I Bought 6 PC “Speed Up” Tools to See if They Work
Summary
TLDRThe video script details an experiment to test the effectiveness of various PC speed-up tools. The creators first intentionally bloated their system with free software, then compared the performance of popular tools like CCleaner, IObit, and AVG TuneUp against a fresh Windows install. Despite some improvement in boot times and productivity tasks, gaming performance remained largely unaffected. The script also exposes questionable marketing tactics by some software companies and concludes that while tools like CCleaner and IObit can help streamline a PC, for most users, basic maintenance tasks can achieve similar results without the need for additional software.
Takeaways
- 🖥️ The experiment started by intentionally creating a bloated system by downloading free software and adding RGB control applications, which increased boot time significantly on a high-performance gaming PC.
- 🔍 The team then searched for 'best PC speed up tools' and found that most review sites recommended the same few tools, suggesting that Windows 10 already offers comparable built-in tune-up tools.
- 🛍️ They purchased and installed the most recommended PC speed up tools to test their effectiveness, discovering that some did work well, but similar results could be achieved for free.
- 🌐 The Flint 2 router was introduced as a networking ally with high speeds and multi-WAN support, promoted with a link in the description.
- 🚀 The most common complaint addressed was slow computer startup, with each application offering a tool to improve it, resulting in a noticeable reduction in boot time.
- 🥇 In terms of startup time improvement, IObit and CCleaner were standouts, cutting the time by more than half, despite IObit adding its own applications to the startup sequence.
- 📊 A clean Windows install was found to be the best solution for speed, but using tools like CCleaner and IObit could get close to that performance.
- 🧐 The video expressed skepticism about the business practices of some companies, such as Shampoo and IObit, due to deceptive marketing and aggressive sales tactics.
- 🎮 Gaming performance was not significantly impacted by the bloated system or the use of these tools, with minimal differences observed in frame rates.
- 🛠️ The video concluded with practical advice on maintaining computer hygiene through simple steps like managing startup applications and using built-in Windows tools for drive optimization and cleanup.
- 💡 For those seeking more performance, upgrading to an SSD was suggested as a cost-effective solution that provides a noticeable improvement in day-to-day performance.
Q & A
What was the initial approach taken to create a slow and inefficient system for testing PC speed up tools?
-The initial approach involved downloading every piece of free software, filling the system with random extracted zip folders, and installing numerous RGB control applications, which significantly increased the system's boot time from 28 seconds to over a minute on a high-performance gaming PC.
What was the common pattern noticed in the review sites for PC speed up tools?
-The review sites consistently recommended the same handful of tools, suggesting that these tools were superior for speeding up PCs. However, upon further investigation, it was found that Windows 10 offers comparable built-in tuneup tools for free.
What was the outcome of installing and testing the most recommended PC speed up tools?
-Some of the recommended PC speed up tools actually worked well and improved system performance. However, similar results could be achieved for free, without the need to purchase additional software.
What is Flint 2 and how does it relate to the video's content?
-Flint 2 is a networking ally that runs on vanilla OpenWrt, offering speeds of up to 900 megabit per second and multi-WAN support. It is mentioned as a sponsor in the video, unrelated to the main testing of PC speed up tools.
How did the tested PC speed up tools perform in reducing startup times?
-The tested tools were effective in reducing startup times, with some, like IObit and CCleaner, cutting the time by more than half, despite IObit adding six of its own applications to the startup sequence.
What was the performance of a fresh Windows install compared to using PC speed up tools?
-A fresh Windows install topped the performance charts, indicating that while the PC speed up tools improved performance, they could not match the out-of-the-box experience of a new Windows installation.
What issues were encountered with Win Optimizer and AVG during the testing process?
-Win Optimizer was problematic due to its confusing pricing that changed frequently and multiple versions, leading to uncertainty about the purchase. AVG was dropped from testing because it required a credit card to start the free trial, which was deemed unreasonable.
How did the tested PC speed up tools perform in video encoding and other productivity tests?
-The tools showed small but measurable effects in video encoding and productivity tests. A clean install of Windows was the best, but tools like CCleaner and IObit came close, demonstrating that they could 'unslow' a bloated system.
What was the impact of using PC speed up tools on gaming performance?
