How to make your PC safer and faster?
How to make your PC safer and faster?
Last updated: 8 days ago
Test summary: PCKeeper wins our December test by showing 47% PC performance boost and significant security improvement!
We'll bring your PC back to life!
Without proper maintenance every computer comes to the stage when:
- it starts up slowly and with multiple errors
- the hard drive turns into a mess, cluttered with junk and application remains
- viruses and spyware take full control over the system
- it can't go a minute without slowing down or freezing
- you start thinking of BUYING A NEW COMPUTER!
Though buying a new computer can take care of the issues — wait before spending a lot of money.
There's a much cheaper solution — just get a PC OPTIMIZER.
What is a PC Optimizer?
An optimizer tool is a program that enhances computer's performance by fixing system errors, cleaning up the hard drive, removing viruses and spyware, etc. This type of solution emerged in 2008 and has quickly taken its place among the most popular and essential software for Windows users.
Why do I need a PC Optimizer?
A good PC optimizer can significantly increase your system performance. Most common features of PC optimizers are:
- antivirus and antispyware protection
- junk cleanup
- startup optimization
- smart removal of unneeded applications
- advanced disk defragmentation
- fixing hard drive errors
Performing these basic procedures will not only prevent serious PC damage but also make it more responsive, faster upon startup, virus-free and with significantly more disk space.
In addition, some of the optimizers we tested also provide features like:
- data recovery
- theft protection
- improved privacy
- professional technical assistance
- and more!
That's why we highly recommend you to get a system optimizer — it will keep your PC in top shape and save you the money you'd otherwise have to pay for repair or a new computer.
What is this test and review about?
It's not that easy to find a perfect optimizer, therefore we are here to help you. We have compared the top 5 solutions of more than 50 applications available on the market:
- Advanced System Optimizer by Systweak
- SpeedUpMyPC by Uniblue
- PCKeeper by ZeoBIT
- System Mechanic Pro by Iolo
- PC Optimizer Pro
We have tested each system optimizer according to the various criteria, such as efficiency, user-friendliness, pricing etc. The tests have proven that the optimization quality for each Windows optimizer significantly varies. Some of them don't have the features we consider necessary for this kind of software, some are obviously overpriced etc. You can take a look at a short summary for each program or read about the test in detail below.
So which optimizer is the best?
Let's find out which of the selected optimizers has proven to be the best! Here's our summary on each application:
- #1 — PCKeeper. The best system optimizer that has exceeded our expectations in all areas tested. Besides excellently performing all optimization functions it includes a wide range of extra features. Moreover, the program is compatible with all Windows versions and the pricing is really affordable, which makes it an indisputable winner. That's why we highly recommend PCKeeper to anyone who hasn't got a Windows optimizer yet.
- #2 — Advanced System Optimizer. A really good optimizer tool with lots of features (unfortunately no antivirus), yet one serious drawback: a very sophisticated design that makes it extremely difficult to use.
- #3 — System Mechanic Pro. A good optimizer with a number of extra utilities that make it more expensive and take up additional RAM.
- #4 — SpeedUpMyPC. A good Windows optimizer that has some useful tools (startup manager, memory optimizer) but its main functions like junk cleanup and privacy protection are quite weak. In addition, SpeedUpMyPC has the lowest OS compatibility.
- #5 — PC Optimizer Pro. This solution has shown the poorest performance. Besides, it doesn't provide such vital features as background scan and automatic updates.
How we tested each PC Optimizer
To perform the tests we used three different computers with different operating systems:
A desktop (Vostro 420: Intel® Core? 2 Duo E7400, 3GB DDR2 SDRAM, 250GB1 Serial ATA) running Windows XP,
another desktop (OptiPlex 740 Desktop: AMD ATHLON 1640B, 1.0GB DDR2, 80GB1 SATA) running Windows Vista,
and a laptop (Sony Vaio VGN-SR490: Intel® Core? 2 Duo T6500, 4GB RAM 320GB HDD) running Windows 7 64Bit.
We did everything to mess up the hard drives of these PCs, get some hardcore viruses and cause as much system errors as
we could. We then backed up this system condition and restored it after testing each system optimizer.
We compared how different optimizers performed the same tasks of two categories - Optimization/Maintenance and Security/Privacy protection.
We also tried not to leave out other important aspects of the programs, such as their compatibility with operating systems, customer and product support quality, regular price and license type. Given below are the results of our research. Hope this information comes in handy and helps you choose the best system optimizer.
