Low computer performance how to increase. How to increase computer performance for minimal money. Using additional software

Buying a new laptop is a serious and responsible step that requires a considerable amount of money. Modern users are in no hurry to do this. The first thing they think about is how to increase the performance of their existing laptop. Well, it's possible. There are ways to increase the performance parameters of a laptop. By optimizing your operating system and spending a little money on new hardware, you can expand the capabilities of your laptop. More about this in the continuation of the article.

Ways to increase productivity on a laptop

Known methods for increasing the performance parameters of a laptop can be divided into two different categories: software and hardware. The first includes methods of optional configuration or general optimization provided by the operating system. The second category includes options for replacing individual units to directly increase the technical capabilities of the laptop.

Using programs to speed up work

If you decide to speed up your laptop, the first thing you should pay attention to are methods that do not affect the laptop components. So let's look at them:

• Cleaning up automatic downloads. Have you noticed that some programs start on their own when you turn on your computer? This happens for a reason. The operating system has a startup list that lists programs that start with the operating system. It happens that something unnecessary ends up on this list. Disabling unnecessary features will help improve your laptop's performance. To do this, press the hotkey combination “Windows + R”, and in the window that appears, enter the command “”. The system will display the “System Configuration” window. In it you need to select the “Startup” tab. Having done this, you will see a list of programs that the system loads when the laptop starts. Uncheck the boxes that are not required. These are programs that you rarely use. After that, click "Apply" and then "OK". The system will prompt you to restart your laptop for the changes to take effect, but you can postpone this.
• Defragmentation of the hard drive. While using the laptop, the system saves all information on the built-in HDD. Data is written sequentially, filling all clusters (as memory cells in the hard drive are called) in turn. When the user deletes or moves files, spaces are left behind. Over time, the system fills them with other data, and the result is confusion, which slows down the process of exchanging information with the laptop’s hard drive. The easiest way to defragment is to open the Start menu, go to the All Programs section, open the Accessories folder, then System Tools and select Disk Defragmenter from the list. By clicking on it, you will see a window in front of you in which you need to select the desired section and confirm the action.
• Setting up power plans. Find Control Panel in the Start menu, launch it and select Power Options. Once you open it, you will see that by default the system offers the “Balanced” mode. To make your laptop run faster, check the box next to “High performance” (be prepared for the battery consumption to increase noticeably). It is also worth going to the power plan settings and setting the options at your discretion. There are a lot of them there, so be careful. When you're done with this, click Apply. After rebooting your laptop, you will certainly notice an increase in system performance.

Upgrading a laptop by overclocking or replacing components

If recommendations on how to programmatically increase the performance of a laptop do not give the desired result, you will have to upgrade the hardware. This will require financial costs, but this option is a win-win. The subsequent sections of the article describe in detail how to strengthen an old laptop by replacing some of the working units. Take these recommendations into account and you can improve your system performance.

Increasing the amount of RAM

The first thing that comes to mind is expanding RAM. Before doing this, check the performance index of your laptop. To do this, you need to go to the system control panel and select “Counters and performance tools.” Run the system test (the “Repeat assessment” button located below). Pay attention to the “Memory (RAM)” indicator. If it is below 4.5, it means you need to install a more powerful RAM board or add another one with similar parameters to the existing one. You can perform this task yourself or contact a service center for help.

Replacing HDD with SSD drive

SSD solid-state hard drives are characterized by high performance and data writing/reading speed, so they are often used for Windows 7 and Windows 8. If you feel the need for such an improvement, you will have to buy a new SSD drive and install it. Before doing this, test your HDD using the built-in Performance Counters and Tools program. After installation, test again and notice a noticeable difference. This memory improvement method is particularly effective on Lenovo, Samsung, Acer and Asus laptops.

Replacing the processor

If you ask a specialist about how to upgrade a laptop for gaming, they will recommend that you replace the old processor with a new one with better performance. If you have the appropriate experience, you can cope with this task yourself, at home. First, find out which processor will be compatible with your laptop. In such cases, it is recommended to choose models used in older trim levels of the same series.

Cooling System Installation

As a rule, hardware problems occur due to too . A good cooling system is a good accelerator for a laptop. It will not be difficult to put it in order even for a user without experience. If you have no idea how to improve the cooling of a laptop, remember the main thing: to prevent overheating of the internal functional units, you need to keep coolers and thermal paste in good condition. Remove the bottom cover of the laptop and you will see all the flaws with your own eyes. In the worst case scenario, you will have to replace the cooler and update the thermal paste on the processor.

