkDefrag performed well. The "fast" version decided that although one of the files was highly fragmented, all the pieces followed one another in a line, separated only by free disk space, so it left the file alone. The "thorough" option sorted the files out, and intelligently put the two main data files near the end of the disk.
There is no "interactive" mode where you can click on a disk cluster to see what files it contains. The graphical screen display uses screen pixels to represent the files. Unlike most other programs, this one uses the bottom left corner of the screen as the start of the hard drive. The colour scheme is also a little different to most, but the help file explains it all with elegant simplicity.
The only "missing" aspect of this program is that there are certain files it can't defragment because they are in use by the system. They recommend using Sysinternals PageDefrag v.32 to defragment these files, and the combination of the two works incredibly well. There is a third free utility, called NTREGOPT which can be run before rebooting, and this will compact the registry, after which PageDefrag sorts out any fragmentation. A "complete" install with all the necessary utilities is available on my Defrag page.
I can thoroughly recommend this program, both from its simplicity and its flexibility. No need to uninstall this one, although I'll have to disable the screen saver while I test the next product: PerfectDisk Rx Suite by Raxco.
Update: Version numbering may be a bit confusing: 3.8 was followed by 3.9, 3.10, 3.11 and so on. So 3.8 should really be 3.08.
Update: If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Jeroen Kessels should feel flattered, because both Abexo Defragmenter Pro 5.0 and SpeedItUp FREE 4.0 clearly use the JkDefrag code, without acknowledging copyright or conforming to the GPL license.

The Great Defrag Shootout: Part I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | XIII | XIV | XV | XVI | XVII | XVIII | XIX | XX | XXI | XXII | XXIII | XXIV | XXV | XXVI | XXVII | XXVIII | XXIX| winner | all | why | digg story | Benchmark of version 3.28 | download