Performance boosting
A lot of people get a brand new, state-of-the-art PC and are happy enough about that.. for a while. As time goes by, it just gets slower and slower! WHYY!! Well there are a number of reasons for that, but let's just call it bad housekeeping. I've pasted a list of programs here that I have personally tested on many different computers.
I know they work and I'm almost willing to guarantee you'll notice a difference ranging from just a little speed increase to a real boost if you use all of them, depending on what kind of state your computer is in. READ ABOUT WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO THOUGH, IF IN DOUBT, ASK SOMEONE! BACKUP YOUR DATA! USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Another thing that WILL help, is if you spend a few minutes checking what programs you've got installed on your computer. Remove any that you aren't using. Think again about some of them.. do you really need them? For example, If you've got 50 programs on your computer, and you're not using a lot of them, ditch 10 of them minimum.
Smart Defrag. It's 100 % free and it works. Use the Deep Optimize function!
Whats the primary cause of slow/unstable PC performance? Its disk fragmentation. Smart Defrag helps defragment your hard drives more efficiently than any other product on the market free or not.
Gamebooster
Highly Recommended by Most PC Gamers!
Designed to help optimize your PC for smoother, more responsive game play in the latest PC games with the touch of a button, Game Booster helps achieve the performance edge previously only available to highly technical enthusiasts. It works by deframenting game directories, temporarily shutting down background processes, cleaning RAM, and intensifying processor performance. That means you can keep all the features of Microsoft® Windows® Vista and XP® ready for when you need them, but turn them off when you are ready to get down to serious business gaming. Game Booster makes it simpler to enjoy the latest games and take your experience to a new level. All systems go!
Advanced System Care is freeware. That is, you can use most of the program for free but parts of it is pay-only. The free part is good enough though. This program was made by the same people who created Smart Defrag and Gamebooster.
A comprehensive PC maintenance tool with a one-click approach to optimize system, fix registry free, repair and speed up your computer
Gamexp
Game XP is intended to optimize the performance of your computer for gaming needs. It tweaks and modifies various XP settings (cache settings, CPU priority etc.) and optionally disables or stops several Windows services that are usually not needed. The program does not require any installation, and does not need to be running at all times. Game XP extends your operating system's capabilities and makes Windows faster and comfortable for maximum gaming experience.
And here's a registry fix for lowering your latency. It works, really. Many people report getting twice as good or better latency when using it. However, use at your own risk. Some people say this is a fix that may hurt other parts of your internet connection. I've been using it for a long time and really haven't had any problems.
Tracked this down in the forums as a fix for people that have high latency. I generally only have 90 - 150 ms or so latency, but I tried this and now Im running at around 50 ms. People with higher latency have reported improvements as well. Worst case scenario it doesnt do any harm to your computer and it might help.
1) Determine your IP (ipconfig or similar)
Peavy edit: Start->All Programs->Accessories->Command Prompt, type in "ipconfig" and push enter.
2) Run Regedit
Peavy: Start->Run, type "regedit", click ok
3) Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces
Peavy: In this directory, there are going to be several folders with seemingly random letters and/or numbers as names. You're going to have the find the correct one to edit, which is done by doing the next step.
4) Determine which interface is for your IP. The correct interface will have a DhcpIPAddress set to your current IP.
Peavy: this is displayed to the right after clicking one of the directories mentioned earlier, and should be the fifth or sixth entry down.
5) Right-click on the interface and select New->DWORD
Peavy: right click anywhere in the area that has your IP displayed nexted to the DhcpIPAddress entry.
6) Set the name to TcpAckFrequency (case sensitive)
Peavy: right click->rename.
7) Set to a decimal value of "1"
Peavy: right click->modify, type "1" in the value field, select "decimal," and click OK.
8) Save
Peavy: there's no save function, just close out of RegEdit.
9) Restart your computer
