SSD quick question

Hi there

I am planning to install windows 7 Ultimate 64bit OS onto my newly purchased OCZ Vertex 60GB SSD. May I know do I need to pre-configure the SSD drive to use 64k before anything else ?

Please kindly advise.

 

I don't think the value "64K" is relevant to anything.

If you are installing Windows 7 to your SSD when it's alone and not in any kind of RAID array, then W7 will configure the partition offset and sector size correctly.

The partition offset should be the smallest multiple of the sector size and erase block size. Windows 7 defaults to 2048 KB which is good for 99% of cases!

Most likely you don't need to do anything. Just install!

 

Many thanks for your prompt reply and I will try to go ahead try install the OS and proceed from there. Thanks again.

 

Yes, good luck! Most likely everything will be correct and good by default.

 

Windows 7 will automatically align the SSD.

There are plenty of guides on google.

 

Alignment and using 64K blocks (vs. 4K default) is two different things.

To do this 'properly' (... to use 64K block size for the O/S partition...):

Temporarily install Win7x64 with default values on a new, unpartitioned HD.

Remove SSD/HD as soon as it is has finished and booted up to the desktop for the first time.

Install in an external enclosure or a secondary SATA port and format the Windows install partition and specify 64K Allocation unit size.

Format the 100MB partition also - but just use the defaults it suggests.

Now, when you go to install your Win7x64 do a 'custom' install, choose the already formatted partition you just created with the 64K Block Size and hit Install.


There are reports that the 64K block size gives noticeable benefits (especially under RAID use), but I would recommend the defaults for most installations.

Besides affecting performance (both positively and negatively - depending on the specific use the HD is put to), the major negative is that files smaller than 64KB will waste space on the HD. Given that most files are larger than 64KB though (in a typical install), the space 'wasted' is a non issue with today's large capacities.

Good luck.

 

64K allocation unit is faster but not all tools handle it properly, the built in compression for example would not work(not that one needs that, just an example)

 

W7 did a good job when I did a clean install. Everything was set up for my SSD out of the box using default settings.