Rating: 
Summary: Sharp! Very Sharp!
Review: I am about halfway through Optimizing Windows and I haven't yet been left hanging with an unanswered question or something that is too dense to really grasp. It meets all of my criteria. It's hard to get excited over non-fiction works, except poetry - and that is an arbitrary classification. Yet I often find myself mentally exclaiming Yeah! Right on, Man! Tell it like it IS! as I read through Optimizing Windows. IMO, the author can be proud of it. Good job. Very useful for anyone that wants a better Windows than Microsoft provides. Farquhar's tips, tricks, and solutions really work.
Rating:
Summary: Just What I've Been Looking For
Review: I am about halfway through Optimizing Windows and I haven't yet been left hanging with an unanswered question or something that is too dense to really grasp. It meets all of my criteria. It's hard to get excited over non-fiction works, except poetry - and that is an arbitrary classification. Yet I often find myself mentally exclaiming Yeah! Right on, Man! Tell it like it IS! as I read through Optimizing Windows. IMO, the author can be proud of it. Good job. Very useful for anyone that wants a better Windows than Microsoft provides. Farquhar's tips, tricks, and solutions really work.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible, but be ready to work for it.
Review: I am an experienced windows user, and I bought this book because I figured it was cheaper than upgrading my PC. I run a K6 266 overclocked to 300, 160 megs of ram, 7200 RPM 27 Gig HD. Once I implemented ALL of the tricks in this book (This is no easy task... it takes a lot of time, and is very high maintenance), my system out performed my ex-girlfriend's Pentium III 850 with 128 megs of ram for applications (not for games, though it still does those well). I don't mind making the effort, but some people might. If you have lots of time, and you love customizing your PC, you can't go wrong. Litestep, registry hacks, DOS utils, 5 partitions on a HD... if you like this kind of stuff, get the book! If you don't know what any of these things are, you may be better off upgrading you PC.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible, but be ready to work for it.
Review: I am an experienced windows user, and I bought this book because I figured it was cheaper than upgrading my PC. I run a K6 266 overclocked to 300, 160 megs of ram, 7200 RPM 27 Gig HD. Once I implemented ALL of the tricks in this book (This is no easy task... it takes a lot of time, and is very high maintenance), my system out performed my ex-girlfriend's Pentium III 850 with 128 megs of ram for applications (not for games, though it still does those well). I don't mind making the effort, but some people might. If you have lots of time, and you love customizing your PC, you can't go wrong. Litestep, registry hacks, DOS utils, 5 partitions on a HD... if you like this kind of stuff, get the book! If you don't know what any of these things are, you may be better off upgrading you PC.
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book, well worth it!
Review: I first bought this book a year ago, and have used what I learned to optimize computers that I would have normaly considered obsolete. It's allowed me to put off having to upgrade untill the new memory standard (DDR) comes out in march, saving me lots of $. I also bought copies for friends this year (2000) for X-mas. Some may say it needs updating, but the authors web site has all the info you would need updated. Many thanks for the Book Dave! .............Curtis
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book, well worth it!
Review: I first bought this book a year ago, and have used what I learned to optimize computers that I would have normaly considered obsolete. It's allowed me to put off having to upgrade untill the new memory standard (DDR) comes out in march, saving me lots of $. I also bought copies for friends this year (2000) for X-mas. Some may say it needs updating, but the authors web site has all the info you would need updated. Many thanks for the Book Dave! .............Curtis
Rating: 
Summary: If you like having a slow computer, ignore this book.
