Maximum PC - UK (2019-12)

THIS MONTH THE DOCTOR TACKLES...

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Simple Speed Boost

Smooth Windows

Intel Security

Fuss-Free Overclock

I just purchased an EVGA

GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER XC

Gaming and need your help

auto-overclocking it, as I’m

a newb. Is EVGA Precision

X1 or MSI Afterburner better

to use? What, if any, settings

should I apply to either

program before running it

for the auto-overclock?

–Keith Brooks

THE DOCTOR RESPONDS:We’ll

skip the usual disclaimers

about overclocking, as we’re

sure you know what the

dangers versus benefits are.

Ensure your PC—including

your GPU drivers—is up to

date, then download MSI’s

Afterburner tool (www.msi.

com/page/afterburner), which

has the required OC Scanner

for automatically determining

a stable overclock for your

RTX 20-series card, wrapped

up in a user-friendly front end

that makes it easy to compare

your GPU’s performance pre-

and post-overclock.

Launch Afterburner, then

click the “Settings” button.

Check both “Unlock voltage

control” and “Unlock voltage

monitoring,” click “OK,” then

whack up “Core Voltage,”

“Power Limit,” and “Temp

Limit” to their maximum using

the sliders. Open the Voltage/

Frequency curve editor using

the bar chart button to the

left of “Core clock,” then

click “OC Scanner” in the

top-right, followed by “Scan.”

Wait 15 minutes or so while it

determines the highest stable

frequencies for an overclock.

After completion, verify the

“Core Clock” value now shows

“Curve” instead of a number,

then click “Test” to verify the

overclock is stable. If the

score is to your liking— 60

percent or greater seems to

be acceptable—click “Apply”

to make the OC permanent.

We also suggest clicking the

floppy disk icon to save these

figures as a profile—you can

then switch between these

and your default settings

using the “reset” button.

Rein My PC In

My problem is that despite

hardware supercharging

year after year, my PCs have

less “snap” than ever. I seem

to constantly chase my tail

trying to find out why my PC

is so slow. I end up in Safe

mode 10 times a year hunting

the cause. Task Manager

reveals 46 background

processes, and there’s no

way to determine which way

is up or down.

I need a hands-on service

to keep my PC tuned. I’ve

asked in several forums

and they tell me how bad

PC maintenance software

is. As a retiree, I’d like to

browse out the rest of my PC

time, unencumbered by Safe

mode expeditions. There

must be services out there

to subscribe to...

–Michael McLaughlin

THE DOCTOR RESPONDS:

There is one constant

in the PC world: system

degradation. Even the most

carefully cultivated Windows

installation slows down

over time until you reinstall

from scratch. That said, you

should enjoy decent system

performance for years before

you have to rip everything up.

The rapid speed of

hardware evolution has meant

modern programmers don’t

need to be too efficient when

it comes to keeping code tight

and optimized, so you can’t

avoid the passage of time

forever. When upgrading,

focus on three key areas

to keep your PC running

as smoothly as possible: a

multi-core CPU, lots of RAM

(aim for 16–32GB), and a fast

boot drive (SSD or, preferably,

PCIe NVME).

We agree that PC

maintenance software isn’t

worth the time or effort—don’t

get us started on the havoc

registry cleaners can wreak,

for example. Rather than put

your trust in a third party,

why not invest your time in a

handful of tools to stay on top

of things? First, utilize some

form of rollback software to

prevent detritus building up.

One approach is a drive-

image tool such as the Doc’s

favorite, Macrium Reflect

Free (www.macrium.com/

reflectfree.aspx). However,

if you frequently install apps

for testing purposes, and then

ditch them, go for something

that enables you to roll back

instantly—Rollback RX Home

(https://horizondatasys.com/

rollback-rx-time-machine

/rollback-rx-home/) is one

such example.

Other tools to consider:

BootRacer (www.greatis.

com/bootracer) is the perfect

tool for monitoring startup

times, while Autoruns

(https://bit.ly/autoruns)

lets you control what starts

with your PC. Finally, if your

PC is still struggling with

occasional rogue processes

bringing things grinding to a

halt, Process Lasso (https://

bitsum.com) will rein them in.

Are Intel CPUs Secure?

I’m shopping for a new

mobo/CPU, GPU, and 32GB

quickstart

22 MAXIMUMPC DEC 2019 maximumpc.com