  a. some of the things we did not do with the old SSDs was to use System Restore.  And no defrag (I’m seeing two sides to this, some say keep it on others say it doesn’t do anything).  Item 4 (enable  AHCI) I see people for and people against it.  So may main questions are: b. Do people change to AHCI or go with what Dell sets it at? c. Do people use system restore on the newer SSDs? d. Do people keep Windows Defrag on? TIA From article:   a. A different time (both for Windows and SSDs). Now, most SSDs have life-expectancies rated in TBW numbers. b. I'll usually run Dell's however they come. When I eventually clean-install Windows ... I normally switch from RAID to AHCI. After install, I never install Intel-RST (or whatever they call it now). c. Sure. However, I've never had a reason to try to use it in years now. Even years ago, never had much luck with it. There are better backup tools now-days (like Macrium Reflect).  d. Sure. But now Windows knows to not defrag SSDs (it's only for spinning HDD). 1. You can use Fast-Startup now. However, with 1TB M.2 PCI-e NVME SSD ... they are so fast it makes little difference. 2. Good idea. 3. If there is a problem or reason to, sure. 4. See above 5. You can check that it's on, but Windows should detect it as SSD and Enable it already. 6. You can use System Restore if you want to 7. Windows knows to only defrag HDDs. 8. No. I suggest you keep the default Windows setting. 9. If you mean in Power-Profiles, sure (why not) ... it's a desktop (plugged into the wall). In my opinion, single best thing you can do to your SSD to increase it's lifespan is to Over-Provision it. Samsung recommends 10% . You do that at very end of drive. I do it to all my SSDs (SATA and NVMe).
I bought a new XPS 8950 with a 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD  (Boot). I found this article on 9 things to set up with your SSD. I’m upgrading from a XPS 8700 (9 years old) that has a SATA SSD. But anyways some of the things we did not do with the old SSDs was to use System Restore. And no defrag (I’m seeing two sides to this, some say keep it on others say it doesn’t do anything). Item 4 (enable  AHCI) I see people for and people against it. So may main questions are: Do people change to AHCI or go with what Dell sets it at? Do people use system restore on the newer SSDs? Do people keep Windows Defrag on? TIA From article:
XPS 8950, 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD questions