-The impact on gaming performance was minimal, with only slight differences observed. A clean install was still the best, but the tested tools did not significantly degrade performance compared to a clean system.
What marketing tactics were criticized in the video, and which companies were implicated?
-The video criticized invasive and predatory marketing tactics, including misleading partnerships and aggressive sales strategies. Companies like Win Optimizer and IObit were implicated for their sales tactics, while AVG was criticized for requiring a credit card for a free trial.
What are some of the basic steps that can be taken to improve PC performance without purchasing speed up tools?
-Basic steps include managing startup applications through Task Manager, uninstalling unused programs, using built-in Windows tools for drive optimization and cleanup, and considering hardware upgrades like moving to an SSD for significant performance improvements.
What is the role of Squarespace in the context of the video?
-Squarespace is mentioned as a sponsor of the video. It provides a platform for building user-friendly and visually captivating websites, offering tools for design, email marketing, and analytics.
Outlines
😵💫 Overloaded System and PC Speed Up Tools
The video begins with an experiment to intentionally create a bloated and slow system by downloading numerous free software and applications, including RGB control apps. This resulted in a significant increase in boot time on a high-performance gaming PC. The next step was to replicate the average user's approach by searching for the best PC speed up tools online. A pattern emerged where certain tools were frequently recommended on review sites, despite Windows 10 offering similar built-in features. The team decided to purchase and test the most recommended tools to see if they could improve their system's performance. Some of these tools did work well, but similar results could be achieved for free. The video also promotes a networking ally, Flint 2, and its features. The testing included various tools like Win Optimizer, Cleanup C cleaner, AVG, TuneUp, IObit Advanced System Care 17 Pro, and Microsoft PC Manager. The goal was to see how close these tools could get to the performance of a fresh Windows install. The most common complaint addressed was slow startup times, and the video discusses the effectiveness of the tools in reducing boot times, with IObit and C cleaner showing the most significant improvement.
🛠️ Productivity Suite Testing and Marketing Tactics
The second paragraph delves into the productivity suite testing, starting with encoding a 10-minute 1080p video to test the impact of a bloated system and the effectiveness of the tools. The results showed small but measurable differences, with a fresh install of Windows outperforming the others. The video also covers the experience of using different suites, noting that Microsoft PC manager, while not leading in results, provided a clean experience without feeling like bloatware. Paid options like C cleaner, IObit, and Ashampoo were effective in slowing down the computer, bringing performance close to a fresh install. The paragraph also addresses invasive and predatory marketing tactics observed during the research, such as misleading partnerships and aggressive sales tactics from companies like IObit and Ashampoo. The video warns viewers about these practices and suggests staying safe from such marketing strategies.
🎮 Gaming Performance and System Optimization
In the third paragraph, the discussion shifts to gaming performance. The video reveals that there was no significant difference in gaming performance between a bloated system and a clean install, with only minor variances observed. It questions why the bloated system did not perform worse than a clean install and explains that modern systems can manage background applications efficiently without affecting gaming performance. The video also critiques the exaggerated claims made by some software companies about their products' performance improvements, noting the impossibility of testing every hardware and software combination to hold these companies accountable. The paragraph concludes with recommendations for software packages like Ashampoo and C cleaner for users who may need help with computer hygiene, and it also suggests that for those seeking performance improvements, investing in an SSD might be a more effective solution than using these tools.
🛠️ DIY Computer Hygiene Tips and Sponsor Promotion
The final paragraph offers practical advice for maintaining computer performance without resorting to the tested software tools. It suggests using Task Manager to manage startup applications, uninstalling unused programs, and using Windows' built-in tools for disk cleanup and optimization. The video also recommends using tools like Macrium for cloning data to a new SSD for a significant performance boost. Additionally, the paragraph promotes Squarespace as a user-friendly platform for building visually captivating websites, highlighting its guided design system, email marketing tools, and advanced analytical features. The video concludes by encouraging viewers to check out a comprehensive PC building guide updated for 2024.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Bloated System
💡PC Speed Up Tools
💡Review Sites
💡Windows 10 Built-in Tuneup Tools
💡Flint 2
💡Startup Sequence
💡Clean Windows Install
💡Performance Charts
💡SSD (Solid State Drive)
💡Invasive Predatory Marketing Tactics
💡Computer Hygiene
Highlights
Created a bloated system by downloading free software and installing RGB control applications, causing boot time to increase from 28 seconds to over a minute on a high-performance gaming PC.
