Software I Recommend

Auslogics BoostSpeed is a great suite of programs designed to speed up your Windows-based computer.  It can optimize so many aspects of your computer's performance that once you use it, you'll be pissed off whenever you use someone else's inefficient piece of crap.  With something this good, there has to be a drawback.  Right?  Well there is: you have to pay money for it.

*GASP*

Here's some good news for you all!  You can get just about the same increase in speed and performance, all for free!  The only drawback to this is that you must scour the internet for all the programs that emulate what this amazing suite can do.  Or you can just read on and get them all here.  Whichever works.


Disk Space Fan

This is definitely one of the prettier programs out there.  It shows you all of the files that are taking up space on your computer.  Running out of hard drive space and you don't know why?  Fire this up and track down all that porn....err....important work documents that are taking up so much space.  It displays all your data in an easy-to-use and intuitive manner.  Give this program a shot.

CCleaner

This great program does 3 tasks in one!  It tidies up your registry, checking for errors and fixing them where needed.  It also keeps track of what online activity you have and "cleans" that appropriately.  Lastly, it also keeps tabs on your installed programs, giving a much cleaner management interface than the default one provided by Windows.  Definitely worth a look.


TCP Optimizer

This is a great program for novices and experts alike.  It optimizes the way your computer handles TCP packets from your internet connection.  This kind of modification vastly increases your connection performance on many levels.  It also has a tonne of different options that you can tweak if you're brave enough, customizing your connection to your needs.  There's a nifty video on the website if you want to check it out.

Auslogics Boostspeed offers many more features, but these are the ones I felt were most important.  Have any experience with these?  Comment and let me know what you think.