New PC, Musthave software

[SantanaMask]

Hi Guys,

I just upgraded my pc and made a new windows installation.
What are your recommendation for standard software?

I have the following":

- Office
- Chrome/Firefox
- Steam (and all other game launchers)
- Drivers of the mobo, chipset, GPU
- Workrelated stuf (Wireshark, VMWare)
- Discord
- Greenshot

 

[P4-630]

HWiNFO64 / AIDA64 Extreme / RTSS / AfterBurner

 

[Bagerklestyne]

Directory Opus

CCleaner is a nice to have.

 

[DaemonForce]

Keywords here being "NEW PC"

Chipset+GPU+Network drivers
CPU-Z
HWinfo
DiskInfo
WinaeroTweaker
GPU-Z
HDTunePro
FanControl
7-Zip
Media Player Classic
Oculus drivers
PowerShell 7
Windows Admin Center
PCMark
VRMark
Python
Steam
GOG Galaxy
Nexon launcher
Epic launcher
Itch launcher
Game Jolt launcher
Ubisoft Connect
NOX player
DMM Game Player
Fiddler
Figma
Draw.io
OneNote
DejaVu
NitroPDF/Foxit
CDisplay
Anki
Obsidian
Shift
Wakan
SQL Server 2016
SQL Server Management Studio
Visual Studio Community 2017
Unity engine
Unreal engine
VMware Workstation 16 Pro
Blender
OBS Studio
WinDirStat
DriverStore Explorer
LatencyMon
Wireshark

A few to avoid:
TCP Optimizer
Discord
Twitch Studio
Game Ranger
IPFS Desktop
Speedfan
Transmission
Baidu NetDisk
CCleaner
EcMenu

That's about all I've got.

 

[natr0n]

winamp always and forever

 

[Schnipey]

Directory Opus

CCleaner is a nice to have.

I personally dont like CCleaner, but yeah i think DaemonForce got a nice list

 

[mtosev]

VLC multimedia player
HDSentinel

And anyDVD if you need to rip dvds and Blu-rays.

 

[Bagerklestyne]

I personally dont like CCleaner, but yeah i think DaemonForce got a nice list

I only use ccleaner for registry sweeps, and disbling startup apps. Sporadic junk cache hunting, otherwise probably wouldn't bother.

 

[DaemonForce]

I use a portable CCleaner 5.90 to do quick configs on a new Server Core just to make everything tolerable before proper remoting. It is not a good idea to use newer builds of it or install it to any system, hence all the cringe that's giving everyone else the jaggies. There are better ways to deal with this stuff on a full desktop but this route only makes sense when lazy or dealing with the bare minimum.

My inner toolkit looks like this:
Aida64
BootIce
CCleaner
CinebenchR15
CinebenchR20
DeviceTool1.1.0.20
DRAM-Calculator-for-Ryzen-1.6.2
DriverStoreExplorer.v0.11.64
edgecookiesview
FanControl
HDTunePro
Keyboard Programmer V6
LatencyMon
MiniTool
MyDefrag v4.3.1
NetIO-GUI
PENetCfg
PowerSettingsExplorer
ProcMon
Ryzen Timing Checker 1.05
SDI Tool
Super PI
Thaiphoon Burner 16.0
USB Tree View
uTorrent Adder
VHD To Menu
Visual BCD
WinaeroTweaker
WinNTSetup3
WiresharkPortable64
ZenTimings v1.2.5

AS SSD Benchmark
ATTODiskBenchmark
DbgView
Defraggler64
GImageX_x64
h2testw
IOmeter
NetRouteView
NICSPEED
nk2view
OEM_Brander
PasswordFox
RAMMap
Restoration
Speedtest
ThrottleStop
TwitchTest
UnrealToObj
URLStringGrabber
UsbPETool
WinDjView-0.4.1
Xplorer360
xvi-x64

You might notice a few things in there that don't make any sense. That's fine. I need to sort my own junk soon.

 

[dgianstefani]

Tixati
Process Lasso

 

[Shihab]

An operating system plus drivers. That's about the only universally "recommended" and "must have" software.

Install what you use. Full stop.

 

[Sithaer]

An operating system plus drivers. That's about the only universally "recommended" and "must have" software.