How to overclock the processor on a laptop

If the available processor clock speed is not enough, then it’s time to think about how to overclock a laptop for gaming. Anyone can do this, but you need to be careful because we are talking about operating complex electronics beyond the recommended limits. If you have any doubts about the quality of the processor, try to overclock it at your own risk. Below are general instructions for doing this:

• restart the laptop and enter the BIOS;
• open the “Advanced” tab (names may vary depending on the BIOS version);
• find the “CPU Speed” item and increase its value by a maximum of 10-15% (features of handling the interface are always described in the side panel on the right);
• save the changes and restart your computer.

If, in addition to the processor clock frequency, you are concerned about the question of how to increase the performance of the video card, in the “Advanced” section, find the corresponding item and increase the default value by 10-15%, but no more. These days, the Internet is full of articles about various overclocking methods, but you must remember that any performance increases through the BIOS system are associated with the risk of damaging the hardware. If you don’t have the relevant experience, it’s safe to learn how to change the video card on a laptop and do it.

Video: how to increase laptop performance for gaming

The video below will clearly demonstrate the process of safely increasing laptop performance using standard programs built into the system. The video contains images that explain to the user the key points of this difficult task. Listen carefully to the recommendations and strictly follow the instructions to avoid sad mistakes and get the desired result.

It happens that the hardware resources on a low-power computer are not enough to ensure smooth operation of graphically complex games or programs like Adobe Photoshop. The power of the device is largely influenced by such an indicator as the processor clock speed. If desired, you can increase it a little by doing some manipulations. You will learn about these manipulations and how to increase the processor on a laptop (that is, its clock frequency) in this article.

General information about computer processor frequency

Before you start following the instructions, it is advisable to at least have a little understanding of the theoretical issues about processors and their clock speeds.

In short, the processor frequency is a value that shows the number of simultaneous operations performed by the processor per unit of time. Most modern processor microchips have a nominal frequency of 1 to 4 GHz. It is a mistake to believe that if you “overclock” the processor, that is, increase its frequency, the number of simultaneously performed actions will increase. No, the number of tasks will be the same as before overclocking, but the computer will cope with them significantly faster than before. The number of operations performed is influenced by the number of processor cores (most modern laptops are quad-core), and the frequency is responsible for performance (information processing speed).

How to increase the processor frequency on a laptop - consequences

Here are some other key points to consider:

• Increased energy consumption. The higher the frequency, the more energy the computer needs to perform the same operations. If you have a desktop PC, this indicator is not particularly important, but for laptops, autonomy is one of the main characteristics.
• Increased heat generation. The compactness of laptops is not only an advantage, but also a disadvantage: all parts, unlike the system unit of a desktop PC, are located close to each other, and the cooling system is also not particularly reliable. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid prolonged overheating or use special cooler stands for laptops.
• Not covered by warranty. If the user performs any manipulations with the processor incorrectly, which will lead to critical overheating of the computer components, this situation is not considered a warranty. That is, you will pay for repairs out of your own pocket.
• Before overclocking the processor frequency, think about the consequences of the work, especially if you are not a computer professional. All actions are performed at your own peril and risk, so strictly follow the instructions.

Change your power plan

This is the safest way to increase productivity using system tools. Change your power plan to provide more power to your PC's components while improving the performance of your entire device. Do the following:

Of course, in this way you will not overclock the processor frequency several times. However, this method allows you not to lose the factory warranty, and is absolutely safe for computer components and the operating system as a whole.

Changes in BIOS settings

Another way to increase processor performance on a laptop is to change the parameters in the BIOS routine. Go to the BIOS menu when you start the device again (F1-F12, Delete or Escape keys on different laptop models, depending on the manufacturer). You can find the right key using the “poke method” or find information on your model on the Internet. After you enter the BIOS, look in the sections for the item “CPU Frequensy” or “CPU Lock” (also depends on the manufacturer) and set the computer system bus frequency to the value you need. Confirm your actions, exit the menu and restart the device.

Check whether the processor temperature has increased significantly as a result of the manipulations you have performed. Download and install one of the programs designed for this (for example, Aida 64). Without opening other programs, check the temperature at minimum load. If it rises above 50 degrees Celsius, it is imperative to reduce the set processor frequency.