Identified a pattern where review sites recommended the same few PC speed up tools, which often had comparable built-in features in Windows 10.
Purchased and tested the most recommended PC speed up tools to evaluate their effectiveness.
Flint 2, a networking ally with openwrt, speeds up to 900 megabit per second, and multi-wan support was introduced.
PC startup tools in the tested applications effectively reduced reboot times by at least 30 seconds.
IObit and C cleaner were standouts, cutting startup time by more than half despite IObit adding to the startup sequence.
A clean Windows install performed best, but the tested tools came close to replicating this out-of-the-box experience.
Win Optimizer and AVG had trust issues and invasive marketing tactics, leading to their exclusion from further testing.
Productivity Suite tests showed small but measurable effects of system bloat and utility tools on video encoding.
C cleaner and IObit tied with a clean install in Cinebench 2024 single-core test, while C cleaner and Advanced SystemCare won the multicore test.
SSD performance tests showed a significant difference, with IObit outperforming the bloated system by 9% in creating a compressed zip file.
Microsoft PC manager performed well in cleanup functions without feeling like bloatware, despite lacking a trim function.
Gaming results showed minimal differences between bloated systems and clean installs, with IObit losing a slight margin in FPS.
Discussed the predatory marketing tactics of software companies, including fake partnerships and aggressive sales techniques.
Recommended C cleaner and Advanced SystemCare for easy-to-use applications to help with computer hygiene.
Provided tips for achieving similar results to the software tested by manually managing startup items, uninstalling unused apps, and using built-in Windows tools for drive optimization and cleanup.
Suggested that for older systems, upgrading to an SSD could provide a more meaningful performance improvement than software tools.
Squarespace was introduced as a sponsor, offering a guided design system and comprehensive tools for building and marketing websites.
Transcripts
step one was to create the kind of
bloated bogged down system that would
send someone looking for a remedy so we
downloaded every piece of free software
in Arms Reach carpet bombed our system
drive with random extracted zip folders
and sprinkled in a generous helping of
RGB control applications which might not
sound that bad but it took our system
from booting up in 28 seconds to booting
up in over a minute and guys that's on a
high performance gaming PC step two was
to do what the average person would do
and Google best PC speed up tools where
almost immediately we noticed a pattern
most of the review sites for these tools
recommended the same handful of tools
over and over and over again which might
seem like a case of hey experts agree
until you dig just a little bit deeper
what is this for every tool on their
recommended list includes Windows 10
offers comparable built-in tuneup tools
I mean kudos for honesty I guess but if
Windows has these features for free then
why the Sam fool are you recommending
that I buy other software to find out we
took the one Brave step that no one else
seemed to be willing to take we actually
bought and installed the most
recommended PC speed up tools to see if
they could fix what ails us spoiler some
of them actually work work pretty well
but you can achieve a similar result for
free all it'll cost you is patiently
listening to this message from our
sponsor glet meet the Flint 2 your
networking Ally it runs on vanilla
openwrt has speeds of up to 900 megabit
per second and even has multi-wan
support check it out at the link down
below after braving the infested
listicle Wasteland that used to be
Google's search results page we decided
to dig further into a shampoo win
Optimizer a vast cleanup C cleaner AVG
tuneup IObit Advanced system care 17 Pro
and Microsoft PC manager if a free trial
of the premium features was available we
used that otherwise we bought the
software outright and the last line
You'll Find on our performance charts is
a fresh Windows install to see how close
our tools can get to the outof the-box
experience now one of the most common
complaints is my computer takes forever
to start up and every one of these
applications includes a dedicated tool
to help address this that honestly works
pretty well across the board our desktop
to desktop reboot times dropped by at
least 30 seconds but there were some
standouts IObit and C cleaner led the
pack cutting our time by more than half
can't say I expected that given that
IObit added six of its own applications
to our startup sequence but hey you
can't argue with the results which is
unfortunate for Microsoft who seem to
know less about debloating their own
operating system than these third
parties with that said it's not like it
was all bad news for Redmond as you
would expect a clean windows install
topped the charts which is probably
going to be a bit of a pattern here now
we need to address our pet room
elephants why is it that a shampoo and
AVG have a did not finish here it's more
of a DNT on a shampoo site we were
overwhelmed by just how many pieces of
