6 Windows Apps to Get the Most Out of Your Laptop - Make Tech Easier

Portability is the original intention of laptops, but this may sacrifice processing power and battery life. Many applications are designed specifically for laptops, with their limitations and advantages in mind. These apps can help you optimize your laptop’s performance, extend battery life, and improve mobile office efficiency. Here is a list of some Windows applications that can significantly improve your experience on your laptop.

Table of contents

• Battery Management: Battery Optimizer
• Notebook temperature monitoring: HWMonitor
• Laptop power control: ThrottleStop
• Wi-Fi Analyzer: NetSpot
• Webcam Enhancer: Debut
• Hotspot Creator: Connectify Hotspot

Tip : If your laptop cannot enter sleep mode when the lid is closed, we have a solution. Battery Management: Battery Optimizer

Battery life is a major concern for laptop users, so monitoring battery health and performance is very important. Battery Optimizer extends battery life by showing battery health and automatically applying adjustments.

Its main interface shows your current battery health and potential battery life gain after optimization. Battery health mainly refers to the amount of power the battery can store. More than 90% are considered excellent . Click to optimize battery life .

Run a diagnostic scan to find the right optimization solution for your device. The Optimization tab will list the adjustments that need to be applied. Of course, solving battery drain is much more complex, but these adjustments should help you get more minutes of use.

If you want more detailed battery information, I recommend using BatteryInfoView. It will show the exact capacity and charge and discharge rate.

Highlights

• Track battery health.
• Automatically apply battery optimization.
• Manage multiple configuration files to quickly apply the required optimizations.
• Monitor battery usage and charging.
• Set an alert to notify you of increased battery usage.

Notebook temperature monitoring: HWMonitor

Even under high loads – like gaming – your laptop should be kept below 176°F. If the temperature exceeds this value, apply these methods to cool your laptop. It is important to track the specific temperature of the component, as the internal temperature may be very different from what you feel externally. This is where HWMonitor can work.

Launch the application and it will display the temperature of the CPU, GPU, and storage drive in real time. Check the lowest and highest values ​​for a period of time to make sure your laptop stays within limits.

It also displays detailed information on the power and usage of the components so that you can understand how the laptop configuration affects heating issues.

Highlights

• Track component temperature in real time.
• View current, lowest and highest values.
• Track the power usage of the component.
• Export data to a file for reference and sharing.

Laptop power control: ThrottleStop

Whether you want to lower CPU voltage to reduce heat, or disable throttling for maximum performance, ThrottleStop is the application that manages all power control needs. The application can adjust the CPU's voltage to increase/decrease power and disable the power throttling function.

Manually adjusting power with ThrottleStop is a bit complicated. I recommend checking out our guide on how to use ThrottleStop to lower CPU voltage and disable throttling for maximum performance.

Fortunately, it has a built-in power plan, as well as the ability to automatically adjust values ​​according to your needs. Set up high performance , balance and energy saving modes to get the required performance. Despite the same name, these power plans work differently than the built-in power plans for Windows.

Highlights

• Removes the power throttling function.
• Check the throttling log to see if there are any features that limit the power.
• Create multiple profiles and switch between them easily.
• Check CPU speed and temperature in real time.
• Set up the maximum and minimum power plan more efficiently than the Windows built-in power plan.

Wi-Fi Analyzer: NetSpot

Finding the best public Wi-Fi during the move can be a bit tricky. For best performance, make sure to choose Wi-Fi that is safe, has good signal strength and is not crowded. NetSpot analyzes all Wi-Fi networks within the range of your laptop and provides valuable details to help you make the right choice.

You can view important information such as network signal strength/consistency, frequency band, security type, channel, minimum/maximum signal, etc. Double-click the connection to view the full tracking history over time.

To better view the signal, click the Signal Level and Noise Chart buttons at the top. View signal strength on the chart and compare multiple networks.

The above Wi-Fi analysis features are free. The paid version is mainly used to create a Wi-Fi signal heatmap to see which areas provide the best signal.

Highlights

• View important information about the Wi-Fi network around you.
• View the history of the network and all changes that have occurred.
• Even if it is not within scope, history of detected networks and analyzed data can be retained.
• Compare the signal strength of the network.

Webcam Enhancer: Debut

Debut greatly enhances the functionality of laptop webcam. Although it is a screen recorder, webcam enhancer, and surveillance tool, it is listed here because of its webcam enhancement features.

Debut can record your video calls, add overlays, change call backgrounds, correct colors, apply filters, add watermarks, detect motion, and more. Select the webcam on the main interface and move to the Effects tab to view all enhancements.

After applying the enhancements, select Debut as your webcam in the video call or streaming app you want to use. I also really like that it provides complete control over video encoding and output for the correct video quality.

Highlights

• Visually enhanced webcam recording.
• Record and store videos in preferred quality for later use.
• Share recordings directly to popular streaming and storage sites.
• Built-in editing tools such as audio extractor, format converter, editor, etc.

Hotspot Creator: Connectify Hotspot

Windows does have a feature that turns your laptop into a Wi-Fi hotspot to connect to other devices, but it's very basic. Connectify Hotspot offers additional features and more control. It allows you to choose which internet source you want to share, including shared Ethernet connections.

However, the main selling point is the built-in ad blocker. When enabled, Connectify completely disables all ads at the network level, so all devices can browse without ads. This also saves network bandwidth for loading ads.

Once connected, it records all devices, including the internet speed they get and how much data they downloaded/uploaded. The app also has a paid version, allowing you to use your laptop as a repeater to extend Wi-Fi signals without losing quality.

Highlights

• Block ads at the network level.
• Tracks current and previously connected devices.
• Select any network adapter installed on your PC as the source.
• Allow the device to connect using QR code.

I often use ThrottleStop and HWMonitor when playing games, although I also carry NetSpot with me for network optimization.

Image source: Unsplash. All screenshots are courtesy of Karrar Haider.

The above is the detailed content of 6 Windows Apps to Get the Most Out of Your Laptop - Make Tech Easier. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!