Review: I hate slow, bloated computers that feel like someone poured oatmeal in them when I wasn't looking. It's called planned obsolescence. I want you to know you don't have to put up with it. You may get the impression from the hardware sites and the gaming mags that to have a fast computer you have to buy a Pentium-733 and overclock it. Great, you go buy a $2,500 computer and run the risk of burning it out in a year. What's up with that? I'll let you in on a little secret: I wrote this book with a Cyrix 233. Really! You think it's a slow computer? No one believes me when I tell 'em it's a 233. But I upgraded recently. Now I have a Celeron-400. It's a barn burner, and it puts a lot of Pentium IIIs I've seen to shame. (It's not just a great gaming machine either; it's also a great productivity box. Who'd have thought the things that make Railroad Tycoon II run like a champ also make MS Word run a lot better?) The problem is multi-faceted. A lot of the glitzy things that give your computer "personality" slow things down. Microsoft didn't follow their own recommendations when putting together the file structure of Windows 95 and 98. Disks fragment way too easily. Some video modes are faster than others. Those utilities suites you buy to make your computer go faster really do work miracles if you set them up right--but their default settings could do the opposite. But how are you supposed to know all of this unless someone tells you? I want you to know that your Pentium-233 isn't obsolete. Oh, you have a Pentium-133? That's not obsolete either. (Trust me!) Think that 400+ MHz Celeron or K6 you just bought is just an entry level computer? Wrong! Oh, you bought an AMD Athlon 800? How about if I told you it could be even faster? If you're building or buying a new computer, there's something that Intel and AMD don't want you to know, but I'll say it (and I'll say it loud, because I DO want you to know it): The CPU isn't the biggest bottleneck in your computer! What is? The hard drive and the memory! Did you know that if you put 128 MB of RAM along with the fastest hard drive on the market in a computer with the slowest CPU on the market, you'll outrun many mid-range and even some high-end PCs? But if you really want to spend $2,000 on a PC, get a slow CPU with a fast hard drive and 384 or 512 MB of RAM. You say Windows doesn't know what to do with that kind of memory? I figured out how to teach it. The result: MS Word loads in less time than it takes to release your mouse button. Really! I sincerely thank you for your interest in _Optimizing Windows for Games, Graphics and Multimedia_, and I hope it helps you break the cycle of two-year obsolesence. And here's a hot tip: Nuts & Bolts 98. It's not the best utilities suite out there, but the price is right. Its default settings can cause all kinds of problems, but if you just install the disk defragmenting utility and run it with the settings I tell you, your PC will absolutely scream. And in some ways, theirs is the best defrag utility--especially for Windows 95. Think about ordering it along with the book.
Rating:
Summary: a book that gives you more than performance
Review: I use computer frequently, but I am not that of an advanced user. This book really brings me into a higher level of understanding about how Windows works. The author goes into lots of detail about what happens while Windows is running (e.g. during boot up). Yet, the text is very easy to be understood. This book also gives me a new way to look at computing. A faster CPU doesn't always give you a faster computer. If you think your computer is too slow, THERE ARE things you can do to make it runs faster. When performance matters, you have to give up things that you are used to, but not usful. (I can't complain that my computer is too slow when I am using a fansy theme that costs too much memory.) Also, this book does not simply tell you what to do. The author's explaination enables me to make decisions on my own. This is not a book that simply tell you how to improve your computer's performance. If you have some experiences in using Windows and want to know more about the operating system, this is a nice size book that can get you started. What's more? My machine is faster now. :)
Rating:
Summary: a book that gives you more than performance
Review: I use computer frequently, but I am not that of an advanced user. This book really brings me into a higher level of understanding about how Windows works. The author goes into lots of detail about what happens while Windows is running (e.g. during boot up). Yet, the text is very easy to be understood. This book also gives me a new way to look at computing. A faster CPU doesn't always give you a faster computer. If you think your computer is too slow, THERE ARE things you can do to make it runs faster. When performance matters, you have to give up things that you are used to, but not usful. (I can't complain that my computer is too slow when I am using a fansy theme that costs too much memory.) Also, this book does not simply tell you what to do. The author's explaination enables me to make decisions on my own. This is not a book that simply tell you how to improve your computer's performance. If you have some experiences in using Windows and want to know more about the operating system, this is a nice size book that can get you started. What's more? My machine is faster now. :)
Rating:
Summary: Sharp! Very Sharp!
Review: If you've configured your system before and have already done the obvious tweaks, hold onto your hat and pickup this book! The author obviously knows what he's talkin' about, and he seems to be quite an experimenter. So read his book and reap the rewards! I've read most of the book - in chunks - and have applied the advice to an old 486/100, and have seen a VERY noticeable improvement. Thanks David!
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