Install what you use. Full stop.

Agreed.
I don't have 90% of whats listed in this topic so far and for me its all I need for my use case. 'I also had no issues with CCleaner tho I mainly use it for disabling startup stuff + Discord is a must have for me cause thats where I stay in contact with some old/important friends of mine'

 

[Kelutrel]

Keywords here being "NEW PC"

Chipset+GPU+Network drivers
CPU-Z
HWinfo
DiskInfo
WinaeroTweaker
GPU-Z
HDTunePro
FanControl
7-Zip
Media Player Classic
Oculus drivers
PowerShell 7
Windows Admin Center
PCMark
VRMark
Python
Steam
GOG Galaxy
Nexon launcher
Epic launcher
Itch launcher
Game Jolt launcher
Ubisoft Connect
NOX player
DMM Game Player
Fiddler
Figma
Draw.io
OneNote
DejaVu
NitroPDF/Foxit
CDisplay
Anki
Obsidian
Shift
Wakan
SQL Server 2016
SQL Server Management Studio
Visual Studio Community 2017
Unity engine
Unreal engine
VMware Workstation 16 Pro
Blender
OBS Studio
WinDirStat
DriverStore Explorer
LatencyMon
Wireshark

A few to avoid:
TCP Optimizer
Discord
Twitch Studio
Game Ranger
IPFS Desktop
Speedfan
Transmission
Baidu NetDisk
CCleaner
EcMenu

That's about all I've got.

Why avoid "TCP Optimizer" ? It works and it does what's on the tin ... ?

 

[Frick]

Why avoid "TCP Optimizer" ? It works and it does what's on the tin ... ?

My main question would by why you would need to "optimize" that or what it even means.

 

[authorized]

Lightshot

 

[bug]

I would say Linux. Failing that, Total Commander (and get a license, that think costs next to nothing and gives you so much).

Office doesn't probably need to be on that list, my installed version dates back to 2003 or so. Everything I use Office for can be easily accomplished via Google Docs. Ymmv.

 

[Vayra86]

Keywords here being "NEW PC"

Chipset+GPU+Network drivers
CPU-Z
HWinfo
DiskInfo
WinaeroTweaker
GPU-Z
HDTunePro
FanControl
7-Zip
Media Player Classic
Oculus drivers
PowerShell 7
Windows Admin Center
PCMark
VRMark
Python
Steam
GOG Galaxy
Nexon launcher
Epic launcher
Itch launcher
Game Jolt launcher
Ubisoft Connect
NOX player
DMM Game Player
Fiddler
Figma
Draw.io
OneNote
DejaVu
NitroPDF/Foxit
CDisplay
Anki
Obsidian
Shift
Wakan
SQL Server 2016
SQL Server Management Studio
Visual Studio Community 2017
Unity engine
Unreal engine
VMware Workstation 16 Pro
Blender
OBS Studio
WinDirStat
DriverStore Explorer
LatencyMon
Wireshark

A few to avoid:
TCP Optimizer
Discord
Twitch Studio
Game Ranger
IPFS Desktop
Speedfan
Transmission
Baidu NetDisk
CCleaner
EcMenu

That's about all I've got.

What the actual f... do you even manage to boot before dinner? I've never seen so much bloat

On my PC... I run as little as possible so we're perhaps polar opposites.

Here's a perfect tool to make a little file that you can add to your Windows install USB. Gives you a nice plug-in USB to get the whole package with two clicks.

Ninite - Install or Update Multiple Apps at Once

The easiest, fastest way to update or install software. Ninite downloads and installs programs automatically in the background.

ninite.com

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

Directory Opus

I'm over at Windows 11 Forum and heard that it's going to subscription.

 

[DaemonForce]

My main question would by why you would need to "optimize" that or what it even means.

This guy gets it.

What the actual f... do you even manage to boot before dinner? I've never seen so much bloat

Athlon box takes two minutes to boot. Would be under 90 without the QLogic oprom taking over for the first half minute but antique BIOS + eMachines lockdown means no configuration. I reboot it maybe once a month or three so it doesn't matter.

