Tweaking and performance boosting tools for Windows are not exactly difficult to come by, and there are countless free tools available. With the proliferation of free software, you may be wondering why you would want to spend money on a program that claims to improve the performance of your computer. Take Ashampoo WinOptimizer 9 for a test run and we think you’ll find that it is worth parting with your cash for – it will even provide you with proof that it is doing its job.

Performance enhancing software often makes all sorts of claims about what it can achieve, but Ashampoo WinOptimizer puts its money where its mouth is and provides you with benchmarking options so you can test performance before and after and see what difference it has made. You can get as hands-on as your feel comfortable with, or you can take advantage of the various one-click optimization options that have been designed to automate many common tasks. If you’ve tried system boosting software in the past and have wondered if any speed benefits you notice are for real or just the result of the placebo effect, the benchmarks available here should speak for themselves

What’s new?

The introduction of a HDD Inspector analyzes the S.M.A.R.T. values of your hard drive and will identity and warn of potential failure, whilst a new cleaning tool will remove redundant entries and generally keep your Registry in check. Improvements to the user-interface, including four new visual themes enable you to choose from a blue, white and two different black themes.

Apply tweaks to your computer and test their effectiveness with Ashampoo WinOptimizer 9

The sheer number of modules that make up the suite is impressive and not all of them are focused on performance and benchmarking. You’ll also find tools that can be used to free up hard drive space, tweak the appearance of functionality of Windows as well as enabling you to perform various file operation such as splitting, joining, undeleting and securely erasing. There are also a number of nice little touches such as an easy to use context menu editor, a tool for saving the position of desktop icons and an AntiSpy module for preventing Windows from ‘phoning home’.

There are a couple of things to note about the installation of the program. Firstly, it is important to be aware that the installer includes the Ask toolbar, so ensure that you select the custom installation option if you would prefer that this was not added to your web browser. The second thing to be aware of is that the software will initially install as a ten day trial, but this can be extended to 30 days by registering for a free trial code from within the program.

You can find out more and download a free copy of the app by paying a visit to the Ashampoo WinOptimizer 9 review page.