LyteByte

Whether one like it or not, Windows Vista is one of the high memory resource intensity operating system that is available. Most of the applications that are running are set to improve the aesthetic look of the Windows by Visual Effects and are not necessarily adjusted for performance. If you have low memory (RAM) in your PC, you may want to change these settings from best appearance to best performance or you may want to choose settings manually. By doing this, one can greatly improve the performance of Windows Vista PC.

So how to adjust the settings in Windows Vista from best appearance to best performance?

Go to Control Panel Home (Start -> Control Panel) -> System and Maintenance -> System.

On the left side pane, under the Tasks, Click Advanced System Settings.

Click Settings under Performance.

You may have the setting, Let Windows choose what’s best for my computer. If you have good enough Memory (RAM) according to Windows Vista then almost all the settings would be checked.

You can change the settings between Adjust for best performance or if you believe you have really good RAM and you want the best appearance then you may choose Adjust for best appearance.

If you don’t want to compromise the full appearance but still want to improve the performance then you can manually uncheck the items that you don’t want.

You can change the following settings and you may be surprised by the different features that are actually present in windows to improve the appearance.

• Animate controls and elements inside windows
• Animate windows when maximizing and minimizing
• Enable desktop composition
• Enable transparent glass
• Fade or Slide menus into view
• Fade or Slide ToolTips into view
• Fade out menu items after clicking
• Show preview and filters in folder
• Show shadows under menus
• Show shadows under mouse pointer
• Show thumbnails instead of icons
• Show translucent selection rectangle
• Show window contents while dragging
• Slide open combo boxes
• Slide taskbar buttons
• Smooth edges of screen fonts
• Smooth-scroll list boxes
• Use a background image for each folder type
• Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop
• Use visual styles on windows and buttons

Another tip on reducing the Vista Startup time and improving the performance by removing unwanted startup programs.