Making Windows 10 fast

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Rob94hawk

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Jul 20, 2002
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First time using Windows 10 on this new laptop. Been on Windows 7 with my old laptop and gaming rig.

Is there a good reliable source for making Windows 10 faster & more efficient?

Thanks

Edit for system specs:

  • - Ryzen 2500U 2 GHz Processor
  • - 8 GB of Ram in single channel
  • - 15.6" Display with 1920 x 1080 Resolution
  • - Radeon RX 560X
  • - Windows 10 Home x64 (Version 1903)
  • - 1 TB HDD
The new laptop:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Acer-Nitro...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
 
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Shameless Plug
Install Project Mercury. it can do wonder for your performance under heavy load or for games with just 2-4 CPU heavy threads for your cpu
 
Rob94hawk said:
First time using Windows 10 on this new laptop. Been on Windows 7 with my old laptop and gaming rig.

Is there a good reliable source for making Windows 10 faster & more efficient?

Thanks
Click to expand...


No, there isn't, Windows 10 isn't Windows XP. The kernel has come a long way, along with how Win10 uses and manages memory. I can run win10 on an ancient computer with 1gb of memory and it runs "fast and efficient".
 
Rob94hawk said:
First time using Windows 10 on this new laptop. Been on Windows 7 with my old laptop and gaming rig.

Is there a good reliable source for making Windows 10 faster & more efficient?

Thanks
Click to expand...
"tech yes city" on youtube has tweak guides that are pretty good and easy to follow.
 
I suggest reading these as a good start.

The general idea is disabling, uninstalling / changing unwanted features that consume resource.
You haven't stated which version of Windows 10 you're using, so you should check that first (https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Windows_10_version_history)
In addition I also do a few other things - although the only one really relevant to your question is going through local group policy and there's a lot of stuff I change in there. If you're using a home version of Windows 10, then you're going to find that more difficult. I have very limited experience of the home version and haven't tried modifying and using group policy on it, so you may or may not have luck with it, but there's quite a few articles around on doing it (eg: https://www.itechtics.com/enable-gpedit-windows-10-home/)

Win 10 Privacy / optimisation guides (note the version numbers)
https://fdossena.com/?p=w10debotnet/index_1703.frag
https://fdossena.com/?p=w10debotnet/index_1809.frag
https://fdossena.com/?p=w10debotnet/index_1903.frag

Win 10 service configuration guide:
http://www.blackviper.com/service-configurations/black-vipers-windows-10-service-configurations/

SysInternals AutoRuns:
The whole SysInternals suite can be very useful at times and it's free, but AutoRuns is probably the main one to mention to you. You can disable / edit / remove programs, services and scripts etc that automatically start when Windows fires up.
A useful feature is you can save a configuration (eg: before you make any changes), open an old one, and also compare the current config to a saved file.
When you're using it initially I suggest using the check mark (or tick) on the left hand side of the main window to disable entries, rather than deleting things right away. That way you can roll back your changes easily, until you get to the point that you're happy with things.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sysinternals-suite


...obviously if you're going to mess around with OS settings - you should understand what you're doing, before you do it.
If you don't understand something - research it until you do.
I suggest you backup your OS prior to doing serious tweaking and I'm providing the information "as is", for your use, entirely at your own risk.
 
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What aspects of the OS do you find slow? I'm currently on a circa 2012 Lenovo ThinkPad T520, with an i7-2760QM, 8GB DDR3, and an old SSD (Crucial M4). With this config, Win10 boots in a few seconds. Login is fast, apps open quickly.

I do always generically recommend a clean install.
 
O&O Shutup10 + CCleaner

Shutup10 will shut down all the backend crap running, while you can use CCleaner to uninstall all the stuff that MS won't let you.

Edit: Would also run DeviceCleanup to remove any hidden/unused drivers as well as disable Hibernate "powercfg /hibernate off"
 
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pendragon1 said:
"tech yes city" on youtube has tweak guides that are pretty good and easy to follow.
Click to expand...

I love Tech Yes City, but his guide doesn't really do anything for performance. It's more of a video to customize the UI a little and disable some background things that don't really impact performance.
 
muz_j said:
I suggest reading these as a good start.

The general idea is disabling, uninstalling / changing unwanted features that consume resource.
You haven't stated which version of Windows 10 you're using, so you should check that first (https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Windows_10_version_history)
In addition I also do a few other things - although the only one really relevant to your question is going through local group policy and there's a lot of stuff I change in there. If you're using a home version of Windows 10, then you're going to find that more difficult. I have very limited experience of the home version and haven't tried modifying and using group policy on it, so you may or may not have luck with it, but there's quite a few articles around on doing it (eg: https://www.itechtics.com/enable-gpedit-windows-10-home/)

Win 10 Privacy / optimisation guides (note the version numbers)
https://fdossena.com/?p=w10debotnet/index_1703.frag
https://fdossena.com/?p=w10debotnet/index_1809.frag
https://fdossena.com/?p=w10debotnet/index_1903.frag

Win 10 service configuration guide:
http://www.blackviper.com/service-configurations/black-vipers-windows-10-service-configurations/

