• rss
Menu
smartdefrag31100245928orig500
Software & Web Development

Smart Defrag 3 sports a newfound speed and a Metro-style interface

Though the benefits of defragging your hard drive are minimal in this day and age, after long periods of heavy use, a pass on the platters with a defragger isn't a bad idea. Iobit's Smart Defrag 3 is about as good a program as you'll find at optimizing your files at the block level. And it's free.

Smart Defrag 3 offers both a classic Windows, and a Metro look that appears right at home in the Windows 8.x modern GUI. I like the 2D Metro look even under Windows 7 so I stuck with that. As a company, Iobit has made hay with the Metro interface, offering both a classic start menu for Windows 8 users, and a Metro-style interface for XP/Vista/W7 users.

Smart Defrag is easy to use and smart enough not to auto-select SSDs for defragging. Defragging has no effect on SSD performance and simply wastes an SSD's precious read/write cycles. In other words, don't do it.

In addition to normal whole-drive defragging, Smart Defrag 3 will also limit operations to partitions, single files and folders. This can help reduce load times for frequently used files without costing you the time a full defrag requires. There's also boot time defrag and a scheduled defrag, but I suggest you skip the latter option as defragging more than once every few months takes more time than it saves. Necessary or not, In my testing Smart Defrag 3 did a very good job, and wrapped things up rather quickly given that all my hard drives are 2GB or larger.

Smart Defrag 3 is free, but it's a loss leader for Iobit's Advanced System Care and will install that as well unless you un-check the option. There's also some minimally invasive advertising for Advanced System Care inside Smart Defrag 3.

Ads aside, if you have a drive that's been in heavy service for a while, or want to defrag a heavily used folder without wasting time on a whole-drive operation, there are worse choices than downloading Smart Defrag 3 and letting it straighten things out.

PREVIOUS ARTICLE

« Swedish programmer hacks Iphone

NEXT ARTICLE

Eyes-on with Oculus Rift's 'Crystal Cove' VR prototype and first launch game »
author_image
IDG News Service

The IDG News Service is the world's leading daily source of global IT news, commentary and editorial resources. The News Service distributes content to IDG's more than 300 IT publications in more than 60 countries.

  • Mail

Recommended for You

A snapshot of AI's dark side, part one: warfare and bias

Patrick Martlew’s in-depth breakdown of the B2B tech sphere

The biggest risks IT companies face in 2019

A new boss presents CIOs with challenges and opportunities

Mark Chillingworth on IT leadership

Latest Profiles

CIO Spotlight: Niel Nickolaisen, O.C. Tanner

CIO Spotlight: Niel Nickolaisen, O.C. Tanner

Secret CSO: Mark Houpt, DataBank

Secret CSO: Mark Houpt, DataBank

CTO Sessions: James Mason, MUSO

CTO Sessions: James Mason, MUSO

C-suite career advice: Howard Dickel, Step5 Group

C-suite career advice: Howard Dickel, Step5 Group

More Like This

Content Library

<div class='left_content'><p><a>Security</a></p><h2>Magic Quadrant for Security...</h2><p>he Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)...</p><a href="/document/40b966c9-37ea-4a32-8f2f-9eb2220612d1/magic-quadrant-for-security-information-and-event-management">Download Content</a></div> <div class='left_content'><p><a>Security</a></p><h2>Top 5 Myths About SIEM...</h2><p>SIEM solutions can often be seen as unwieldy and complex,...</p><a href="/document/ffae8c08-50a4-49db-b918-11bb803a33af/top-5-myths-about-siem">Download Content</a></div> <div class='left_content'><p><a>Security</a></p><h2>The Total Economic Impact...</h2><p>Security employees with the right skills are in high...</p><a href="/document/870455e1-09ad-4778-9f1a-284713fb80d0/the-total-economic-impact-of-ibm-qradar-advisor-with-watson">Download Content</a></div> <div class='left_content'><p><a>Security</a></p><h2>Beyond the Hype – AI...</h2><p>CIO’s have the toughest job in tech – allowing users...</p><a href="/document/0fcd2e38-2f01-4ee6-a180-c2cbbe4a0d2a/beyond-the-hype-–-ai-in-your-soc">Download Content</a></div> <div class='left_content'><p><a>Security</a></p><h2>2019 Global Threat Report...</h2><p>Today, most companies are in a veritable 'arms race'...</p><a href="/document/f0b797a2-2dc3-410d-8b1b-eca5db44a057/2019-global-threat-report-–-adversary-tradecraft-and-the-importance-of-speed">Download Content</a></div> <div class='left_content'><p><a>Security</a></p><h2>Where to Invest Next:...</h2><p>For many businesses, building a robust cybersecurity...</p><a href="/document/ea48c1b8-c9c4-4eec-b929-bed548073d3c/where-to-invest-next-guidance-for-maturing-cyber-defences">Download Content</a></div> <div class='left_content'><p><a>Business Management</a></p><h2>The Workers’ Experience...</h2><p>To compete in the digital era, organisations require...</p><a href="/document/06b5de7f-e331-4f95-a6bf-8504be7ec2c1/the-workers’-experience">Download Content</a></div> <div class='left_content'><p><a>Infrastructure Management</a></p><h2>Demystifying the Top...</h2><p>For mission-critical workloads businesses cannot afford...</p><a href="/document/ab0492d3-f99c-4772-ae30-33a0f5eb419e/demystifying-the-top-5-myths-of-running-sap-hana-on-ibm-power-systems">Download Content</a></div> <div class='left_content'><p><a>Business Management</a></p><h2>Harnessing the potential...</h2><p>By deploying SAP HANA on IBM Power Systems, customers...</p><a href="/document/12b08027-99a6-4cf1-bef7-9562c947cd65/harnessing-the-potential-of-sap-hana-with-ibm-power-systems">Download Content</a></div> <div class='left_content'><p><a>Business Management</a></p><h2>Harnessing the potential...</h2><p>By deploying SAP HANA on IBM Power Systems, customers...</p><a href="/document/d5be3f10-9e41-4db2-9982-39d5322854e4/harnessing-the-potential-of-sap-hana-with-ibm-power-systems">Download Content</a></div>
View the full Content Library >

Poll

Do you think your smartphone is making you a workaholic?