FX rack takes half a minute to boot over USB-SATA. I haven't actually looked at how it behaves with the weird enterprise hardware I have plugged into it so there might be ways to speed it up. I only power it on when there's some very serious lifting necessary and I don't like running it.

Ryzen box boots M.2 in under half a minute and it crashes every 2 weeks or whenever I run out of storage, whichever happens first.

Here's a perfect tool to make a little file that you can add to your Windows install USB. Gives you a nice plug-in USB to get the whole package with two clicks.

There are two types of USBs I use for what I do. A custom full fat WinPE that does restructuring/service for a new system before and during install....And a USB that is actually home to the install.

My server isn't using a USB for maintenance. It uses it to boot and run Server Core. We are not the same.

 

[Frick]

Anyway not previously mentioned:

paint.net (slighly more powerful than Paint, but not bloated)
PowerToys (specifically for me Mouse Without Borders and Paste unformatted text)
Namexif (renames JPGs to the XIF date, handy for cameras)
Image Resizer (resize pictures on right click)
ResizeEnableRunner (enables resizing of any window)

Discord

I am a bit curious about this btw. Why not?

 

[Dr. Dro]

I'm surprised this was never mentioned but... Ninite. Download most stuff from there. And the Visual C++ redistributables from TPU with w1zz's batch to make it a one click setup.

 

[Onasi]

I am a bit curious about this btw. Why not?

If you need it you need it, I use it to chat with some friends too, but as far as software itself goes Discord is an abomination of an Electron app that manages to somehow run a dozen processes for no reason regardless of what you do, lag incessantly when you use it without Hardware Acceleration and if you do dare to turn it on it somehow manages to use the GPU to “accelerate” itself even when you have minimized it to tray and none of its GUI is running. It’s a mess. Sometimes they improve it with patches, sometimes they break it. The fact that their “change log” is a meme and doesn’t actually tell you what the hell they changed doesn’t help. What also doesn’t help is them bloating the program over the years with tons of pointless cruft.

tl:dr Discord is a primo showpiece of all the things wrong with modern software and development.

 

[Frick]

If you need it you need it, I use it to chat with some friends too, but as far as software itself goes Discord is an abomination of an Electron app that manages to somehow run a dozen processes for no reason regardless of what you do, lag incessantly when you use it without Hardware Acceleration and if you do dare to turn it on it somehow manages to use the GPU to “accelerate” itself even when you have minimized it to tray and none of its GUI is running. It’s a mess. Sometimes they improve it with patches, sometimes they break it. The fact that their “change log” is a meme and doesn’t actually tell you what the hell they changed doesn’t help. What also doesn’t help is them bloating the program over the years with tons of pointless cruft.

tl:dr Discord is a primo showpiece of all the things wrong with modern software and development.

They're with the times at least. My biggest gripe is that for one thing it absolutely sucks at filtering out speakers (meaning that if you use a webcam in say a laptop it's nigh unusable because the mic picks up the speakers) and that bluetooth headsets (still) don't work with it.

I'm surprised this was never mentioned but... Ninite. Download most stuff from there. And the Visual C++ redistributables from TPU with w1zz's batch to make it a one click setup.

I used it for a bit, but it didn't really work right for me, for some reason. I don't recall what the issue was. Having a look at it I still would have to download and install a bunch of stuff, so I have to remember what of my usual things I install with Ninite and then it feels like I might as well install everything manually.

 

[Dr. Dro]

They're with the times at least. My biggest gripe is that for one thing it absolutely sucks at filtering out speakers (meaning that if you use a webcam in say a laptop it's nigh unusable because the mic picks up the speakers) and that bluetooth headsets (still) don't work with it.

I used it for a bit, but it didn't really work right for me, for some reason. I don't recall what the issue was. Having a look at it I still would have to download and install a bunch of stuff, so I have to remember what of my usual things I install with Ninite and then it feels like I might as well install everything manually.

I've never really had any issue with Ninite. 1-click install for everything, I just wish they didn't opt every app into automatic startup, though.

 

[bonehead123]

IMHO, I'd take Chrome off the "must have" list & put it on the "avoid at all cost" list....

With all the shenanigans they've been pulling lately, they have earned the #1 spot on my sh*t list since early last year...and they seem to be getting worse with each passing day