Top 5 "Utilities" for a new system build?

Mavrick007

Diamond Member
Dec 19, 2001
3,198
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What software utilities do you generally use or install on a new system build?
Which do you like the best and why? They can be freeware or purchased software.

I'm trying to find some of the best utilities to add to my machine without trying out a bazillion different ones of the same type.
 

teknodude

Member
Apr 11, 2002
186
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0
Ho hum...

SiSoft Sandra - brilliant for checking all the specs of your new system and for later checking sysem info. An indispensible tool with a simple interface.
Price: FREE

Prime95 - good for testing stability of your new system. On the last new system build it ran for 25.5 hrs with no crashes (on Win98 :Q). Good stress testing.
Price: FREE

PCMark2002 - the free version is good and helps you to check your computer up against those of similar specs. Good for picking out what needs tweaking.
Price: FREE

EasyCleaner - an absolutely brilliant tool! Cleans the registry, start menu, and more!!! You may get the impression I like control...I wish I'd started with Linux
rolleye.gif

Price: FREE

EasyRecovery Pro Edition - an amazing disc recovery program. Saved my ass the other day, and I recently gave it to 2 ATers who recovered about 120GB between them!
Price: FREE

teknodude
 

Doh!

Platinum Member
Jan 21, 2000
2,325
0
76
RegCleaner - This is a must to keep your registry clean & healthy.

Ad-Aware - Another a must to help you weed out the "intrusive" programs & protect your privacy.

Motherboard Monitor - A utility to gather cpu/case temp. voltages & etc. that all are closely related to the stability of your machine.

A firewall program - Any of the followings: ZoneAlarm, Tiny's, Sygate, Kerio's....

A popup killer program - There are many out there. I use the popup killer but you really have to try various programs to find the one that suits your browsing behavior.

*extra* - You will eventually need to install QuickTime (if you ever want to see pictures of hotel rooms or products in a 360-degree view).
 

mrmoray

Member
May 23, 2002
25
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don't forget winzip and Adobe Acrobat.....may not be considered utilities, but still 2 must haves.....
 

Mavrick007

Diamond Member
Dec 19, 2001
3,198
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I knew about some of these utils, but I was hoping that I'd find some other good ones that people confirm, and I'm sure it's useful to some other people here too.

I used to have a whole bunch of utils on an old machine but most are probably outdated and not of much use anymore.
 

NeoMadHatter

Platinum Member
Nov 29, 2000
2,355
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johntwang.com
Originally posted by: teknodude
Ho hum...

EasyRecovery Pro Edition - an amazing disc recovery program. Saved my ass the other day, and I recently gave it to 2 ATers who recovered about 120GB between them!
Price: FREE

teknodude

can i get a link to this?
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
13
81
AVG is a must have if you don`t have any anti-virus software,it`s free as well from here ,I also use and preferOntrack SystemSuite V4 over Norton`s SystemWorks 2002,yes you have to pay for it but you get a lot for your money and it has great stability as well,another good program is GetRight which is my favourite download manager accelerator program.
 

vash

Platinum Member
Feb 13, 2001
2,510
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My favorites include:

WinZip
UltraEdit32
4NT
NVRT

Also, I change the way my explorer looks. I move the size tab to the left of the filenames. The size of files are justified to the right, so when you look at a folder, the names are jusitifed to the left and size is set to the right, wasting space. By putting size to the left of the files, they will be "back to back" with the file names, wasting less space on the explorer window and making things easier to read. Just a quick tip.

vash