Software compendium

Resource efficient software

It took me some time to assemble my software package to its current state, and a lot of trial and error was involved.

Ever since I started to use the Windows family of products I always experienced system slowdowns after a certain period of time. As I was using all these different operating systems, and especially when I switched to a new OS version on my last-gen hardware, the sluggish performance became more and more apparent.

At first I used to restore clean install images of my OS to get my HW to work at peak levels. But I noticed that after I installed some of my daily used software (AV, firewall, adobe reader) the boot times increased, the HDD was thrashing and the system was generally slow. At that point I started looking for more efficient software with a low-memory footprint and overall low HW resource usage. There were a lot of alternatives, so I narrowed down the field and isolated the Free ones. "They" are the heroes of this thread.​

I use most of the apps listed here currently, or did so in the past. They've been tested to work with Vista and XP.

I. Mozilla Firefox

Firefox is a top-notch internet browser.I think most of you already know about this one. Definitely the way to go, if you aren't satisfied with IE. On a side note, I've been using Firefox ever since the first version was released and never had a single virus or spyware problem. Btw. Firefox sometimes uses a tad more resources than I'd like, but they're working on it.

II. Anti-Virus

AVG Free Edition This AV offers great performance without hogging a lot of resources, automatic updates, it's easy to use and I never had a single virus after I stared using it a while ago.

III. Anti-Spyware

This a widely discussed topic, and it's difficult to find a good app here. As I always try to rather prevent any infection I like to use Spyware Blaster as it makes sure that your browser doesn't even open the pages that contain spyware in the first place. It's free and updated frequently and doesn't use any resources at all.

Another option is Spybot Search & Destroy, which I discontinued using because after several tests I didn't detect any increase in security while using it. It's a bit cumbersome and the update process is not really automated. But it's a great tool if you insist on using IE for your browsing needs.

One additional note here: AVG also offers a free version of their Anti-Spyware app, but since I never experienced any spyware problems while using the Spyware Blaster + Firefox combo, I felt no need to install and use it.

IV. MP3/Stream player

Foobar2000 takes a little time to get used to, and the absence of a nice GUI might be deterrent at first, but compared to winamp it barely uses any system resources and offers most of it's functions. I highly recommend this app.

V.Image Viewers
There are several contenders in this filed, all having their pros and cons.

The fastest is IrfanView, but missing one of those nice browse features with thumbnails. But it's damn fast.

XnView is my second choice, as it offers some additional features and still remains very resource effective.

VI. Video Player

This next piece of software makes your life really easier, because it eliminates the need to download and install codec packs. The VLC Media Player is a great cross platform video player.

Before using it, I used to have k-lite codec pack and Media Player classic installed. This combo used only a little bit less resources than VLC, but proved to be a hassle a few times. But you might want to give it a shot. MPClassic, K-Lite Codec pack

VII. Archiver

The only piece you'll ever need: fast, reliable and easy to use. 7-Zip.

VIII. PDF reader

Foxit Reader. This little app removes the hassle of installing that Adobe reader, which takes forever to load and needs 100MB+ of HDD space.

IX: Torrent

uTorrent is by far my favorite torrent app. Very nice GUI and continuous development.

X: Download Manager

Free Download Manager. I think the name says it all. Very clean interface and even compatible with the very popular rapidshare etc. sites.

XI: Firewall

Now a lot of you already know a couple of firewall apps, some of them even free, but in my research I was looking for efficient and yet powerful apps. This when I came across Ashampoo's Firewall, a simple yet very effective tool. Easy to use, very clean UI and very low resource usage coupled with very good protection.

XII: Privacy/Maintenance

One of the all time favorites Crap Cleaner. Takes care of unused files, as an added benefit it also cleans your browsing history for added privacy. Oh and it's fast and small.

XII: Notebook Hardware Control

My life-saver here, it allows for advanced configuration of your notebook's settings. Get NHC here.


to be continued.....as soon as I find more time (I have many more to list here)
PS: if you know or use some nice (preferably freeware) app that you want to share, just include it here, I'll take a look at it and post it in the list.

EDIT: a small note for moderators, Yes I am aware of the thread in the forum sticky, but it's too big for anyone to look through and the "front page" wasn't really updated/consolidated for quite some time, so I decided to create a new one, with some personally tested software, that uses very little system resources.

EDIT: added some more for your viewing pleasure

 

Excellent list. I use all of the programs listed, with the exception of Spyware Blaster. I may give it a try if Spybot fails me.

 

danny, you should get it before Spybot fails you. Spyware Blaster is less intrusive than Spybot and IMO, does a better job of preventing malware from ever making its way into your machine. Doesn't get rid of anything already on your drive, so works well with other freebies like Spybot and Adaware.

 

Alright, I'm sold Thanks

 

updated, yet again

 

Anti-Virus ..... I use Avast.

Image Viewer .... I use FastStone Image Viewer as the default.

Video Player .... Have all the Major/well known players installed, and use Winamp as the default for most audio & video files.

Anti-Spyware .... I also use Ad-aware along with spybot, but lately I haven't paid to much attention to them on Vista.

Torrent .... I use Azereus 2.5, I don't like 3.0 version.

Firewall.... Use the default windows version.

Archiver.... Use Winrar.

 

Cyan i suggest you change the font to something bigger, and more readable, but otherwise great list. Anyway for me:

Antivirus: Antivir is my fav
Video player: VLC FTW!!
Anti-spyware: Ad-aware 2007, and Spybot, along with a-squared free
Torrent: Utorrent
Firewall: For now i also use the default but when the pro version of comodo firewall gets out in 3.0 it'll be vista safe.
Archiver: Winrar
ETC. CCleaner, Firefox, AVG, Avast, and for image editor i say Paint.net is the best.

 

Huh, I never considered looking for a freeware PDF viewer; I've been using Reader 5.0 as a lighter alternative to the crappy newer versions. Good find.

 

can you make the font a little bigger, and more readable plz?

 

font changed, a couple apps added. Next update in about two weeks, as I'm reviewing some more software and getting ready for my trip to Vegas.