In my anecdotal hands-on experience, Diskkeeper 2007 markedly improved my system’s performance; I now get from my Windows XP log-in to a usable desktop in half the time it took before, and access times for some frequently used files (such as images displayed in ACDSee 7.0) improved noticeably. I also like the new interface.
Our lab tests were less clear. Executive Software reps told us that systems equipped with the latest version of the product should show performance gains on our WorldBench 5 benchmark tests, but we saw no significant improvements. (We did observe some small changes in the results for individual applications in our test suite; these changes were likely due to the file’s new placement on the hard disk drive, after Diskeeper performed its defrag). WorldBench 5 doesn’t measure boot-up time.
An older system, highly fragmented from years of use, could see an improvement from Diskeeper Pro Premier. But with newer systems, your mileage and benefit from the software may vary. Though it won’t solve all of your PC’s pokiness problems, the $50 investment may be worth it.
The company also offers $30 Home and $100 Pro Premier versions that we did not test.
–Ramon McLeod