46. Turn off the indexing service

Windows XP includes a new feature called 'indexing' which constantly creates and updates an index of files in your PC. This index is mainly used for speeding up file searches. The indexing feature is largely useless unless you find yourself using file search a lot, and it sucks up system resources, so it is recommended that you disable it for performance purposes.

To turn off file indexing go to Control Panel\Add/Remove Programs\Windows Components. and uncheck 'Indexing Service.'

Video and graphics tweaks

47. 3D Game Benchmarks

If you would like to test your computer's ability to run contemporary 3D games, as well as have another scale on which to measure the improvements you have made to your system by tweaking and overclocking, consider some 3D benchmarking software.

The most popular 3D gaming benchmarks currently available are Futuremark's 3Dmark 2001 and 2003. Both of these applications allow you to post your results online and see the scores achieved by other users with comparative computer setups. This will give you a good idea of what kind of scores and performance you can expect to achieve with overclocking, tweaks, etc. Other popular 3D benchmarks include Aquamark3 and CodeCreatures. Many 3D game producers create benchmarking programs based off of their latest game engines in order to allow users to measure and tweak their systems before they purchase the game itself.

Just be careful. Benchmarking your system for gaming can become as habit forming as gaming itself.

48. Change your Monitor's refresh rate (CRT monitors only)

This is not necessarily a performance tip (though it can be - see the tip below on disabling VYSNC for more details), but it will certainly make your computing life easier on the eyes.

All versions of Windows including XP tend to default to a 60Hz screen refresh rate on CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors. This equates to 60 screen updates a second, creating a barely perceptible flickering which can cause eyestrain after a while. It's highly recommended that you increase this refresh rate to something more constant, like 75 or 85Hz.

This makes the image presented much easier on the eyes by refreshing the screen faster than we can actually perceive. While the refresh rates that different monitors and video cards can achieve vary, if you have anything bigger than a 15-inch monitor, it should be able to manage 800x600 resolution with at least 75Hz, making for a much higher quality image. Virtually any video card made within the last 5 or 6 years will be able to handle this too.

To increase your monitor's refresh rate:

Go to 'start\control panel\display' and select the 'settings' tab.

Click the 'advanced' button. Choose the 'adaptor' tab and hit the 'list all modes' button. This will bring up a windows displaying all the possible combinations of resolution, # of colours and refresh rates that your video card\monitor combination can achieve, with your current setting highlighted. If your current setting uses 60 or 70Hz refresh rate, consider increasing it if there is a higher refresh rate available.