Lightweight Software (AV, Music, Browser ect.)

D

devotech

n00b
Joined
Dec 17, 2007
Messages
10
Hello Folks,

I am looking for a bit of advice on some lightweight software with regards to system performance. Currently I use Windows XP Pro, AVG free for anti-virus, Winamp for music, IE7 for browser.

Anti-virus

I used to be all about AVG but I find now its just out stayed its welcome on my PC. I have been looking into alternatives and have heard some good things about NOD32, however, it seems it is now bundled with a security suite. Is there anyway to get the standalone antivirus? I used to use F-prot back in the day as well I found that to be very light but haven't had much luck finding it again.

Music

I have used Winamp for a long time as well, but, I find it a bit lazy when you pump a large playlist into it. I use regular Winamp, perhaps if I switched to lite I may have better luck. The shuffle feature also appears to be lacking.

Browser

I use IE7, no add ons or anything. I find the browser to be slow and among the security flaws I am looking for something more efficient. I have read alot about firefox which I used to use, however, I also read that you can make it pretty quick with add-ons, which I don't know alot about. I have also heard abit about IE7pro, which again is news to me.

If anyone can offer any advice on any of these product genres ti would be very much appreciated.
 
Antivirus I will leave to someone else as I dont know right off hand (i use enterprise stuff mostly).

Music - I would recommend WMP11. I have found it works really well with large libraries and is very quick to start up, search, browse through music, etc. A lot of other music programs might seem faster at first, but will slow down a lot more with large libraries

Browser - In what way is IE7 slow? It is actually one of the fastest browsers out there for starting up and surfing with. You can get firefox to be IE7's speed with addons, but still IE7 is great out of the box. Maybe something is slowing your IE7 down?
 
Well I always have a dozen or so windows/tabs gonig at once. Maybe its just not designed to be as speedy when you have that much going at once.

For NOD32, can you get it without the firewall ect.?
 
As for lightweight music players...pick one. Winamp Lite, VUPlayer, XMplay (probably the smallest one of the group by close to an order of magnitude), the ever-popular foobar2000...
 
If you are worried about things being lightweight, why add extra software when you have several good alternatives already there? IE7 is a very good browser, and doesn't "slow down" when you have several tabs open unless you have a slow internet connection or a slow computer.

As for AV, NOD32 is available as a standalone, but it probably isn't going to be any more or less "light" than most of the other good products.
 
For a lightweight browser I advise Opera 100%. It is extremely fast, doesn't slow down (at least not for me), starts faster than firefox, and is pretty good on memory.

For AV, nod32 no questions asked. None compare.

For a music player I'd recommend foobar if you can figure it out (lots of resources), if not, MediaMonkey is what I use. It works great.
 
I hear NOD32 is the best AV you can get... but it also has a monthly cost for updates. If you can't or don't want to pay the fee, I still recommend Free AVG.

I've tried Firefox and personally I'm not a fan of it. I've been using Opera for quite some time and I still recommend it.

As for a music player, I'm still using WinAmp. Perhaps I just don't have enough music, but I haven't noticed slowdowns or problems with it.
 
AV. I have recently been trying out Avir and it is a small footprint that is free. The only thing so far there is a daily pop asking you to buy the professional version but you can just click no and it goes away until the next day.
 
Gambit said:
I hear NOD32 is the best AV you can get... but it also has a monthly cost for updates. If you can't or don't want to pay the fee, I still recommend Free AVG.

I've tried Firefox and personally I'm not a fan of it. I've been using Opera for quite some time and I still recommend it.

As for a music player, I'm still using WinAmp. Perhaps I just don't have enough music, but I haven't noticed slowdowns or problems with it.
Click to expand...

NOD32 is on a yearly subscription plan, not monthly. It's worth every freakin' cent, period. Consider using a free antivirus application that might not save you from some form of infection and the costs associated with that; compare those costs to the $40 or so annually for the protection that NOD32 continues to provide and most people come to the conclusion that it's worth it - every cent.
 
Lightweights:

AV: NOD32 no doubt
Anti-spyware: Windows Defender + Spybot S&D
Music: Winamp or Fubar2000. Once you configure fubar to your liking, I don't think you'll ever go back.
Browser: IE7 feels faster to me, but I still use Firefox because of the plugins I use.
 
NOD32 AV
Opera Browser
iTunes 6.0x (last one before 7.x, only uses 3~4% max CPU and 40 mb ram) OR foobar2000 (GREAT music player once you set it all up with all the goods :D )
 
NOD32 v2.7 (new v3.0 seems bloated)
Firefox 3 beta2 (Opera if I didnt need extensions)
Foobar
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top