This all-in-one system optimizer includes a slew of helpful utilities to make your PC perform faster, including a Registry Cleaner, bootup optimizer, overall system tuneup tools, and features that customize how you access your network.

In addition to tuneup tools, there are also options for customizing the way that Windows works. These include customizing startup and shutdown, Windows logon, the Windows desktop; whether to use animation effects in Windows Vista; and even options for customizing Vista's dreaded User Account Control (UAC).

All that is to the good, but Ashampoo PowerUp 3 is pointed more at power users than at less-experienced people looking to tune up their systems. It doesn't include detailed advice and wizards--it shows you the options, describes what they do, and let you take it from there. A piece of software such as the identically priced TuneUp Utilities 2009 does a better job of not just analyzing your system and showing you what it finds, but also of making recommendations, such as which programs to disable from automatic startup.

However, if you're experienced enough, you may not need that advice. So power users will certainly welcome this software, even if it doesn't offer as much advice for those with a less technical background.

--Preston Gralla