How to increase processor performance on a laptop: an easy way

If you do not want to understand the BIOS interface, install a program that can slightly increase the maximum frequency. They automatically perform the necessary actions for you. You need to choose software depending on the processor manufacturer:

• AI Booster or AMD Overdrive (for laptops on the AMD platform);
• Intel Desktop Control Center (for laptops on the Intel platform).
• Read the instructions carefully before operating the programs.

There are different methods for overclocking a computer processor, but each of them is quite a serious risk. You can simply burn out the processor if something goes wrong. Therefore, it is best to decide before purchasing a laptop what exactly you need it for and select a computer with sufficient power.

Many existing features in Windows that affect the speed and performance of a PC are not used by ordinary users. Most people use the default settings, and they are not the best for PC performance. Below are the main ways to increase speed to improve the performance of your Windows 7 computer.

Optimizing visual effects

Task

Windows 7 has a lot of beautiful visual effects, which increases the load on components and reduces PC performance. This reduces the performance of the computer, especially if the hardware is not up-to-date.

Answer

It is necessary to turn off visual effects, leaving only standard ones. This will immediately increase the speed and performance of your computer. In Windows 7, you need to type in the Start window in the search "Visual effects".

1. Increase the clarity of font display;
2. Using types of displaying windows and buttons;
3. Connect desktop composition;
4. Show thumbnails instead of labels.

Then click “Ok” and reboot.

Check and debug the hard drive in Windows 7

Task

Data is transferred to the hard drive in parts to optimize disk space. As a result, the PC, when opening files, spends a significant amount of time searching for them, and if there are a large number of junk files, the process slows down even more.

Answer

It is necessary to periodically check for and delete unnecessary files, . At the first stage, you need to manually delete unnecessary data from the computer’s memory, for example, unused programs, old movies, music, etc. In order to delete applications, you must enter through “Start” in "Control Panel" and further in .

Next you need to perform defragmentation. You need to enter “My Computer”, in the context menu of the disk, select sequentially: “Properties” - “Service” - "Run defragmentation". Click on .

Cleaning the Startup directory

Task

Often, computer boot speed can be increased by simply getting rid of unnecessary programs in startup, for example, social network messaging services, updates for various programs, antivirus, etc. In fact, everything except the antivirus can be removed.

Answer

It is recommended to use the CCleaner application. It will help clean the registry and optimize startup speed. The application requires you to enter a bookmark. By clicking on “Turn off”, go through all the applications that you do not use regularly.

Cleaning the registry and RAM

Task

When you uninstall programs, “garbage” accumulates on your computer (program settings, links, unnecessary shortcuts, erroneous extensions). The optimal operation of RAM is affected by possible defects in its manufacture, incorrect operation of the power supply and changes in network voltage.

Solution

Cleaning the registry is very easy using the CCleaner application. Analysis of RAM operation is performed using the built-in functions of Windows 7. In order to perform RAM analysis, you need to use the search bar through “Start”, where to type “Diagnostics of computer RAM problems”.

After this, a menu will be displayed where you need to click on the 1st diagnostic method.

The PC will reboot and begin analyzing the RAM. The process takes considerable time. After completing the process, the PC will reboot again and the user will have access to information about the analysis performed.

Connecting all processor cores

Task

To effectively increase computer performance, it is necessary to optimize Windows for multi-core processors.

Answer

You need to tell the OS to boot using the resources of all cores. Through “Start” - “All Programs” - “Accessories” - “Run” you need to type “msconfig” and click on “OK”.

In the menu that appears, enter - "Extra options…". Check mark "Number of processors"(to improve PC performance and speed, it is recommended to mark the maximum possible number). Click on "OK".

Disabling unused gadgets

Gadgets reduce PC performance. For maximum effect, it is recommended to disable them all.

Conclusion

The article discusses only the basic methods of increasing the speed and performance of a computer.

This topic is very extensive and it is impossible to cover it entirely in one publication, therefore additional methods are described in a separate section.

My friend the computer
April, 2014

Modern processors are able to adjust their performance depending on the tasks being performed. If desired, dynamic changes in clock frequency can be optimized, and for older processors, a corresponding feature can be added.

