SpeedUpMyPC Review

A while back, I was asked to review and critique a new program from Li Utilities: the same company who created WinTasks Professional and WinBackup.

For the purpose of this article, I will explain basic tweaking terminology and how it applies to SpeedUpMyPC: all in Simple English.

If you really want to learn about computer hardware and how tweaking can make a world difference -- you will definitely find this article an interesting read!

OK, so what is SpeedUpMyPC?

SpeedUpMyPC is a utility which runs quietly in the system Tray Bar. It monitors system resources, optimizes Internet connections, and helps to prevent Windows crashes.

Additionally, SpeedUpMyPC can:

• acquire and optimize lost RAM (system memory)
• reassign and normalize CPU* resources for greater stability (automatic / custom)
• optimize / customize system startup load time
• optimize Internet and Browser settings depending on Internet connection (56k, Cable, DSL)

Side note: CPU stands for Central Processing Unit and is considered the "brain" of the computer. In general, CPU speed typically depicts "how fast" a computer will operate (Example: CPU = Intel Pentium 4 @ 2.0 GHz).

I downloaded and installed SpeedUpMyPC on my own system. Here's what I found:

SpeedUpMyPC: The Overview page

Displays: Critical system information and provides one-click "easy-tweak" Recommendations. Recommendations are based on the current system configuration, and are followed by a simple description about the tweak.

SpeedUpMyPC: The CPU page

Displays: CPU usage; also provided is an anti-crash Operating System safeguard. The anti-crash safeguard option monitors (and normalizes) CPU activity automatically. This prevents Windows from freezing or crashing in case a program runs amuck. To maximize system performance, running programs may also be configured for high or low CPU usage.

SpeedUpMyPC: The Memory page

Displays: Physical RAM and Page Memory usage in real-time. Physical RAM is also known as "system memory". The word RAM is an acronym which stands for Random Access Memory. Generally speaking, the more Physical RAM a system has, the faster it is.

In contrast to Physical RAM, Page Memory is: a) used as a temporary holding area for Physical RAM (if none is available), and b) is much slower than Physical RAM because it typically operates from a hard drive (IE: C drive SpeedUpMyPC can monitor and free up Physical RAM before Page Memory used, thereby increasing system performance.

SpeedUpMyPC: The Internet page

Displays: Real-time Internet activity and Internet Optimization. SpeedUpMyPC can test and optimize Internet Settings according to Internet connection (cable, DSL, etc), thereby increasing bandwidth throughput. If the tweak doesn't take, settings can also be reversed. If my memory serves correctly, the Windows Internet Connection is configured (by default) for dial-up Internet access.

SpeedUpMyPC: The Startup page

Displays: Recent Startup Times, and Auto-started Applications. SpeedUpMyPC monitors the length of time individual programs take to launch during a system startup. Users may then decide which programs to remove from Startup, based on execution time. By clicking the "Optimize Startup Settings", SpeedUpMyPC will remove least-used Startup programs to reduce load time.

SpeedUpMyPC: The Anti-Crash page

Displays: Crash recovery options and programmable hot keys. The anti-crash feature helps to recover Windows when an application crashes or stops responding. SpeedUpMyPC can be set to terminate suspicious tasks (automatically) and also restart the Windows Shell (Explorer).

Side note: A hot key is a combination of keys pressed on the keyboard which activate a function (or program). For example: CTRL + SHIFT + R is the standard hot key for reloading the Windows Shell under SpeedUpMyPC.

SpeedUpMyPC: Interface

The Graphical User Interface (GUI) is very easy to use. Li Utilities did an excellent job simplifying the layout and providing straightforward navigation headings on the far left of each page. Captions, which explain "bare essentials", are also prominently displayed at the top of the window.

Conclusion

Understanding how a computer operates is essential to understanding how it can be tweaked.

SpeedUpMyPC is a system utility which can manipulate system resources, thereby ensuring stability and improving efficiency. Although this review is explicit in detail, SpeedUpMyPC is simple to use and does an superb job explaining "the bare essentials" about tweaking.

SpeedUpMyPC: Download

SpeedUpMyPC can be downloaded from the Li Utilities web site.

http://www.infopackets.com/articles/speedupmypc.htm