software they made and when we did find
win Optimizer the one that the review
sites told us to use there was six
different options we could have just
gone with the latest one version 27 but
we didn't even feel like we could trust
that since if you refresh the page or
clear your cookies the price would
change every single time it even went as
low is free if you bought it with
another piece of software this Rabbit
Hole actually goes much deeper and we
will we'll touch on it after some more
benchmarks But ultimately this caused us
to be uncertain about what we were even
buying we just killed it from our
testing as for AVG they were actually
bought by aast back in 2016 and since
over the years they've become almost the
same piece of software except for AVG
requires a credit card to start the free
trial no see you later we're over it and
yes C cleaner is also owned by aast but
the UI and the features were different
enough that we just decided to keep it
in our testing kicking off our
productivity Suite then we started by
encoding a 10 1080p video in hand bre
which is a really useful test because
the run-to-run variance is extremely
tight allowing us to demonstrate the
small but measurable effects of both a
bloated system and of these tools now
obviously these differences are pretty
small but given that I expected them to
be pure snake oil I was actually kind of
pleasantly surprised now as you'd expect
a fresh install of Windows is of course
the best medicine but reinstalling
everything you actually do use can be a
timec consuming Endeavor compared to
just running a vast which landed darn
near our fresh install demonstrating
that these tools well they can't speed
up your PC but they may be able to
actually unslow it or wait unless who in
cinebench 2024 C cleaner and IO bit tied
with a clean install in single core but
a vast andc cleaner actually won the
multicore test
well except that a 20 point difference
between all the competitors here is uh
not as big as it sounds so if we're
being realistic everything but the
bloated system is within our
expectations for a clean system which is
still a good result for our cleaners our
last productivity test is szip which is
great because in addition to looking at
our CPU it tests the impact of bloat on
our poor cluttered up SSD almost all of
these softwares have some kind of Drive
optimization button that tries to clean
up temporary files clear junk files like
old Windows updates and some even go as
far as to defragment or trim your drive
organizing all of the files in a way
that they are more quickly accessible as
for our results wow this is by far the
biggest difference we've seen yet
creating a compressed zip file results
in as much as a 9% difference between
our bloated system and IObit as for the
rest well regardless of whether we're
compressing or de compressing files our
results ended up falling within the
expected run-to-run variant so I guess
they all work the same but with that
said there is a clear difference in the
experience of using the different Suites
while Microsoft PC manager didn't lead
the packing results and didn't even
include a trim function what it did do
was perform a lot of the other cleanup
functions without feeling like bloatware
plus I mean it's free real estate so far
for the paid options a vast sea cleaner
and IObit have all done pretty well at
UNS slowing our computer managing to get
us on par or at least close to a fresh
install the question is can they pull
off the same in gaming well I would love
to talk to you about that but first
there's something way more important
that we need to address in researching
this project we came across some of the
most invasive predatory marketing
tactics that we have ever seen going
back to a shampoo you might at first say
wow great they're Intel and Microsoft
Partners but look closely you guys that
is definitely not the official Microsoft
partner logo and neither Intel nor
Microsoft list a shampoo as a partner in
return this is pretty much the tech
industry equivalent of updating your
relationship status except she has
absolutely no idea who you are and every
pick of you together has obvious
hoverhand and a shampoo wasn't the only
one whose business practices are in bad
condition
ER IObit was super aggressive when it
came to completing the sale bombarding
us with promotional bundles and using
any excuse to offer us an enormous
discount is it spring is it Mother's Day
Mom forget the flowers I got you IO bit
now all I got to do is complete the
checkout process and oh my goodness the
fomo marketing tactics don't stop there
if you're on the checkout page and you
go to close your browser a popup warns
you that OMG wait for the next 5 minutes
you can save another 20% which by the
way I went for since hey it was Elijah's
job to sit at the computer and wait for
the price change anyway what do I
care okay I do care these kinds of gross
tactics are everywhere I mean IObit
ticks down a limited offer that resets
if you clear your cookies so obviously
it wasn't that limited and then they
continue to abuse you even after you
purchase the software I have three
downloads remaining what I paid for the
licensed version of your software how
can you deny me the right to download it
