Do you need third-party performance software on windows 7?

[baskinghobo]

I am thinking to get perfectdisk but some people have said you only need windows defrag unless your running xp or lower. Is this true?

[notuptome2004]

you really dont need but your basic AV and spyware scan or so in windows 7 as windows 7 is damn fast out of the box and down the road

[Subject Delta]

The defragging tools built into Windows are satisfactory, but Perfectdisk does provide better defragging.

[0--JLowzrif]

O&O Defrag 12 (win 7 compatible) is out next week,along with perfectdisk is the two best defragmentation tools.

[2xSilverKnight]

yeah it's true, win 7's and vista's defrag is better than what it used to be with xp.

you really don't need another one, it's personal preference.

[zeke009]

I have PerfectDisk loaded and Norton AV 2009 loaded. I basically did so because I paid for them and didn't want to let that money go to waste.

Once my NAV subscription is up I'll take a look at the free Microsoft Security Essentials app as a replacement. PerfectDisk... I'll use it until a SP breaks it and then I'll go back to the built in tool probably.

[deletedxyz]

Upcoming TuneUp Utilties app + Microsoft Security Essentials + Bluetack Blocklist Manager = only security/performance software I need.

[soldier1st]

3rd party performance stuff is not really needed in windows 7 but perfectdisk is a good option, another good way depending on your system is to turn off some windows features like media center and windows movie maker if you don't use them and the XPS stuff if your not gonna use it but results will vary.

[TEX4S]

O&O Defrag 12 (win 7 compatible) is out next week,along with perfectdisk is the two best defragmentation tools.

O & O is good stuff

But if youre looking for performance boost - I suggest you look somewhere other than a defrag

and if you are looking to Win7 by wondering what software you need to run to make it faster....get a new computer

[Growled Member]

yeah it's true, win 7's and vista's defrag is better than what it used to be with xp.

you really don't need another one, it's personal preference.

Just wondering, how do you guys know it's not needed? Yes, Vista and 7 has defrag included, but is it as good as or better than or not as good as third party defraggers. Any hard data on that or is it just opinion?

[JOHW]

Although it does not compare the latest offerings, here's the results of an experiment ran by MaximumPC last year using Vista

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/the_disk_defrag_difference

Surprising enough, the defraggers do a worse job..

[Boz]

Upcoming TuneUp Utilties app + Microsoft Security Essentials + Bluetack Blocklist Manager = only security/performance software I need.

Totally agree.. don't know about Bluetack blocklist manager..but new TuneUp 2010 with full Win 7 support and Microsoft Security Essentials is the end of headaches with protecting and running Windows smoothly.

Tune Up Utilities have been the best optimization and tuning software I've used through several versions. I'm super glad to support these guys as they make one amazing piece of software. They don't really introduce unnecessary features that often but they constantly improve and their 1-Click Maintenance and optimizations are second to none.

[NfoTech]

Windows does well on its own. No need for extra crap.

[Lee G. Veteran]

Windows does well on its own. No need for extra crap.

Agreed. It just isn't necessary at all. I wouldn't recommend using it.

[justlooking]

If Windows 7 is good enough to be your OS, it's built-in tools are good enough to use.

[majortom1981]

No performance software needed.I have been running windows 7 since the beta and its pretty fast by itself.

[ArmedMonkey]

yeah it's true, win 7's and vista's defrag is better than what it used to be with xp.

you really don't need another one, it's personal preference.

Except for how it doesn't show progress, or am I mistaken?

[Hani]

Windows does well on its own. No need for extra crap.

No, it doesn't. I don't understand why after Vista/7, people assume that Windows is almighty and has perfect performance.

I think you do need third-party software to increase performance to the max. PerfectDisk is a must. Registry cleaners and defraggers are useful too (e.g. CCleaner and jv16). I do notice decreased boot time and better performance after using them.

[ArmedMonkey]

No, it doesn't. I don't understand why after Vista/7, people assume that Windows is almighty and has perfect performance.

I think you do need third-party software to increase performance to the max. PerfectDisk is a must. Registry cleaners and defraggers are useful too (e.g. CCleaner and jv16). I do notice decreased boot time and better performance after using them.

You can't make blanket statements either way. everyone has individual needs. No need to be so aggressive.

[tp2215]

Quick question, I have always been using Tuneup utilities for ages. Does anyone happen to now when they will finally update to officially support windows 7?

[mikiem]

IMHO best bet is to Google whatever 3rd party stuff you're looking at. Generally speaking Microsoft looks to provide features/services for everyone in every circumstance with a minimum of potential problems, & often enough it settles for *Good Enough*. 3rd party developers need to do better than that to have *any* hope of survival, so they might well have something you like better, & almost always the more reliable 3rd party apps are at least as good.

Personally in 7 64 for partitioning like Easeus & Paragon -- for backup Acronis or Paragon -- for defrag MyDefrag [used to be Jkdefrag] [uses Windows api] -- occasionally CCleaner.

There are loads of tweaking apps, but generally tend to stay away from those myself, doing a few from tip sites manually -- again Google on whatever you're looking at 1st. IMHO when it comes to 7 & your hardware, it is what it is... you're not turning a P4 into the fastest quad by changing the OS or fiddling with the registry. What you are doing is changing settings that are equally good in the office & for gaming, & making them more suitable for how you run your PC/laptop.

Edited October 23, 2009 by mikiem

[YounGMessiah]

I havent really used any third party tools this time and 7 is working great so far(notice the so far lol)..

I do use the Windows built in defragger and works wonders now.. Microsoft Security Essentials.. CCleaner.. & Revo Uninstaller

[kai0110]

I don't use any performance enhancing tools really with Windows 7, except of course a defrag tool. I think that the very best defrag performance tool for NTFS partitions is UltimateDefrag. I don't ever hear anyone mention it, I suppose it isn't very popular. It is under 2MB and is truly the best defrag software for any drive. I do agree that some defrag software is OK for some types of users. I am not downing the included defrag utility included in Windows 7. I just think that this ability is really great.

I will say that there is no way to schedule it, it doesn't come with a massive array of features but what it's true power is, is the ability to place where you want your data at. This probably doesn't mean **** for SSD drives but this is down right badass for rotational drives.

Think about the physics. The inner tracks are naturally faster than the outer tracks. Being able to place certain data (pagefile, windows drivers, prefetch, etc) where you want and separate archive data from data that you need quick access to is really nice. You have to be really careful because you can waste hours defragging your drive only to find out in the end that you configured it wrongly.

There is a learning curve associated with this software but overall it works well. Does anyone know if they are releasing new versions?

Defrag tool - UltimateDefrag 2008

[bryonhowley]

No, it doesn't. I don't understand why after Vista/7, people assume that Windows is almighty and has perfect performance.

I think you do need third-party software to increase performance to the max. PerfectDisk is a must. Registry cleaners and defraggers are useful too (e.g. CCleaner and jv16). I do notice decreased boot time and better performance after using them.

Hey if you get a good placebo effect from running all that crap on top of Windows go for it. But your first statement is an out and out lie. There is no performance to be gained from installing that ****. I tested my system with a stop watch before and after optimization and you guessed it my boot time went up not down after using that crap so placebo away!

[Draconian Guppy]

Although it does not compare the latest offerings, here's the results of an experiment ran by MaximumPC last year using Vista

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/the_disk_defrag_difference

Surprising enough, the defraggers do a worse job..

+1

Also if you use 3rd party defraggers your superfetch index gets erased IIRC.