The Best Tune-Up Utilities

The Best Tune-Up Utilities


One of the joys of purchasing a PC is experiencing that fresh-out-of-the-box system newness. The computer boots up quickly, and appliions open in a flash. Unfortunately, that freshness fades over time as you edit photos, crte and delete files, install and remove apps, and use your computer for a host of other activities. However, you can turn back the hands of time by installing and running atune-up utility.A tune-up utility, at its most basic, is an appliion designed to defragment your PC's hard drive, fix the incredibly problematic registry, and delete useless and duplie files. Some tune-up utilities do only those things, while others go above and beyond the call of duty to improve your PC in interesting ways.For example, SlimWare Utilities SlimClner 4—the Editors' Choice for free tune-up utilities—scored high marks for its effective system clning, browser cln-up tools, and community-based system recommendations. Likewise, Iolo System Mechanic 14—our Editors' Choice for paid tune-up suites—clned our gunked-up test bed with its rl-time system monitoring and CRUDD Remover (rd the review to find out what this excellent acronym stands for).This tune-up utility collection doesn't include every single system-enhancing tool on the market—just the best. Some are paid apps, some are free apps, but they have one thing in common: they'll make you PC fly.Click the links below to rd full reviews of these PC tune-up tools. If you have a tune-up utility you like better, let us know in the comments.
FTURED IN THIS ROUNDUPIolo System Mechanic 14

$39.95
Iolo System Mechanic 14 includes a defragger and other typical tune-up tools, but it also includes PowerSense, a welcome new fture. PowerSense gives your PC a boost by CPU cores and boosting the CPU clock speed as needed. Iolo System Mechanic 14 is pricier than some of the competition, but this utility suite's packed with system-enhancing ftures. It's our Editors' Choice for paid tune-up software.Rd the full review ››
SlimWare Utilities SlimClner 4

Free
This free tune-up utility uses aggregated data collected from its user base to recommend optimal settings for your PC. It even rewards selfless users with badges for contributing accurate information to the community. In short, SlimClner is a mashup of social network and utility that does a fine job of clning gunked-up PCs. It's our Editors' Choice for free tune-up utilities.Rd the full review ››
Anvisoft Cloud System Booster

$19.99
Cloud System Booster came close to dethroning the Editors' Choice award-winning SlimWare Utilities SlimClner, but the limitations kept it from claiming the crown. Still, Cloud System Booster is a very respectable tuneup utility that's sy to use, attractive, full of helpful tips, and most of all, effective.Rd the full review ››
Ashampoo WinOptimizer 10

$39.99
Ashampoo's tune-up utility stands out from the competition thanks to two ftures: Icon Save and Link Checker. Icon Save crtes save points that contain the positions of all desktop icons so you can restore them at a later time should your PC flake out. Link Checker scans your PC and makes certain that your icon shortcuts all point toward valid targets.Rd the full review ››
Comodo PC Tuneup

$19.99
Comodo PC Tuneup not only improves a PC's performance, but it comes with the added benefit of no installation limits. It may not possess some of its competitors' effectiveness, but Comodo PC Tuneup is a very solid selection for those in multi-PC households.Rd the full review ››
Norton Utilities

$29.99
Norton Utilities did a satisfactory job of degunking and incrsing our testbed's overall performance, but in the age of the multi-computer household, the installation limitations are outdated. Still, Norton Utilities is a decent collection of tune-up tools that gets the job done.Rd the full review ››
AOL Computer Checkup

$39.99
AOL Computer Checkup doesn't particularly impress or stink up the joint. It's a middle-of-the-road utility that does a decent job of improving a PC's performance, but lags behind the big boss of the space, the free SlimWare Utilities SlimClner.Rd the full review ››
ClnMyPC

$39.99
ClnMyPC delivered solid performance improvement, but it drops the ball in terms of limitations and its boot time improvement isn't the best. If you need to tune up just one PC ClnMyPC is worth a consideration, but there are better all-around products on the market.