SysInternals AutoRuns:
The whole SysInternals suite can be very useful at times and it's free, but AutoRuns is probably the main one to mention to you. You can disable / edit / remove programs, services and scripts etc that automatically start when Windows fires up.
A useful feature is you can save a configuration (eg: before you make any changes), open an old one, and also compare the current config to a saved file.
When you're using it initially I suggest using the check mark (or tick) on the left hand side of the main window to disable entries, rather than deleting things right away. That way you can roll back your changes easily, until you get to the point that you're happy with things.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sysinternals-suite


...obviously if you're going to mess around with OS settings - you should understand what you're doing, before you do it.
If you don't understand something - research it until you do.
I suggest you backup your OS prior to doing serious tweaking and I'm providing the information "as is", for your use, entirely at your own risk.
Click to expand...

Version 1903. System specs updated in OP.
 
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SuperSubZero said:
What aspects of the OS do you find slow? I'm currently on a circa 2012 Lenovo ThinkPad T520, with an i7-2760QM, 8GB DDR3, and an old SSD (Crucial M4). With this config, Win10 boots in a few seconds. Login is fast, apps open quickly.

I do always generically recommend a clean install.
Click to expand...

Well I think that's my problem, I'm booting off a 7200 rpm HDD.

And, it's brand new. I just fully updated Windows 10. Deleted Norton.

System specs updated above.
 
thebufenator said:
Win 10 really just needs an SSD. Win 10 on SSD will feel faster than Win 7 on SSD.
Click to expand...

This. The proper way to tweak windows 10 is to install it and leave it alone. Turn off telemetry if it really bothers you. People need to get past of the xp days of mucking around in services.msc and friends.

But it really is crime that any computer ever has windows 10 on a platter disk. Replace that thing with a $50 ssd and it will do more for performance than any amount of tweaking.
 
Agreed with above, too much random advice in this thread. He's on a hard drive. Upgrade to a SSD and be done with it. Windows 10 default install on any standard machine will boot up incredibly fast with a SSD even if fast boot is enabled or not.
 
All my user machines at work are running off boot Sata3 SSD, or NVMe drives for latest machines. OS feels fully out of the way at that point. Boot off SSD or better NVMe and just let W10 do what it does.
 
I honestly didn't notice a difference between a top-end SATA III SSD and the 970 pro I bought for my latest builds OS drive. The NVME is faster for certain functions, but for OS stuff I really didn't notice anything.
 
SATA vs NVMe really shouldn't make much difference in real world use. The real advantage of the SSD is latency not bandwidth. I've got an SSD in an older SATA 2.0 box. Still blazing fast compared to a platter disk.
 
Mchart said:
I honestly didn't notice a difference between a top-end SATA III SSD and the 970 pro I bought for my latest builds OS drive. The NVME is faster for certain functions, but for OS stuff I really didn't notice anything.
Click to expand...
the wafflator said:
SATA vs NVMe really shouldn't make much difference in real world use. The real advantage of the SSD is latency not bandwidth. I've got an SSD in an older SATA 2.0 box. Still blazing fast compared to a platter disk.
Click to expand...

Its noticeable from SataSSD to NVMe. Latency goes down launching applications etc.

Either way, SSD of some sort makes W10 sing.
 
Yes, nvme generally use twice the power in every condition, and really almost three times at burst. It's because they have to feed more power for the faster rates. SATA III SSD's are ultimately limited by the interface. This is why for a portable laptop build it might be wiser to get a SATA III M.2 versus a NVME M.2.
 
Mchart said:
Yes, nvme generally use twice the power in every condition, and really almost three times at burst. It's because they have to feed more power for the faster rates. SATA III SSD's are ultimately limited by the interface. This is why for a portable laptop build it might be wiser to get a SATA III M.2 versus a NVME M.2.
Click to expand...

More so than a HDD?
 
They are about equal under average use, nvme better at idle, nvme a little worse at burst. Ultimately the HDD uses more on average though just to keep spinning in idle states so the nvme is going to be better on average.

SATA III solid state is the best for power usage regardless of condition across the board.
 
Rob94hawk said:
Good to know. Any recommendations on an excellent 1 TB M.2. SSD?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure there is much difference at this point or it matters much. Choose whatever brand you trust the most, and look at the spec sheets for the lowest power consumption. The WD Blue SATA 3 M.2's are primarily marketed towards their low power draw, and still basically max the interface out at this point.
 
AltTabbins said:
I love Tech Yes City, but his guide doesn't really do anything for performance. It's more of a video to customize the UI a little and disable some background things that don't really impact performance.
Click to expand...
I haven't watch his 1903 guide yet but I thought the previous ones were good.
 
Mchart said:
Agreed with above, too much random advice in this thread. He's on a hard drive. Upgrade to a SSD and be done with it. Windows 10 default install on any standard machine will boot up incredibly fast with a SSD even if fast boot is enabled or not.
Click to expand...

Also make sure, if possible, to install another stick of equivalent ram so it is running in dual channel.
 
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