Pros
- All in one PC maintenance solution – registry cleaner, tuner, and optimizer
- Simple, easy to use interface
- Actual performance improvement results
- Detailed, easy to understand reporting
- Handy desktop widget included
- Included gadget monitors performance in real time without hogging resources
- One subscription covers all home PCs
Cons
- Not as effective with newer PCs
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Buy now to get 40% off the MSRP through this exclusive Geeky Reviews offer! Just $29.99. |
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The Geek’s Take
Iolo’s System Mechanic is the gold standard when it comes to PC maintenance software – it’s a registry cleaner, performance tuner, optimizer and so much more. We found the software to be easy to install, easy to understand, and surprisingly effective even on our newer, higher end desktop. While System Mechanic may not be necessary for some desktop power users, it’s a must have to extend the life of well worn systems and earns itself our Editors’ Choice in this category. Read our hands on review below.
Full Review
Interface/Features
The first thing that struck us after installing System Mechanic was the cleanness and the simplicity of the user interface. The initial dashboard gives you a quick rundown of the current status of your system and immediately alerts you to issues that could be slowing down your performance and thus require your attention. Down the left hand side, you’ll find a list of scans, tests, and enhancements available to run, all sorted into simple categories.
And it’s really this laundry list of features that really sets System Mechanic apart from the rest. It’s so much more than just a registry cleaner – it’s really a PC optimizer, performing tasks like defraging the hard drive, cleaning out unused files, verifying security software, diagnosing and repairing software related crashes, and so much more. Frankly, the list of tests and repairs that System Mechanic performs are too long to list here. Check out Iolo’s website for a full rundown of what System Mechanic can do for you.
Cleaning Process
The scanning process takes between one and six minutes, depending on the depth of the scan and your specific hardware. Once scanned, System Mechanic gives you a nice itemized list of issues found and suggestions for improvement. Our scan found a few registry errors, a decent amount of fragmentation, and a handful of suspect programs scheduled to start with Windows that was slowing down my boot time.
It’s this detailed report that makes the software really special in our eyes – not only is it extremely insightful, but it explains in simple terms what each error is, what it means, and how it’s impacting your performance. Not sure whether a error should be fixed? System Mechanic breaks it down for you. Take the startup program report below for example:
System Mechanic doesn’t just list the programs that can be removed from your boot list, it describes what each does, lists the impact of each, and even tells you whether other users have chosen to turn them off or keep them on.
Results
After what amounted to about an hour of scanning, cleaning and scrubbing, we ran a free benchmarking software called GeekBench and compared the results against our pre-System Mechanic benchmarks. The result was an impressive 158 point increase, with the most notable improvement being in the area of memory performance. But does this translate into real-world performance improvements? Absolutely. We found our PC to be notably snappier, launching programs faster than before, with smoother multi-tasking.
Conclusion
We really feel like these results speak for themselves. We work on newer, higher end hardware than most people (we’re Geeky Reviews…duh) but even we saw significant performance improvements after less than an hour of using System Mechanic. If your PC has some mileage on it and it’s starting to show, System Mechanic is well worth the price of admission.
Buy System Mechanic now to get 40% off the MSRP through this exclusive Geeky Reviews offer! Just $29.99. |
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