Which Defragmentation Method?

I recently tried out a "new" defragmenter and it slowed the performance of my home gaming computer. So, I decided to run a poll about defragmentation methods, however, I figured that would not adequately answer my questions. So, here is a kind of poll that can be answered with an explanation of why your choice is best. Here are my questions:

Which defragmentation method works best for a home computer?

Last accessed first? or
Most used first? or
Alphabetical? or
No spaces between files? or
Space between groups of files? or
Let the OS take care of itself?

Please note: I am not asking for the name of the defragging program. I am sure there are many wonderful defraggers out there. I am only interested in the method of defragmentation and why I should use it.

Thank you for your patience,
SourMilk out

 

Frankly, I don't bother with micromanagement of the defragger; I use Diskeeper 2k9 on automatic defrag mode and don't mess with it, it manages just fine by itself and my system runs very nicely.

 

Sorry, but I do not know the answer. I suggest you visit THIS forum. It is dedicated solely to defrag matters, & there are some real experts who hang out there from time to time.

Good luck!

 

Good question. Personally I use "most used first" for the system/app partition and "space" option (O&O nomenclature) for the storage drives. But I must admit that the only time I've really seen some measurable impact from defragging was on a computer that had been running for about a year and a half, mainly by the kids, without much maintenance. It took about 36 hours on a 40 GB drive with the Windows defragger, but then performance actually got noticeably better. But that was a rather special case.