Ashampoo WinOptimizer 10

A brand spankin' new PC runs like a champ when you first boot it up, but performance issues inevitably set in. If your desktop or laptop isn't opening windows, launching applications, or booting up as quickly as it once did, it may be time to check out a tune-up utility like Ashampoo WinOptimizer 10. This utility suite lets users fix common PC problems, remove redundant files to free hard drive space, repair the registry, and more. Although WinOptimizer 10's system improvements didn't match Iolo System Mechanic 11's?(PCMag.com's current Editors' Choice pick among paid tune-up apps) or SlimWare Utilities SlimCleaner's?(PCMag.com's current Editors' Choice pick among free tuneup apps), it's an app with merit.

System Requirements and Interface
Like other tune-up utilities, WinOptimizer 10 has meager system requirements. It demands just 90MB of hard drive space, and is compatible with the Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP operating systems. Ashampoo's site doesn't list RAM requirements, but your system shouldn't suffer any problems if it can run Windows properly.

After downloading, installing, and launching WinOptimizer 10, you're presented with a clean streamlined gray-and-white interface that's divided into five areas: Overview (the main screen) Modules (houses the different tune-up tools), Favorites (your most frequently used modules), Backups (backup and restoration), and Statistics (displays the number of times you ran the software, scanned databases, and more). It has a sensible layout and is extremely easy to navigate.

The Clean-Up Process and Performance Enhancement
Ashampoo wisely includes a one-click clean-up button for those that don't want to cycle between the different utilities. However, WinOptimizer10 users have the option to use any individual tools as they see fit (for example, "Registry Optimizer," "Startup Tuner," and "File Wiper,"). WinOptimizer 10, like other tune-up utilities, includes a backup manager and task scheduler so that you can restore your PC to an earlier state should something go wrong in the cleanup process and set the app to automatically run at specific times.

I tested WinOptimizer 10's ability to clean up a PC by performing two tests?running the Geekbench system performance tool, and measuring boot times?before and after running Ashampoo's app. Each test was run three times and the results averaged.

Before WinOptimizer 10 scrubbed the system, the 2-GHz Intel Core i7 X990 Style-Note notebook with 4GB of RAM, and 80GB Intel SSD booted achieved a 5,914 Geekbench score, and booted in 50.2 seconds. After using Ashampoo WinOptimizer 10, the GeekBench score improved to 6,233. The performance enhancement trails Iolo System Mechanic 11's 6,452. The notebook boot time decreased to a relatively speedy 31.6 seconds, which is on a par with Tuneup Utilities 2013's 31.3 seconds.

In addition to running formal tests, I also spent time using the cleaned up system to see what the experience is like. The overall post-WinOptimizer 10 system performance felt snappier when opening iTunes and Steam in the cleaned-up environment.

Despite WinOptimizer's benefits it does have a glaring flare: The $39.99 price grants users just one license, which is a severe limitation in the age of the multi-PC home. WinOptimizer has a handful of competitors?Iolo System Mechanic 11, Comodo System Utilities, SlimWare SlimCleaner?that let you install the software on any number of personal computers. Outfitting just two PCs with WinOptimizer will set you back $80.

Attractive Features
WinOptimizer's other features may prove enticing?I found them quite useful during the test process. The Icon Save creates save points which contain the positions of all desktop icons so that they can be recovered should your PC flake out. Link Checker scans you PC and makes certain that icon shortcuts point toward a valid target.

File Wiper shreds files so that they cannot be recovered. Undeleter scans our PC for deleted files and highlights which ones are recoverable. This could prove extremely useful to those who accidentally or intentionally trash an important file.

A Decent PC Cleaning Tool
Ashampoo WinOptimizer 10 rejuvenates sluggish PCs, but with less vigor than the Editors' Choice award-winning Iolo System Mechanic 11 and SlimWare Utilities SlimCleaner. Still, it packs numerous useful features and helped a junked-up PC posted very respectable performance numbers. WinOptimizer 10 is an application worth checking out if the license limitations aren't a huge negative.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/iKFxTEA9aWM/0,2817,2417436,00.asp

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