- Jan 14, 2015
- 1,761
With the recent release of Process Lasso, some features caught my eye. One was an existing one but it was improved, which was the built in Gaming Mode. The other feature was a new feature called SmartTrim (Intelligent RAM Optimizer).
Despite having access to test it on a variety of systems, I performed my tests on two systems:
System 1: Mid range system with 4GB RAM Dual Core AMD Processor, Built in GPU
System 2: High end range system with 12GB RAM Quad Core Intel i7 4th Generation, Nvidia GTX 860M 2GB DDR5
Version of Process Lasso tested: 7.8
Days of testing: 3 days
Considering that Process Lasso is not a Task Manager replacement in its core function, one should not assume its like Process Hacker or Process Explorer. It is true that Process Lasso has features for Task Managing, but its main aim, from what I can understand and tested, is Optimization.
Such optimization is done on the running processors, CPU cores and CPU consumption. This means that it can bring down a specific process or service that is running, either by killing the running process should it reach a specific CPU usage threshold or have its priority lowered (Normal task managers can do that but the user has to do it manually). Aside from that, it also boots/increases performance on specific services/process running (Gaming Mode being the prime example).
All in all, sounds easy right? Not if you are not an advanced user. Sure Process Lasso works out of the box but if you want to really manage CPU priorities on processes, you will need to customize its parameters and it can be daunting.
Gaming mode works somehow by disabling core parking and CPU usage at its maximum frequency. Yes, indeed you will have basically an "overclocked" CPU but here is one problem: To get the best of a game, one needs a balance of CPU and GPU...
Now for its SmartTrim version, it releases working sets from high memory usage processes, and does not do it to the active application that is running. Works as intended? It does but you will not see a vast improvement on mid range systems and hardly notice at all on high end systems...
So with the above being said, here are the results of my tests. Games ran were EVE Online, World of Warcraft and Deus EX Human Revolution. High memory usage process belonged to Firefox, Google Chrome and Emsisoft Anti Malware.
System 1: Tweaking its Power Plan did somehow improve a bit the system responsiveness and overall operation. SmartTrim did work on Firefox (10 tabs opened) and Chrome (10 tabs opened) while they were "inactive" but for some reasons, I did not notice at all any change on EAM, most likely because it is "always active". Gaming mode tweaks sure helped a bit but not in terms of FPS... Fan got higher, Temperature of CPU actually gone up a bit more than without Process Lasso in the system. So what did improve? None in EVE or World of Warcraft but on Deus EX, it somehow felt a bit smoother. Still please bear in mind the limitations of the builtin GPU.
System 2: Same tests as above, nothing was really changed/noticable at all. Also, this system has a GPU tweak by Republic of Gamers and it also has modifications on the Processor, so having Process Lasso is pointless in my opinion.
Would I use Process Lasso? Yes on a low and mid range system but would still need to tweak a bit.
Would I recomend the use of Process Lasso to any user? Anyone aside from beginner entry level users would be recommended, if they are using a low and mid range system, since its default settings work out of the box and are good enough.
Would I use it on an "infected" system or consider its "Task Manager" ability? No I would rather use Process Explorer and Process Hacker.
Word of advice: Although its features and concepts are good, please use the trial version before considering buying it. As it is not everyone's cup of tea.
Despite having access to test it on a variety of systems, I performed my tests on two systems:
System 1: Mid range system with 4GB RAM Dual Core AMD Processor, Built in GPU
System 2: High end range system with 12GB RAM Quad Core Intel i7 4th Generation, Nvidia GTX 860M 2GB DDR5
Version of Process Lasso tested: 7.8
Days of testing: 3 days
Considering that Process Lasso is not a Task Manager replacement in its core function, one should not assume its like Process Hacker or Process Explorer. It is true that Process Lasso has features for Task Managing, but its main aim, from what I can understand and tested, is Optimization.
Such optimization is done on the running processors, CPU cores and CPU consumption. This means that it can bring down a specific process or service that is running, either by killing the running process should it reach a specific CPU usage threshold or have its priority lowered (Normal task managers can do that but the user has to do it manually). Aside from that, it also boots/increases performance on specific services/process running (Gaming Mode being the prime example).
All in all, sounds easy right? Not if you are not an advanced user. Sure Process Lasso works out of the box but if you want to really manage CPU priorities on processes, you will need to customize its parameters and it can be daunting.
Gaming mode works somehow by disabling core parking and CPU usage at its maximum frequency. Yes, indeed you will have basically an "overclocked" CPU but here is one problem: To get the best of a game, one needs a balance of CPU and GPU...
Now for its SmartTrim version, it releases working sets from high memory usage processes, and does not do it to the active application that is running. Works as intended? It does but you will not see a vast improvement on mid range systems and hardly notice at all on high end systems...
So with the above being said, here are the results of my tests. Games ran were EVE Online, World of Warcraft and Deus EX Human Revolution. High memory usage process belonged to Firefox, Google Chrome and Emsisoft Anti Malware.
System 1: Tweaking its Power Plan did somehow improve a bit the system responsiveness and overall operation. SmartTrim did work on Firefox (10 tabs opened) and Chrome (10 tabs opened) while they were "inactive" but for some reasons, I did not notice at all any change on EAM, most likely because it is "always active". Gaming mode tweaks sure helped a bit but not in terms of FPS... Fan got higher, Temperature of CPU actually gone up a bit more than without Process Lasso in the system. So what did improve? None in EVE or World of Warcraft but on Deus EX, it somehow felt a bit smoother. Still please bear in mind the limitations of the builtin GPU.
System 2: Same tests as above, nothing was really changed/noticable at all. Also, this system has a GPU tweak by Republic of Gamers and it also has modifications on the Processor, so having Process Lasso is pointless in my opinion.
Would I use Process Lasso? Yes on a low and mid range system but would still need to tweak a bit.
Would I recomend the use of Process Lasso to any user? Anyone aside from beginner entry level users would be recommended, if they are using a low and mid range system, since its default settings work out of the box and are good enough.
Would I use it on an "infected" system or consider its "Task Manager" ability? No I would rather use Process Explorer and Process Hacker.
Word of advice: Although its features and concepts are good, please use the trial version before considering buying it. As it is not everyone's cup of tea.
