Optimizing your new PC can be challenging, but with the right apps, you can streamline the process and get your system running smoothly from day one. Here are the Windows apps you can use to optimize new PCs.
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1. TCP Optimizer
Price: Free
For many years, TCP optimizer has optimized my PCs for optimal network performance for both gaming and optimal download speeds. You just need to select its optimal settings, and it will do the rest.
Open the app and select your network adaptor and internet speed. Afterward, select Optimal at the bottom and click on Apply Changes.
Now go to Advanced Settings, select Optimal, and click on Apply changes. You’ll have to restart the PC for some of the changes to work.
Although you can manually adjust the provided network settings using the Custom option, I personally never had any problem using the recommended ones.
In my experience, it usually decreases ping by 5-15ms even on an optimized system, and stabilizes the connection. If I ever have to deal with a PC with low download speeds or high/unstable ping, my first step is to apply TCP Optimizer configurations.
2. Smart Game Booster
Price: Free with Premium plan
No, you don’t have to be a gamer to use the Smart Game Booster. I actually use it for its System Tweak feature that automatically optimizes many Windows settings to boost performance permanently.
In the app, move to the Performance tab, uncheck all checkboxes other than System Tweak, and start the scan.
After the scan, it will tell you all the tweaks that can be made to your PC to improve overall performance. I’ll recommend reviewing the list of fixes before applying them as it may apply fixes you may not want. For example, for me, it enables fast startup that I like keeping disabled to avoid startup problems.
On a new PC, you should see 60-70 tweak recommendations that will boost performance and minimize latency. If you notice any problems after applying the tweaks, click on the Restore button next to System Tweak to undo the changes.
Of course, the tool has many other optimization features like disk cleaner, driver updater, temperature monitor, etc. but I don’t find them as complete compared to other dedicated offerings available. However, the game booster is quite powerful; a bit too aggressive for my liking, but very good if you have limited resources.
3. ThrottleStop
Price: Free
Although mainly used for disabling throttling and undervolting CPU, ThrottleStop also works great for automatically applying different power control features. I mainly use it as a more powerful power options manager to automatically optimize the PC as per my power needs.
You can configure four separate profiles in it for different power needs. In each profile, you can select a Windows power plan and apply further tweaks to enhance it, like disabling c-states and throttling or adjusting the CPU multiplier. You can check the developer-recommended ThrottleStop guide to better understand what each feature does.
Below I am listing the configuration I use for the best performance:
- Power Plan: High Performance
- Clock Mod: Enabled and 100%
- Set Multiplier: Maximum available
- Speed Shift – EPP > 0
- SpeedStep: Disabled
- C1E: Disabled
- BD PROCHOT: Disabled
You can create multiple profiles like this for different power needs and they will optimize the PC power as soon as you choose one.
4. IObit Driver Booster
Price: Free with Premium plan
Drivers are important to ensure a smooth experience, but Windows updates don’t always install the best drivers. I have tried many driver updater tools before, and I found IObit Driver Booster to be the most reliable free app for updating drivers.
It doesn’t have any speed limits or restrictions on the number of drivers you can update. Furthermore, it will find the latest drivers for all your PC components and automatically download and install them in bulk.
Just click on the Scan button and it will tell you after the scan which drivers need updating. Click on Update Now and it will download and install all the outdated drivers. If you face trouble with any drivers, it also has a Rollback option to install the previous driver again.
It does have some additional features like game boost or internet boost, but they are mainly advertisements for additional apps that you can ignore.
5. CCleaner
Price: Free with Premium Plans
Although CCleaner has many optimization tools, I use it for its junk cleaning and software updater functions. Junk data can take dozens of GBs of data and even slow down the PC, CCleaner can analyze all possible junk/temporary data in Windows and let you delete them in one go.
Using the junk cleaner is easy, just click Analyze in the Custom Clean section and ensure it doesn’t select anything important to delete. Afterward, click on Run Cleaner to delete the junk data.
Since I use the free version, I use the Software Updater function to automatically detect which apps are outdated and then download updates manually.
If you’ll be using the rest of the apps in this list, you probably won’t need the pro functions of CCleaner like driver updater or performance optimizer.
After I have optimized my new PC with the above tools, I only keep ThrottleStop and CCleaner and uninstalled the rest. If you are optimizing a laptop, you might be interested in these Windows apps for laptops.
Image credit: Vecteezy. All screenshots by Karrar Haider.
Karrar Haider –
Staff Writer
Karrar is drenched in technology and always fiddles with new tech opportunities. He has a bad habit of calling technology “Killer”, and doesn’t feel bad about spending too much time in front of the PC. If he is not writing about technology, you will find him spending quality time with his little family.
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