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Built-in administrative tools let you configure and even customize how Windows works. You can change everything from start-up to display and folder options, but the controls aren't all in one place. They generally require a bit of knowledge and experience to get the most out of them without making things worse, all the more so when the Windows Registry is involved. GIGATweaker from 7room C0DE is a powerful tool for optimizing Windows that not only collects Windows' built-in functions in one console-style interface, but also offers clear explanations of what each change does as well as its implications for the rest of your system.
When you install the program, you're prompted to create a system restore point since GIGATweaker changes the Registry, and we highly recommend following this advice. GIGATweaker's interface combines a side navigation panel accessing Administrative, Display, and Customization features with a tabbed main display specific for each entry; for instance, clicking Security in the Administrative menu calls up tabs accessing the User Account Controls, Action Center, and Windows Update. The Customization features have the most potential for drastic changes, with system optimization and memory management controls that can increase system stability, restart the desktop and taskbar automatically after crashes, and other tweaks; again, GIGATweaker does an excellent job of clearly explaining each. The Forced Blue Screen feature on the Advanced tab in Customization/Optimization is an interesting alternative to the reset button. It calls a "blue screen of death" when you press Ctrl-Scroll Lock twice. Perhaps the best thing about GIGATweaker is the way it centralizes options so you can make only those that actually help and avoid unnecessary and even harmful changes.
Tweaking Windows can jazz up your system or crash it, depending on the changes you make, and it's good to know not only how each change affects a particular function but also its potential effects on the rest of your system. Though GIGATweaker is hardly an entry-level administrative tool, it does a fine job of explaining what it does, and how, and why.
Publisher's Description
From 7room:
GIGATweaker is a free powerful and compact tool that allows you to optimize and tweak your Windows 7. It works with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and can be used as a portable application. GIGATweaker is one of the best and fastest programs that combine the highest comfort, compactness and power. GIGATweaker is completely portable and lightweight tool with built-in Startup Manager and UnInstall Manager. All changes made by GIGATweaker in the system are transparent through informative console.
What's new in this version: Version 3.1.3 build 460 adds new languages and fixes error on closing.
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All versions:
3.8 starsout of 8 votes
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Current version:
3.5 starsout of 4 votes
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My rating:
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Results 1-4 of 4
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"Great program, but could use more documentation."
Version: GIGATweaker 3.1.3 build 460
Pros
Clean interface, lots of great tweaks and options, stable, easy to use, and free. Also, it prompts you to create a system restore point before you make any changes, and this can be very useful.
Cons
Limited amount of documentation and help for new users (both new to the program and new to system tweaking in general), and no search feature.
Summary
I used to use X-Setup Pro and/or TweakUI on my Windows XP systems, but I was never completely satisfied with them. Although they did what I wanted, they were somewhat complex to navigate and understand, and X-Setup Pro was not free. So when I was setting up my girlfriend's new laptop, I went looking for an alternative, and found GIGATweaker.
The interface is clean, and easy to navigate. Most options are well organized into intuitively named categories and sections. And there is a large number of powerful and useful tweaks included.
X-Setup Pro has more options, but most of the extra options you get with X-Setup are not going to be important to 99% of users. Since GIGATweaker is free, and X-Setup is not, I think that that GIGATweaker is the better choice, I mean why spend $20 for a few extra options that you probably would never use anyway.
I also love the fact that the program prompts you to create a system restore point (and gives you the option to create the restore point or to continue without creating one). This allows users to easily undo changes they've made without having to remember everything that they've done. You can also enable the program to make a log of the various changes it makes so that you can look back at what you've done (in case a system restore seems unnecessarily drastic).
There are a couple of things that I wish the program had, which it does not.
First, I wish it had a search feature to find specific settings. This is one aspect of X-Setup that I always loved, because it enables the user to quickly and easily find specific tweaks if they know what they're looking for but aren't sure where to find it.
Second, I wish GIGATweaker had more help and documentation to describe the various tweaks, what they do, and potential benefits and/or problems that could arise from enabling or disabling the various options (this would be helpful to people who are new to tweaking, and/or new to GIGATweaker).
And last, I would like to see options for redirecting system folders to other locations, such as moving "Documents" from C:\Users\<username>\Documents to some other location, such as another drive partition or an external drive partition, for example. This can be achieved with other methods, but it would be nice to have it packaged into GIGATweaker to make it easier and have it all in one place. -
"I used it and now my shut down is 5 minutes long."
Version: GIGATweaker 3.1.3 build 460
Pros
Nothing I found
Cons
Something I did makes my computer shutdown very slowly.
Summary
Nothing in this program made anything really faster, just when something says it will make it faster, it really made it really slow. Don't bother.
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"One Stop Shopping"
Version: GIGATweaker 3.1.3 build 460
Pros
Does it all with simple steps
Cons
None so far
Summary
get it, set it, and speed up ur pc
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"Great program"
Version: GIGATweaker 3.1.3 build 460
Pros
Its free,So many features, so reliable.
Cons
nothing bad about this
Summary
bottom line this program is for anyone who needs more out of their computer
