14 DAY TRIAL // Although most users don't do much about it, fragmented files are a common cause for the computer's slowing down and overall system performance drop. And it is not like you have little options in this sense as the market is almost flooded with good tools ready to assist you into cranking up the performance of your disks. Even using Windows built-in defragmenter does a better job than doing nothing at all. There are free alternatives that do a great job, but if you are looking for something outstanding, you should consider shelling out some money.
Raxco's PerfectDisk is a multiple award winning application specially tailored for maintaining in tip top condition the health of any disk running under Windows. With 2008 edition hitting the shelves, Raxco has improved its standards bringing new features for a better performance of your disks. With increased storage capacities and higher speeds available for the new generation of hard disks, the days of easy maintenance that used to consist into running your favorite defrag software once or twice every month, are long gone.
PerfectDisk 2008 manages to maintain the ease of use of its previous versions and combines it with efficiency and minimum input from the user. The 30 days free for evaluation purposes are more than enough to properly test the application and become addicted of it. Only the price may bring you a bit down as $39.99 is not exactly a tag you've been used to.
The new design will not make it more difficult to use as the user-friendly element of the interface has been preserved allowing easy handling to any type of user, regardless of the skill level. Once launched, PerfectDisk 2008 will automatically prompt you to create a schedule timetable and the options range from fix dates to different states of the computer. With the new StealthPatrol feature you can program PerfectDisk to start its activity whenever the system is idle, thus not intruding whenever you may be working.
Viewing the interface in its entirety makes you realize that the application is not bloated with useless options and features, keeping only those beneficial for your hard disk's optimization. Once loaded, the interface displays all fix drives available on your system (removable disks are also detected, but by default this option is not enabled).
Defragmentation menu is composed of three different panels: Defragment, Advanced and Options. When it comes to defragmenting, the process is simple: just select the drive in the list, choose your defragmentation method (SMARTPlacement, Consolidate Free Space or Defrag only) and start the process.
PerfectDisk 2008 is more than a simple file defragmenter as it can also improve disk access to certain files by moving them on the disk according to their usage. This way, the most frequently used ones will benefit from the fastest access by default. That is in the case of SMARTPlacement defragmentation method which is the completest solution available in the application.
With Free Space Consolidation method, file locations will no longer be optimized and only free space will be consolidated while files benefit from a simple defragmentation. Defrag Only method is exactly what it looks like: simply defragmenting the files with absolutely no optimization being done to the drive. This will take the shortest amount of time to complete.
If you are not sure of a drive needing a little optimization scrubbing, get yourself a graphical report on the state of the disk and set the app to perform a simple analysis of the selected drive. The statistics tools available in the lower part of the interface will give you a clue on the current state of the disk as well as show the benefits of the defragmentation.
A visual map of the drive displays all types of files available, from the rarely or occasionally modified ones, metadata, directories or boot files to MFT, free space or frequently used files. Performance tab shows the before and after defragmentation passes statistics. And, if numbers are getting a much accurate image for you, Statistics is just the tab to look in: everything is broken down in file/directory/free space fragmentation percentage as well as overall performance of the entire drive, the most fragmented files on the drive.
As disks come in larger and larger capacities, PerfectDisk 2008 throws a hand to the user making available per file defragmentation. This way you don't have to defrag the entire drive, if you need faster access to a single file, but simply defragment that only file. Mind that only fragmented files can be selected, all the rest being greyed out.
Moving to the next menu, AutoPilot, this is where you get to set the application to start its beneficial processes automatically, or, simply put, this is the scheduling menu. PerfectDisk 2008 can be set to run daily, weekly, whenever the screensaver kicks in or whenever the system enters idle mode (with Stealth Patrol). For each schedule, users get to select the drives to be attended, set the defrag method (SMARTPlacement, Defrag Only or Consolidate Free Space) and choose the minimum period of days between defragmentation runs as well as define some applications that should prevent the activity if running.
PerfectDisk 2008 goes beyond the actions available in a common defragmentation tool and extends to detecting duplicate files on selected drives, and emptying Recycle Bin and temporary folders. The dupe detector does a great job carefully discovering the doubles on the disk. You get to choose the type of files to be scanned for duplicates (text, picture files, video files, music and others) and it seems that the engine does a pretty good job. However, there are cases when detection engine may not accurately detect the dupes, so care should be taken, especially when there is absolutely no setting to be made regarding the recognition algorithm. Between you and me, it seems the engine bases its predictions on name and size criteria.
Setting up the latest version of PerfectDisk is as easy as handling the entire application. You can configure the software to check for updates by itself and even comes with options for notebooks (it can be set to stop a defragmentation pass if the computer enters battery mode). Also, if the system is turned off when defragmentation is scheduled, this can be restarted when the computer is on. PerfectDisk 2008 proves to be a modern defragmenter that keep up with the latest technology in current operating systems as it can also defrag Shadow Copies. More than this, the software can benefit from special CPU priority if the user so desires.
As for the efficiency, PerfectDisk 2008 preserves its amazing treatment of the drives, in the sense that it will defragment every piece of file available on it, regardless if it's about system files or user's. The application will also affect boot time by re-placing boot files for a faster process. Unlike other defragmentation tools on the market, there are rare the cases when PerfectDisk 2008 will refuse an optimization job. It did not say 'no' even when it had only little space to make its moves, 3.06MB, to be more exact (the process took more to complete, but it was carried out, nevertheless). Also, it is among the few defragmentation tools that deals with MFT files and all NTFS metadata.
There are no useless options available and, with the introduction of StealthPatrol feature, unattended background defragmentation turns reality, allowing automatic caring of the disks with little to no input from part of the user. Besides the aesthetic changes available in the new version, the developer has also increased the efficiency of the application, as it is now capable to defragment with the smallest amount of space available on the disk (we went as down as 3.06MB and PerfectDisk 2008 had no problem with defragmenting the entire drive).
It comes with native support for 64-bit platforms and can be used in virtual environment as well. The application does a great job reclaiming free space as well as detecting duplicates complying to several criteria like name and size.
The Good
PerfectDisk 2008 makes for about the best defragmentation tool available on the market. It is extremely easy to use and does not come bloated with useless features.
Its efficiency extends to defragmenting absolutely any type of file available on the hard disk (system files included) and extreme free space conditions seem not to scare the application from its defragmenting goals.
The job itself does not take long and, once the analysis has been done, you will benefit from a set of information that includes predictions on the performance of the drive after the optimization has taken place.
Space Explorer provides a good means of learning what files take the most part of the selected drive. The graph interactively displays in a clear manner all the files and their size.
The Bad
The duplicate finder comes with no other options besides the ones for defining the types of files to be checked.
Although it is good logic, I wish I also had the choice of selecting the files to be placed in faster access parts of the disk (the application automatically moves only the most frequently used files to faster access areas of the disk).
The Truth
PerfectDisk 2008 is still one of the best solutions on the market even if there is still room for improvement. Its efficiency is off the charts and you can feel it the moment the defragmentation is over. The application really defragments all the the files available on the drive, regardless of their nature.
Even if it deals with heavily defragmented drives, PerfectDisk 2008 manages to carry out the job with the least effort. With the new StealthPatrol feature, it can run completely unattended and without disturbing the user (it runs when system enters idle state).
The price of PerfectDisk 2008 makes it clear that, if you really want quality defragmentation for your disks, you have to pop out the $39.99 on the price tag, but the app is definitely worth every penny.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
