Jump to content
IObit Forum
Top Free Driver Updater Tools Best 25 PC Optimization Software Best 22 Antimalware Best 22 Uninstaller Software IObit Coupons & Discount Offers PC Optimizer Mac Boost Advice IObit Coupons A Good Utility Program From IObit IObit Promo Codes IObit Coupon Codes IObit Coupons and Deals FAQs Driver Booster Pro Review

cwfrizzell

Members
  • Posts

    1
  • Joined

Converted

  • -OS -Security_Software -IObit_Software +Computer_Details
    OS: Win 7 SP1 32-bit
    AV: Avast!
    Firewall: Windows
    Iobit Smart Defrag 3

Converted

  • Native Language
    English

cwfrizzell's Achievements

Newbie

Newbie (1/14)

10

Reputation

  1. I'll give feedback based on (a) my experience with Smart Defrag back to v2, (b) your stated major changes and © other things I found. Speed and efficiency are, by far, the most important factors from my perspective. Smart Defrag has demonstrated a marked improvement on both fronts from v2 to v4. The new defrag engine indeed manages to function more quickly with less resources, which is definitely a welcome improvement. As I do not have an SSD, the added SSD Trim functionality does nothing for me. As I use my computer almost entirely for routine personal and business use, the added game defrag functionality does nothing for me. RECOMMENDATION: Have setting to hide "Game Defrag" tab for those who don't use/need it. I tested analysis/defragmentation of v4 against v3. While v4 is faster in both facets, it does not appear to actually free any more drive space in relation to v3. I'm not sure there is a viable difference. The UI is indeed simpler. The more visual interface, while aesthetically pleasing and in line with current software trends, takes away from what Smart Defrag is: namely a PC optimization utility. As such, functionality is far more important to me than visual appearance. Several things make the UI inferior to v3: 1. Reporting is not obvious. With v3, we have a Report tab with relevant info on the particular drive. With v4, we have to click on details AFTER running Analyze. This is far from obvious. Once the user clicks the "Back" button, the user would have to run "Analyze" again to see the in-program report. RECOMMENDATIONS: (1) Be able to click on particular drive on main menu to view last "Details" (perhaps in a popup screen) without having to go through the Analyze process. (2) Have tooltip on each drive icon on main menu that provides last defrag summary, including last defrag date, files & directories, fragments and frag rate In addition, users must click on Report in the toolbar (not obvious), go through Windows Explorer to the directory housing the HTML reports, then open the report in a browser. In v3, the "View Reports" link is much more obvious, although the same Windows Explorer process is used. While the new html report is better presented than the v3 report, the fact we have to go through such a roundabout way to get to any kind of reportable data is, at best, annoying. RECOMMENDATION: place a "Reports" link next to the "Details" link on the Analyze screen and/or place "Reports" link at bottom of each drive graphic (ie below Boot Time Defrag selection) on the main menu. 2. Automatic Defrag trend data is no longer available. In v3, we have an Automatic Defrag tab that highlights when the last auto defrag was conducted, as well as tracks the last several auto defrags in a simple display that helps users understand auto defrag's impact (ie defragmented files). That no longer exists in v4. In fact, other than the html report, there is no last auto defrag history/trending available. RECOMMENDATION: Add "History" link next to "Details" link on Analyze screen and use same Map/Details area to show historical stats. You could also add a "History" link similar to the "Reports" link recommended above on the main menu. 3. The Stop button doesn't stop anything except the estimated time display. The gear in the tab continues to spin. The Reports and More Settings selections on the top toolbar are unavailable. In addition, the program doesn't respond to a request to exit via the tray icon context menu, forcing the user to go through task manager to close the program. RECOMMENDATION: Allow user to actually stop the analysis and go back to the main screen or exit program if analysis stopped. I am certain there is a way to move the UI forward as you have and still retain the functionality/organization better seen in v3. What's Missing/Broken: 1. Ability to set different defrag parameters to different drives. Perhaps a user wants to trigger auto defrag on one drive at 1% and another at 3%. RECOMMENDATION: Provide options per drive. 2. Initiating Smart Defrag on a particular drive through the Windows Explorer context menu starts the analysis as expected. Unfortunately, the analysis takes about three times as long (minimum) on the same drive compared to if the user initiated the analyze process in Smart Defrag directly. RECOMMENDATION: Identify/resolve time difference between initiating analysis via Smart Defrag itself and its context menu. 3. Ability to defrag individual files or directories works extremely slowly. Loading a file or directory through the v4 interface, then analyzing (the loading file/directory only, no other drives selected) takes forever. For example, I selected a 3MB pdf to analyze. Analysis stalls at 99% with Estimated TIme listed as N/A and doesn't complete. User cannot stop process either (as detailed above). Going through the Windows Explorer context menu is slightly different. For the same 3MB pdf, analysis gets stuck at 20% with Estimated Time continuing to climb (I finally pulled the plug at 10 minutes Estimated Time). On a few occasions, pressing Stop will actually show the analysis completed, but mostly is just hangs. RECOMMENDATION: Fix it. I have no idea how, but this option needs to be fixed or removed (I Would much prefer fixed). As it stands, v4 is a slight improvement overall, but could go much further with UI and functionality improvements as highlighted above. Cheers! Chuck
×
×
  • Create New...