The test bench is equipped with an AMD Phenom II X6 processor. But most of the time it runs at a low, economical 800 MHz - no faster than a twelve-year-old Pentium III. Under load, all six cores quadruple this figure - up to 3.2 GHz. All representatives of new generations of CPUs increase their efficiency and performance thanks to this dynamic adjustment of clock speed. We'll cover how this technology works and how it can be optimized to improve laptop battery life or PC performance, as well as how to enable it in older processors.

Today, desktop computers and laptops work more efficiently thanks to a flexible system of processor activity modes. Initially, this principle was used in laptops. Starting with the Pentium III processor for mobile platforms, Intel introduced energy-saving SpeedStep technology, which reduces the processor clock speed in battery mode to provide longer battery life at the expense of reduced performance.

SpeedStep: Battery Saver

Since 2003, when the Pentium M was introduced, laptops have gone to great lengths to make efficient use of battery power and deliver sufficient performance when needed. They analyze the processor load and provide their full potential only when it is really necessary. This allows you to be more careful with the battery and makes the cooling system work noticeably quieter.

Since the main goal of laptop manufacturers is to reduce power consumption and increase the efficiency of the cooling system, mobile computers leave little room for overclocking. Therefore, there are fewer BIOS settings available on a laptop than on a desktop PC. Tuning programs from manufacturers are also rare. However, there are safe ways to optimize dynamic clock speed using power plans in the Windows Control Panel. The need for such actions arises if, for example, after a few minutes of processor operation under high load, the laptop’s performance unexpectedly drops and HD video begins to slow down.

Another reason may be the constant switching of fan operating modes. This means that the processor, under full load, forces the fan to work at its limit, which is not enough to fully cool the CPU in this mode. As a result, the latter overheats, despite the fan rotating at maximum speed. As a result, the processor reduces the clock frequency, after which its temperature and fan noise decrease. When it cools down enough, it increases the frequency again, and everything repeats all over again. In this case, limiting the maximum processor performance using the Windows power plan will help.

Power Plan: Safe Optimization

To eliminate fluctuations in laptop performance, go to the "Power Options" section in the Windows 7 Control Panel. Here you can select one of the power plans - it is best to choose "Balanced" as the starting point for the settings.

Check it and click on the “Set up power plan” link, and then on “Change advanced power settings”. Expand the “Processor power management” item in the list, and then the “Maximum processor state” sub-item. There are two parameters here - “On mains” and “On battery” - with the default value set to 100%. Now we need to find out at what value the processor maintains the required performance without overheating. At 95 or 90%, laptops often run more consistently under full load and don't take longer to complete long-running computing tasks due to the lack of power surges. If battery life and low fan noise are your most important concerns, set the battery run setting to an even lower setting.

Changing the parameters in the power plans is not dangerous, as they are within the boundaries provided by the manufacturer. Of course, you should avoid the anti-power saving "High Performance" plan, which is only useful for benchmarks. It maintains the processor's rated performance constant, which increases power consumption and fan noise, thereby shortening the life of the computer. This applies not only to mobile computers, but also to desktop computers, which allow greater intervention in controlling the processor clock speed.

Desktop: floating clock speed

Desktop PCs also adjust their clock speeds to suit the needs of the day. The main focus is on optimizing the use of the processor and increasing performance. This Intel technology is called Turbo Boost and appeared in Core i5 and P processors. At first, it was only about solving the problem that many programs could not fully use the capabilities of multi-core processors. As a result, one core was loaded at 100%, and the rest were inactive. Processors with Turbo Boost support use free potential to overclock a loaded core above the rated clock speed. The latest Sandy Bridge-based processors, which appeared earlier this year, have gone one step further: they can overclock all processor cores for a short time, which would lead to failure if used for a long time due to overheating.

But since the interval during which the processor and radiator heat up is known, the first of them, not reaching the overheating limit, begins to gradually reduce the clock frequency to a given level, so that the temperature curve stops at the upper limit of the permissible value. This means the processor can deliver noticeably faster performance for up to 25 seconds—enough to boot up, run a program, or speed up Photoshop operations, for example. AMD offers a similar technology called Turbo Core in its latest Phenom II processors, which are labeled with the letter T.

BIOS setup: dealing with frequency and voltage

Achieving both goals of dynamically changing processor settings (increasing performance as needed and reducing power consumption as possible) depends on two parameters - clock speed and processor supply voltage. It is important to understand their interdependence before making changes that are outside the manufacturer's specifications and will void your warranty.

