Freeware programs that increase performance?

[scokeev9]

Mz CPU Accelerator - Puts priority of the Cpu to the program on the foreground
Speedfan - Can adjust your fan speed to lower the temperature of your processor so it doesn't reach the maximum temperature as quickly, which can put your processor at maximum capacity for longer.

These are a couple that are free.
Does anyone know of any that are free and can increase performance for Windows 7?

 

[not so gray matter]

Windows 7 is pretty well optimized for performance to begin with. I'm sure there are a few programs out there that might help, but I've found that unless you're looking for specific improvements, it's best just to leave things as they are. It's not like the old days where Windows 98 was horrible at managing resources.

Anyway, your best bet for improving performance in the long run is by doing the following:

A) Use a program such as CCleaner to clean out temporary files and other information that isn't necessary.

B) Install Windows on a separate hard drive and/or partition so that your computer can access files easier. If using one hard drive with separate partitions, it's best to have the Windows partition in the front of the hard drive's space. The best solution that I know of is to buy a smaller (40-80 GB) solid state drive and use that as a system drive (Windows, Programs) and install everything else (Games, Media, Storage) on conventional drives.

C) Run a disk defragmenter regularly. I run mine once a week because I tend to fragment files often. You should also run any other system maintenance programs you have.

D) Keep your anti-virus and anti-malware/spyware programs up to date. The most common setup is the following: Anti-Virus, Firewall, Anti-Spyware, Anti-Malware. It's best to use individual products in most cases, as the "suites" aren't quite as powerful as the best of the individual products. Personally, I use MSE, Comodo, SaS and Malwarebytes because they're all free. Make sure to run these programs regularly as well.

E) Uninstall any large programs that you don't use often. Also, remove as many items from system startup as you can. This will cut down on the programs running all of the time and will therefore leave more resources for the active program(s).

F) Along the same lines as the last point, remove/turn off any Windows Features and programs that you don't need. Most of them won't bring too much of an improvement, but collectively they'll help a bit. You can access the Windows Features menu by going to the Programs & Features portion of Control Panel and clicking on Turn Windows Features On or Off.

If you're looking to improve performance on a large scale, your best bet is to upgrade your hardware. In that case, there are many threads in this forum that can point you towards budget hardware that works very well.

 

[scokeev9]

I have Windows 7 Starter on an HP Mini 110, that has a 1.66 Ghz processor, and upgraded RAM for 2GB. So it's not very fast. So that's why I am trying to find some programs or things that can speed it up. I have researched windows programs that can be disable without any problems and have done so. Thanks though.

 

[steve-pressman]

With out a doubt the best speed increase you will ever get is with the purchase of a SSD Drive.
Apart from that sound advice except it is not recommended to run a disk defrag on A SSD drive.


Steve

 

[logicearth]

I have Windows 7 Starter on an HP Mini 110, that has a 1.66 Ghz processor, and upgraded RAM for 2GB. So it's not very fast. So that's why I am trying to find some programs or things that can speed it up. I have researched windows programs that can be disable without any problems and have done so. Thanks though.

You are not going to find a thing that can speed up Windows 7 that is software. You need hardware to increase performance. Intel Atom processor is pushed to it limits already you are not going to go any faster. No matter what suppose performance increasing software you install.

I haven't used Start Edition but I assume it has no Aero? If so that is a real drag as having Aero would in fact help remove work from the taxed CPU.

 

[richc46]

For best performance with 7, just read this tutorial. Edited by our own Brink and featured in our great Forum.

 

[Groonx]

Windows 7 is faster than XP on a fast new system, but on a limited system I would think XP would work more quickly. Of your 2 GB of RAM, you are pretty well using up 1 GB just to have Windows 7 sitting there.

Windows 7 can do the job—sure, it must be on a few million systems of 2 GB or less—but it is disadvantaged if you're wanting its best performance. How much do you want the latest system, versus how much do you want the fastest you can get? If you are looking for speed, I'd consider going back to XP and making it lean and mean from there.

 

[scokeev9]

I have Windows 7 Starter on an HP Mini 110, that has a 1.66 Ghz processor, and upgraded RAM for 2GB. So it's not very fast. So that's why I am trying to find some programs or things that can speed it up. I have researched windows programs that can be disable without any problems and have done so. Thanks though.

You are not going to find a thing that can speed up Windows 7 that is software. You need hardware to increase performance. Intel Atom processor is pushed to it limits already you are not going to go any faster. No matter what suppose performance increasing software you install.

I haven't used Start Edition but I assume it has no Aero? If so that is a real drag as having Aero would in fact help remove work from the taxed CPU.