| Rank: | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PCKeeper+157,016 |
Advanced System Optimizer+43,128 |
System Mechanic Pro+12,532 |
SpeedUpMyPC+1,256 |
PC Optimizer Pro+1,057 |
|
| Test score | 97/100 | 60/100 | 49/100 | 32/100 | 22/100 |
| Trial | 15 days | 15 days | scan only | scan only | scan only |
| Download link | Download | Download | Download | Download | Download |
| Lowest price | Buy | Buy | Buy | Buy | Buy |
| View Screenshot | View Screenshot | View Screenshot | View Screenshot | View Screenshot |
| Test details | |||||
| Product | PCKeeper | Advanced System Optimizer |
System Mechanic Pro |
SpeedUpMyPC | PC Optimizer Pro |
| Total score | 97/100 | 60/100 | 49/100 | 32/100 | 22/100 |
| Optimization/Maintenance | 48/50 | 35/50 | 29/50 | 25/50 | 17/50 |
| Security/Privacy protection | 49/50 | 25/50 | 20/50 | 7/50 | 5/50 |
| Ease of use | 10/10 | 5/10 | 5/10 | 5/10 | 3/10 |
| Customer and product support | 6/6 | 4/6 | 4/6 | 2/6 | 1/6 |
| OS Compatibility | 6/6 | 5/6 | 3/6 | 5/6 | 3/6 |
| Optimization/Maintenance | |||||
| Product | PCKeeper | Advanced System Optimizer |
System Mechanic Pro |
SpeedUpMyPC | PC Optimizer Pro |
| Boot optimization | 5/5 | 5/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 |
| Windows optimization | 5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Internet optimization | 4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 |
| Hard drive cleanup | 5/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 |
| Defragmentation | 5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 |
| Fixing hard drive errors | 5/5 | 5/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 1/5 |
| Data recovery | 5/5 | 3/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 |
| Uninstall | 5/5 | 5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 1/5 |
| Context menu tuning | 4/5 | 0/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 |
| Data structuring | 5/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 0/5 |
| Security/Privacy protection | |||||
| Product | PCKeeper | Advanced System Optimizer |
System Mechanic Pro |
SpeedUpMyPC | PC Optimizer Pro |
| Real-time protection | 5/5 | 4/5 | 2/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 |
| Internet security | 5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 0/5 |
| Virus detection | 5/5 | 2/5 | 1/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 |
| Spyware removal | 5/5 | 1/5 | 4/5 | 2/5 | 0/5 |
| Trojan/malware removal | 5/5 | 4/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 |
| Anti-phishing | 4/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 1/5 | 0/5 |
| Theft protection | 5/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 |
| Secure deletion | 5/5 | 4/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 | 2/5 |
| Advanced file hiding | 5/5 | 0/5 | 3/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 |
| Internet activity cleanup | 5/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 |
| Ease of Use | |||||
| Product | PCKeeper | Advanced System Optimizer |
System Mechanic Pro |
SpeedUpMyPC | PC Optimizer Pro |
| Simple installation | |||||
| Fully-functional trial | |||||
| Intuitive interface | |||||
| Software tips | |||||
| Short explanations | |||||
| Reversable actions | |||||
| Quick search | |||||
| Comprehensive reports | |||||
| Background mode | |||||
| Automatic updates | |||||
| Customer and Product Support | |||||
| Product | PCKeeper | Advanced System Optimizer |
System Mechanic Pro |
SpeedUpMyPC | PC Optimizer Pro |
| Video tutorials | |||||
| FAQ | |||||
| 24/7 call center | |||||
| Live chat | |||||
| Email/Contact form | |||||
| Ticketing system | |||||
| OS Compatibility | |||||
| Product | PCKeeper | Advanced System Optimizer |
System Mechanic Pro |
SpeedUpMyPC | PC Optimizer Pro |
| Windows XP | |||||
| Windows XP 64bit | |||||
| Windows Vista | |||||
| Windows Vista 64bit | |||||
| Windows 7 | |||||
| Windows 7 64bit | |||||
| Rank: | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
PCKeeper +157,016 |
Advanced System Optimizer +43,128 |
System Mechanic Pro +12,532 |
SpeedUpMyPC +1,256 |
PC Optimizer Pro +1,057 |
|
| Test score | 97/100 | 60/100 | 49/100 | 32/100 | 22/100 |
| Trial | 15 days | 15 days | scan only | scan only | scan only |
| Download link | Download | Download | Download | Download | Download |
| Lowest price | Buy | Buy | Buy | Buy | Buy |
| View screenshot | View screenshot | View screenshot | View screenshot | View screenshot |
Comments
Thanks for an awesome review. Finally I'll get the best pc optimizer.
Your review was really helpful. i've tried using PC Optimizer Pro (imho most well-designed windows optimizer) for a while now and I never really saw this significant speed increase they "guarantee". well now with PCKeeper my laptop boots in little over 15 seconds.
I have purchased System Mechanic and it did a great job on my PC. Good windows optimizer but it took quite a while for me to figure out how it works cause it's a bit too complicated for me. Though it has worked quite well I'm not into paying for another year's subscription and will try both PCKeeper and PC Optimizer Pro to consider which of them is the best pc optimizer. Good review indeed!
I haven't heard of PCKeeper before an hour ago. Upon trying it I must say it really tweeks the system faster than System Mechanic or PC Optimizer Pro which I've used before.
Thank you for an exhaustive review. I wasn't confident if I needed an optimizer so I picked PCKeeper cuz it's cheap. I liked how it increased Internet Explorer speed and freed up quite some disk space.
Very useful, thanks. The reason I wanna get an optimizer is that I use online payment systems alot so I was shocked to know passwords and credit card information is being stored in my browser and can be used by hackers... Also thanks for pointing out not only technical sides of these programs but the prices and license policies too - I'm not getting software I'll have to pay for every time the registration expires.
IOLO is what i've been usin since i got myself a laptop. tried a bunch of others on my other PC and here's what i think - System Mechanicis waaaay better than pc optimizer pro and other cheap stuff.
Hi! I wanna say your tests were really helpful as I was just about to switch from PC Optimizer Pro to a 1 year's subscription for System Mechanic. I tried it's trial version and it did speed up my laptop and cleanup the hard drive. Upon reading this article I gave PCKeeper a try and it was quite as good as SM but cheaper. Again I appreciate you putting your time into this review.
Still don't see any reasons for buying a system optimizer. It's a waste of money. I used to have IOLO and it's almost no good at all. Not for its price at least.
Good info. Am going to upgrade from Reg Genie to the PCKeeper since it does more than a registry optimizer