The clock frequency determines how many times per second the transistors switch, that is, how many computational operations per second the processor can process. To improve its performance, it is necessary to raise the clock frequency above the nominal value so that it can perform more operations in the same time. However, due to manufacturing features, not all transistors in the processor (and there are millions of them) can support the same speed. This leads to errors in calculations, instability and system failures.

The solution is to increase the processor supply voltage, which allows you to stabilize the system due to the fact that with it all transistors can switch faster. But this simultaneously causes a rise in temperature, which can lead to an emergency shutdown. In addition, if the temperature is too high, sensitive transistors may fail or fail. Therefore, the limits for increasing the processor supply voltage are very narrow.

To save energy, it is first necessary to reduce the chip's supply voltage, since its energy consumption is a quadratic function of this indicator. This means that with a 20% reduction in voltage, power consumption will decrease by 36%. In this case, problems again arise due to the uneven sensitivity of the transistors: when the voltage is reduced, some of them stop switching or do not do so quickly enough. This rarely leads to system crashes, but calculation errors are possible, which can manifest themselves in the form of unstable PC operation, corrupted files and incorrect calculation results. Therefore, after changing the supply voltage or processor clock frequency, it is recommended to run the Prime95 program and let it run for at least six hours in stress test mode (Options | Torture Test). If the program does not generate error messages, the system will work reliably for a long time. You can change the clock frequency and voltage of the processor through the BIOS or using software tools from the motherboard manufacturer.

Overclocking: Maximum CPU Performance

You can enter the BIOS immediately after turning on the computer by pressing the Del or F2 key, depending on the manufacturer of the motherboard or laptop. Refer to the user manual for information about setting parameters for your processor. On our test computer with an ASUS M4A89GTD motherboard, they are located in the BIOS Al Tweaker tab. Most settings are set to Auto by default. Before manually setting the clock speed, you must disable Turbo Boost or Turbo Core. Instead of the desired processor frequency value, you should enter two parameters - the clock frequency of the system bus, which is the basis for synchronizing the entire system, and the processor multiplier. This multiplier indicates how much faster the chip is relative to the system bus speed. The last parameter on our test PC is 200 MHz, and the processor multiplier is Phenom IIХ61090Т-16. This corresponds to a clock frequency of 3200 MHz. The system bus clock speed and processor multiplier for your computer can be found in the CPU | Clocks of the CPU-Z program.

Overclocking steps depend on whether your computer can freely change the processor multiplier value. This is quite rare - for example, with CPUs for overclockers, which Intel can recognize by the letter k at the end of the marking, for example Core i5 2500k. AMD adds the Black Edition mark to the name of such processors. Gradually increasing the multiplier value, test using Torture Test from Prime95 how stable and error-free the system works. If errors or failures occur, carefully increase the supply voltage and repeat the test.

It's more difficult when you can't set the multiplier higher than the preset value, which is the case with most processors. Then the only way out is to increase the clock frequency of the system bus. A small increase, like on our test PC (from 200 to 210 MHz), does not cause problems in most cases. If you raise the FSB speed much higher, you will have to worry about overclocking the RAM. To do this, you need to set its frequency manually. For some models this is achieved by increasing the memory divider in the BIOS. Special programs for Windows OS allow you to configure the processor during operation for higher performance or lower energy consumption. This is most conveniently done using configuration programs from motherboard manufacturers. For example, ASUS supplies the TurboV Evo overclocking utility in the Al Suite package, which will give you the ability to change the above parameters. If you find values ​​that provide the desired result, they can be saved as profiles and activated as needed - for example, one profile to save energy and another to improve performance. If your motherboard or laptop manufacturer does not provide tuning software, and your processor is relatively old, use the RightMark CPU Clock Utility or CrystalCPUID software tools to change the clock speed or voltage of the processor - to increase performance or reduce power consumption.

Graphics card: performance or efficiency?

By dynamically adjusting the GPU clock frequency, you can achieve good results in terms of increasing the efficiency of the entire system, because their power consumption is comparable to the CPU.

For example, the GeForce GTX 590 video card from NVIDIA consumes over 400 W in modern games like Crysis, which is 2.5 times more than the entire PC with a six-core processor at full load. When dissipating heat, its fans make a terrible noise with a volume of more than 8 sones. All the more important is that in 2D mode the noise level and energy consumption are significantly reduced. The card significantly reduces the clock speed of the GPU, power consumption drops to 55 W, although the fan noise of 3 sones remains quite loud. Since less productive video cards become quite noisy under increased load, almost all models use dynamic adjustment of power and energy consumption, which is performed automatically, like processors.