again especially since I can just
download the free version as many times
as I want and then activate it with my
key now for many of you this isn't going
to be a surprise and you probably won't
fall for this stuff but if these tactics
exist you know it's because they work on
someone so just hey for you and yours
stay safe out there some of the more
basic applications that we saw and up
just wrapping Windows features into a
pretty looking interface and then taking
your money for repackaging what you
already had we're going to have a fun
closer look at that over at lm. g/f
floatplane where John and Elijah talk
about some of the funny stuff they found
during testing that didn't make the
YouTube cut now for the gaming results
drum roll
please yeah literally the exact same the
only slight difference is IObit lost 3
FPS in both averages and 1% lows and our
clean install was only outside of our
expected variance compared to our
applications in one game and even then
it was just barely which it's kind of
confusing right I mean why wasn't our
bloated system worse than a clean
install well for starters modern systems
usually include multiple CPU cores some
of which can manage background
applications at a lower power State
while the main course focus on your game
and the developers of these tools know
this which is why most of them don't
mention gaming at all and even the ones
that do don't focus on it but then okay
what about the outlandish claims that
they do make does that mean those are
real then IO bit promised to make our
system 200% faster and a vast promised
23% faster work performance how do they
get away with saying those things when
that's clearly not what we measured
there are millions of potential
combinations of computer hardware out
there and when you add software to the
mix those combinations easily balloon
into the billions so because it's pretty
much impossible to test every one of
these combinations there's just no real
way to hold these companies accountable
for these claims with all of that said
is there anyone that I would recommend a
software package like this for if you're
watching this video probably not you but
if you are constantly being bothered by
a family member to update their drivers
delete useless startup items and clear
up their storage space then I would say
a vast and sea cleaner are easy to use
applications that can help with that and
maybe give them a financial incentive to
learn this stuff for themselves I would
have actually included iob bid in that
list since they legitimately performed
well in all of our tests but installing
six applications combined with that
horrible shopping experience just
disqualifies them in my book we are
still going to have all of them linked
Down Below in case you want to check
them out but I just man these sites some
of them aren't even worth going to
especially because realistically if you
don't mind spending 5 minutes a month on
computer hygiene there are some tricks
to achieve very similar results while
sparing your credit card that are both
fast and easy you can even do them right
now hit control shift escape to open up
task manager and head to the startup tab
from there you can choose which
applications you want on Startup and
which ones you're okay to open manually
if this takes you even 3 minutes and
then saves you 30 seconds on every
reboot you are going to make up that
time you spent in just six reboots
taking that a step further if you're
noticing that there are apps in there
that you haven't used in Forever hey
maybe it's time to just uninstall them
search add or remove programs and then
take your time going through the list
and looking for apps to remove this
won't only stop that app from starting
up on boot but it should also help free
up some storage space speaking of
storage if you want to deag or trim your
drive the windows search bar is your new
best friend in most of your cases these
tasks will run automatically but if not
you can change that setting here or you
can press the optimize button to run
them right now this can take a while
though on slower mechanical drives so
just maybe let it run on the schedule or
run it the last thing before you go to
bed another storage tool is disc cleanup
just scroll through the lists and
confirm what you'd like to clean the
biggest ones are probably going to be
your recycle bin and your temporary
files then click okay and just like that
you've probably saved a couple dozen
gigs if you haven't done this in a
couple years our final tip tip is if you
really need more performance it may just
be time for an upgrade and guys I'm not
talking about a whole new system but the
thing is many of these tools are
targeting people who are on older
systems that might still be using an old
school hard drive as their main system
boot drive but the issue with that is at
the price of this software you could
just buy an SSD that would result in a
truly meaningful day-to-day performance
Improvement and then clone all of your
data over to it with a convenient free
trial tool like macrium or another
option would be this one from as shampoo
just make sure to refresh the page a few
times to get the best price I'm kidding
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