Computers System tweakings... (WinXP)

Discussion in 'Computers' started by Ark, Jan 15, 2003.

  1. Ark

    Ark Praise Judas!

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    Well, I was setting up my brother's new pc earlier, and was doing all my normal tweakings and optimisations, and got to wondering: What common system tweaks do people use when setting up systems? This thread is mostly geared towards the more technically skilled otaku out there, so if you try something you see here and fry your pc, don't complain to me ;)

    That said, here's the list of the first 5 things I do on a newly installed WinXP system:


    1) Set windows system cache. Usually I try to use 2x the amount of physical ram I have in the system, then tweak from there to see what gives the best performance.

    2) Open control panel, administrative tools, and kill a bunch of useless services that take up resources and are unnecessary, such as Routing and Remote Access (for non-server boxes), Wireless Zero Configuration, and Remote Registry.

    3) Download TweakXP and set the Core System Performance (forces the system core to load into ram instead of cache, only do this with 512+ megs of ram). Yes, I know you can do this through the registry, but why mess with the registry when there's a program available to do the dirty work for me? ;)

    4) Disable some of the graphical features in display properties. Animated combo-boxes may look sorta pretty, but they don't do anything good for my system and waste cpu cycles that could be better used by Jedi Knight or something.

    5) Last, but probably most important, get current drivers for all hardware in the box. You'd be surprised how much better the NVidia Detonator drivers are over the Windows default driver.


    So, what are some of you guys favorite tweaks?

    - Ark
     
    #1
    Ark, Jan 15, 2003
  2. Izzy

    Izzy moo. moo. moo!
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    There's this one registry tweak that allows me more than the allotted 150 buddies in my buddy list. :D Actually, my allotment is about 999. Why that number? I seriously doubt I'll meet over 1000 friends. Or even just acquaintances.

    Type in msconfig in "Run:" and disable startup programs from there. Well, you can delete what you want through the startup folder, but...msconfig was easier to find. Anyway, delete the non-needed ones....usually the ones that have User names on them...and...well. Hehehe, I remember when I disabled everything, my computer booted up in say..about...30 seconds? :D

    Resource Hacking is a hobby of mine too. Well, it's not XP stuff...but...making AOL Instant Messenger an "Izztant Messenger" is too tempting.

    I have a few more, but....I don't remember. :D
     
    #2
    Izzy, Jan 15, 2003
  3. BakaMattSu

    BakaMattSu ^__^
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    -Enable DMA (Direct Media Access) on any drives that support it. A lot faster for file-access. And set any hard drives to the role of server, even if you're not running a server. :p

    -I usually adjust my Graphics Apeture to twice the RAM of my Video Card from my BIOS.

    -Simple removing of things like custom desktop wallpapers, animations, and sounds will give you a little bit more resources to work with, if you don't mind the sacrifice of your "pin-up beauties" :)

    That's all I can think of to add on to what's already down right now...I believe msconfig is one of the biggies and should be highlighted again. ^^

    ** But remember kiddies, never adjust any system settings unless you know what you're doing - you can seriosuly cause your system more harm than good if you mess up. **
     
    #3
    BakaMattSu, Jan 15, 2003
  4. Izzy

    Izzy moo. moo. moo!
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    tweakxp.com has a whole slew of little tweaks you can use if no one is familiar with tweaking their computers. I suggest even just taking a look there, because you can learn something, or figure out why your computer takes however long it takes to load.

    Here's a random tweak from there:

    -Start Regedit. If you are unfamiliar with regedit please refer to our FAQ on how to get started.
    -Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
    -Select MenuShowDelay from the list on the right.
    -Right on it and select Modify.
    -Change the value to 0.
    -Reboot your computer.

    Oh, and if you're using Professional: msconfig, gpedit, and regedit are your best friends. Home users cannot and do not have a file called gpedit, so dont' try...I already have.

    gpedit is pretty much for show stuff only. Though, I'm pretty sure you can find some useful things in there too to speed up performance.

    Oh yeah, last word...you type in those commands under the "Run" prompt.

    Like BMS and Ark, Izzy is a tweaker. Once a day, every day. It's good for you!
     
    #4
    Izzy, Jan 15, 2003
  5. Kairo

    Kairo New Member

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    First things first..before there's even an OS on the computer, I make sure when I'm installing XP, that ACPI is disabled.

    ACPI is definitely evil. It actually fried my SB Audigy card..and disabling it will speed up your computer a good 10%. The only downsides are that you will have to use to the powerswitch to shut down your pc, and you won't be able to put it on stand by/hibernate...but nobody uses it anyway, do they? :)

    To do this tweak..press f5 when your installing XP, and it asks you if you want to install any raid devices. Another screen should come up asking you which type of pc you wish to install. For this, you should choose standard pc.

    My pc now boots faster..is more responsive, and I even got a lil' fps boost in quake3! :D

    Down with ACPI.
     
    #5
    Kairo, Jan 16, 2003
  6. SaberJ2X

    SaberJ2X Moderator
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    THE REAL DEAL

    BIOS TWEAKIN

    ACPI = disabled
    CAS Delay = 2T
    RAS to CAS = 3 or 4
    RAS = 3
    AGP APERTURE = half your total RAM
    Please if you can don't use integrated audio/video/modem
    Side Banding adrees = enable
    OVERCLOKIN' :D
    please don't go higher than 112% you're current speed without special cooling and such hardware mods. example : water cooler, altering voltages

    Windows Tweakin

    Windows 98 yields only a little higher performance than XP
    but WinME sukz and 95 is ultra obsolete
    TweakXP V2.x.x and higher - MY MOST PRECIOUS PROGRAM
    a lot of frequent upgrading to lates WHQL certified drivers
    disable animations/fading effects
    FONT SMOOTHIN - don't use it unless you have a LCD display
    DEFRAGMENT THE HARD DRIVE

    GAMING

    16-bit colour and textures
    enable PURE hardware T&L
     
    #6
    SaberJ2X, Jan 16, 2003
  7. Ark

    Ark Praise Judas!

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    Water cooling is fun, had a home built unit in my good pc for a while but the pump broke and I went back to my old heatsink. Was nice while it lasted though.

    - Ark
     
    #7
    Ark, Jan 17, 2003
  8. MamiyaOtaru

    MamiyaOtaru President Bushman

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    I don't do too much, but some, sure. Newest drivers for sure. I disable a lot of the graphical crap (animated combo boxes, as said earlier, etc). Switch from Luna to Classic look, less resources used. I also set Litestep as my shell, there's some savings over using Explorer.

    The occasional registry defrag is nice. I also use jv16 power tools to keep track of new reg entries and to keep the thing clean.

    Not performance related:
    Add reg entry for open file in notepad
    classic start menu
    no friendly folder expanding (or whatever it's called)
    uninstall MSN Messenger
    disable error reporting (do you want to send info on this crash to M$?)
    change the My Documents folder to something on a different drive
    Same with the default program files dir (Lose less when reinstalling the OS)
    change so creating a shortcut doesn't append "shortcut to" on the front of the shortcut name

    Loads of little stuff.. Takes me a while to feel at home
     
    #8
    MamiyaOtaru, Jan 17, 2003

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