Adjusting the CPU clock speed

Similar to the CPU, it is possible to increase or decrease the clock frequency of graphics chips within the limits provided by the manufacturer. There is an OverDrive item in the AMD video card driver menu. By activating this feature, you can change the clock speed of the GPU and memory of the card - raise it to improve performance and lower it to reduce power consumption. The cooling system can also be controlled here. To change the clock speed on NVIDIA graphics cards, in addition to updating the driver, you will need to download system tools from the video chip manufacturer.

Laptop: Disabling GPU

A more effective way than reducing the clock speed of your graphics card is to disable it completely. Laptops supporting Optimus technology from NVIDIA or PowerXpress technology from AMD contain both powerful discrete and economical built-in video adapters. Most of the time, the integrated chip works, and when it is necessary to solve more serious problems, the discrete one comes into play.

This publication will discuss another third-party tool for optimizing the operation of multi-core processors - a free program CPU Control. “More” – because the author has already touched on this topic, see about ICEAffinity. The brainchild of German developer Matthias Kotsch ( Matthias Koch), Russified utility CPU Control will be especially interesting for novice computer users due to the presence of a multi-automatic optimization mode, but first things first.

"Why is this necessary & what will I get from it?"

This issue was raised in the published article, so I’ll defragment what was said into a couple of paragraphs:

• Some applications do not support multi-core mode, so for them to work correctly you must manually allocate a separate processor core for them. Another “problematic” option is that the motherboard initializes the cores asynchronously. In both cases, user intervention is required.

• By default, Windows gives all running processes equal priority in the use of processor power. Which is not entirely correct when running resource-intensive applications, for example, when your favorite Call of Duty is hampered by an antivirus along with a dozen other “minor” software. CPU Control will help distribute processes proportionally across cores, which will directly affect the overall performance of the system.

Important!

The utility supports dual- and quad-core processors, but, according to reviews, it works correctly on 6–8 cores.

We optimize

1. First you need to download a utility, for example, from my Catalog of the best software . There are no “tricks” in the installation, so click “ Next" ("Further") until complete installation. By the way, the program does not “litter” the registry, i.e. it is portable and portable on removable drives.

2. After launching, first of all click on " Options" ("Options") and Russify CPU Control through " Languages" ("Languages") → "Russian". Next, in accordance with the following screenshot, check the boxes next to " Autostart with Windows ", "Minimize" And " 4 cores" (for four or more cores). It is clear that if the CPU is dual-core, there is no need to activate “4 cores”.

3. Having closed "Options", in the main application window we see 5 CPU operation control modes: " Auto", "Manual", "CPU1" (all processes run on the 1st core), " CPU2" (all processes are running on the 2nd core) and " Disabled" (without optimization). The last three modes are not interesting to us, so we will focus on the first two.

For beginners the author recommends simply selecting the " Auto " and close the window and check for future Windows startups to ensure CPU Control was in the list of startup applications (!). This is easy to do, for example, through any version, look in the menu bar " Tools" → "Startup Manager"(if you need to add an application, click the applet" Add").

4. For those who like to "dig" this simple utility gives you a chance to “expand”: in auto mode there is 9 basic profiles-variations in the distribution of processes across cores (screenshot below). If you have time and open on the " tab Performance"Task Manager ("Ctrl + Alt + Del" ), to monitor the results, you can choose the optimal profile for your system.

5. The most advanced users who want to achieve maximum results in increasing system performance using this method, will certainly be interested in the " Manual ". In this mode, you independently distribute processes among cores or groups of cores. It’s simple: select the process(es) and use the right mouse button to “hang” it on the desired core or combination of cores. For example, when selecting " CPU1" the process will hang on the first core when selecting " CPU3+4" – on the third and fourth cores, etc.

Here good ranking option for a 4-core PC: leave system processes to the 1st core, distribute the most resource-intensive applications (such as Photoshop) between all cores (option as in the last screenshot), and give “middle-class” applications such as an anti-virus scanner to combinations of 2 cores, let's say, " CPU3+4". Windows Task Manager will help you make the right choice. For ease of monitoring, when the "tab" is open in the Manager Performance", check that the function " According to schedule for each CPU " (see "" → searched " According to schedule for each CPU").

In general, experiment and your efforts will definitely pay off handsomely!