14 DAY TRIAL // TuneXP 1.5
Tweakers unite yet again to fully enjoy the pleasures you can get from tweaking your system just the way you like it. We at Softpedia know you've grown tired of having to click on thousands of different settings in order to get your machine as finely tuned as it currently is. So we're going to tell you about a program that you only have to click on hundreds of times. Hey, at least we're saving you thousands of clicks right?
The latest of these tweaking programs we're putting to the test is TuneXP 1.5. It's a little more technical than what you're used to, but still easy to use. This tiny utility offers a good set of useful optimizers for your system. I especially liked the warning on the install that stated:
"All use is on your own responsibility. Neither DriverHeaven nor D-Force will take any responsibility for damage done to your system, you or your girlfriend after using TuneXP." Well, it's a good thing I don't have a girlfriend? or wait, never mind.
Details Details
Like any good user, I went straight to the documentation to get a feel for what this program had in store (and if you don't do this automatically, start doing so, it helps save time). I started reading abou the functionality of the program and immediately liked the fact that each utility was given a color coated recommendation (a green one meant that the recommendations were for everyone to enable that utility, the blue was only if you met certain criteria, and the red required that specific fields were filled).
The Memory and File System section gives you tweaks like ACCELERATE DLL, UNLOADING, CLEAR PAGEFILE ON SHUTDOWN, DISABLE PAGING, EXECUTIVE FASTER SHUTDOWN, FILE ALLOCATION SIZE TWEAK, OPTIMIZE PREFETCH, INCREASE NTFS PERFORMANCE and ultra fast booting (along with a few others I left out).
I feel as though when this utility was being designed, they had a power user in mind. I say this because the interface isn't something you dream of seeing every time you picture a performance optimizing utility, but it gets the job done.
I liked the Ultra-Fast Booting tweak the most since this is a multi-stage tweak. First, it moves the bootfile to the edge of the drive, after which it defrags the system drive. This can reduce Windows boot time substantially, sometimes more than 300%.
The other system tools are organized into categories such as Hardware, Internet, Services, and Miscellaneous. I think that this tweaking application has a big step ahead of its competition because not only does it have recommendations for what it tweaks, but it actually has good explanations for what it's doing to your machine. When comparing how well other optimizing programs write their descriptions, TuneXP's got them beat hands down.
Although I really liked some of its features, I thought that compared to some other optimizing programs, it lacks in the options/features department. This tweaker focuses more on the speed of your machine rather than individual tweaks (which is really not a bad thing, just different). I thought the IP settings tab was a bit worthless. Yes, you wrote a script that opens up the command prompt and types out ipconfig/all. I guess this was to appease to some novice users out there.
The Good
This little ditty noticeably speeds up boot time and shutdown. It gives you detailed descriptions of what its functions do and it also includes recommendations. Aside from its rough interface, most users can still navigate through the options.
The Bad
Over a period of time the disabling of paging exec feature, Speed up IRQ handling and the USB polling interval may degrade your system's performance so it could take up to ten or fifteen seconds to initiate a process. Some of these changes can't be undone, so make sure you have a system restore point set before playing around with this optimizer. The interface could use a little help as well. It lacks some of the more individual options that are typically included in most tweaking programs.
The Truth
It'll make your boot up time and shutdown fast as that roadrunner in the Looney Tunes cartoons. It's not too hard to understand and it'll actually work. But beware, set up a nice restore point to make sure you can come back to any previous setting you might have had, this program can be a bit powerful for novices.
Check out the screenshots below.