Starter Edition doesn't have Aero, which sucks. But Aero wouldn't even work right with the little amount of Video RAM that comes with 90% of netbooks these days.

 

[logicearth]

Starter Edition doesn't have Aero, which sucks. But Aero wouldn't even work right with the little amount of Video RAM that comes with 90% of netbooks these days.

Works perfectly fine on my little Dell Mini.
Helps a great deal having Aero on it.

Mine: Dell Inspiron Mini 10v (Intel Atom Z270 1.6 GHz; 1GB; Windows 7 Ultimate)

I have not tweaked it or anything, base default.
But you will never get any amount of speed on these netbook.
The Intel Atom processors are slow plain and simple.

 

[sobber]

Try Advance System Care Free Edition
Advanced SystemCare Free | Windows 7 Registry Cleaner | Free Registry Repair for Windows 7, Vista, XP, and 2000

I am using a Pro Edition in my home & Free Edition in the office of that and it was a great help in maintaining my PC's performance, the only big difference is the Automated care & Turbo Boost

 

[JonM33]

I don't use any tweaking software and Windows 7 is very fast and responsive for me.

 

[Layback Bear]

That was a great read that Brink has compiled. It tell me that most speed improvements are built into windows 7. No snake oil. Thank you for posting it richc46. Folks after doing every thing that riche46 has posted by Brink it will help a lot but will not remove the fact that adding more ram is necessary for a faster operating windows 7. Windows 7/64 loves at least 4 gigs or more. Weather one has access to more ram doesn't change that fact. I bookmarked Brink's tutorial.

 

[severedsolo]

Try Advance System Care Free Edition
Advanced SystemCare Free | Windows 7 Registry Cleaner | Free Registry Repair for Windows 7, Vista, XP, and 2000

I am using a Pro Edition in my home & Free Edition in the office of that and it was a great help in maintaining my PC's performance, the only big difference is the Automated care & Turbo Boost

Im going to advise against ASC. It is totally unnecessary.

1) Windows does a pretty good job of looking after itself and doesnt really need this program
2) For System Cleanup CCleaner is superior
3) The Defragger isn't Superfetch aware, this slows down performance, because Windows takes longer to cache files. Windows built in Defragger is Superfetch aware.
4) The "Memory Cleanser" is useless, it clears Superfetch data, again slowing down your machine, as they need to be reloaded into the Cache again.
5) "Turbo Boost" just disables certain services, this can be achieved with a program called Soluto which will monitor your boot times and tell you what can be got rid of from your startup: Soluto – Anti-Frustration Software and is again superior.

 

[logicearth]

That was a great read that Brink has compiled. It tell me that most speed improvements are built into windows 7. No snake oil. Thank you for posting it richc46. Folks after doing every thing that riche46 has posted by Brink it will help a lot but will not remove the fact that adding more ram is necessary for a faster operating windows 7. Windows 7/64 loves at least 4 gigs or more. Weather one has access to more ram doesn't change that fact. I bookmarked Brink's tutorial.

You could put 16 GBs or RAM into a computer. But it is worthless if the processor is crap. Just adding RAM alone is not enough. However, a netbook is not designed to be a power house in the first place. The Atom processors are severely limited in what they can do.

 

[pparks1]

Most often, the upgrade from 2GB to 4GB of RAM is the biggest bang that you are going to get...unless you are running something very RAM intensive (VM's, etc). Going for 4GB to 8GB will not result in much performance gain for everyday use and going above 8GB will most likely result in no noticeable performance increase.

 

[sobber]

pparks is right for everyday normal use you don't need more than 2GB RAM, unless you are an extreme gamer or graphics designer who's using memory hungry software then go for higher RAM.

If you want fast cpu processing (fast computer response in everything that you are doing) try this "Intel® Core™ i7-980X processor Extreme" click this link for details Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition – Overview

If you want AMD go for Phenom II X6 1090T, AMD Phenomâ„¢ II Key Architectural Features

This two are currently the best competitors in the market today with i7-980x ahead against X6 1090T in all benchmark tests.

 

[logicearth]

...You are all know that this is a netbook right? Not a desktop...

 

[Layback Bear]

No logicearth I didn't know that. I must of missed it along they way. Sorry.

 

[tuuoploki]

I didn't read every post, someone may have mentioned you can boost performance by turning of windows areo and other visual features. Also why do you need more power? Just want your pc to run faster?

 

[logicearth]

I didn't read every post, someone may have mentioned you can boost performance by turning of windows areo and other visual features. Also why do you need more power? Just want your pc to run faster?

You actually have it backwards. Turning Aero on is recommend. With Aero on that frees up the CPU for more important tasks. However, the OP has Windows 7 Starter which does not have Aero. Otherwise it would help the OP to turn it on.