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Fidelizer

For anyone interested in optimizing their Windows-based (HT)PC music source I wholeheartedly recommend downloading the free(!) "Fidelizer" program via below link(download option at the bottom of the page):

http://www.windowsxlive.net/fidelizer

In short Fidelizer optimizes/economizes the environment on your (HT)PC, which can be done in three stages by shutting down processes not important to anything other than (roughly) the most basic needs with regard to A/V playback. As it says on their homepage:

Fidelizer has 3 optimization levels. They're all for the same goal to sonic improvements. I'll leave them all to your judge whether they're subtle or big difference. At any rate, you should leave your ears with it for at least week if it doesn't hurt your computer. Some people need time to adapt to changes.

The first ones is 'Professional'. This will optimize system to the extend that it won't significantly affect overall system performance. You can work as usual while enjoying improved multimedia experiences.

The next ones is 'Audiophile'. This is quite dedicated ones for those who pursue higher fidelity. It will lower system/network performance so audio can gain more priority to access to resources at time. It will also lower most processes including system ones to lowest level so you need to close your audiophile player before using it.

The last ones is 'Extremist'. As the name say, this isn't risk-free feature to try. It will stop most bundled system services leaving only important ones for audio. Yes, it will stop network services and such too. You may not know but Windows Audio and DHCP share the same process in service host provider so disabling network can significantly improve sonic performance. I also add some options to keep network and user experiences (HID,Tablet,Themes) working for some applications.

For general use, you should stick with 'Professional' level but computer in today's market should be able to use 'Audiophile' without hassle about system/network performance. I use 'Audiophile' level on AMD Phenom X2 550 BE machine and ended up running fine for 24/7 usage.....ya it's old and cheap unlike i7 or Athlon II X6 but it still works.

I'm using the 'Audiophile' level myself, and have experienced no problems at all nor any noticable limitations in the use of my HTPC. One of the people who was lead to Fidelizer via my initial recommendation(I stumbled upon Fidelizer from a recommmendation over at the JRiver forum) is a software programmer himself, and he's successfully tested Fidelizer quite thoroughly to see whether any glitches should occur that might be detrimental to the overall funcionality of the PC. As it's stated on the homepage any "newer"(even over 5 years, I suppose) computer shouldn't experience problems with the use of Fidelizer.

Taking up only 272kb Fidelizer has provided a noticable sound quality improvement not only in my setup, but also in all the setups of the audio-friends of mine to whom I've recommended the download. One of them even goes to say he's hardly heard a more substantial sonic upgrade in a long while(to which I definately agree), and with this in mind think about the following: Fidelizer is FREE!

Indeed I'm perplexed that this little wonder of a free program hasn't received more attention among the computer audiophiles, at least what I know of, and I certainly don't see any reason going about hiding its presence.

So, without much further ado: go ahead and download Fidelizer ASAP. Any questions, be they with regard to download/use or anything else, are welcomed.
128x128phusis
levy03
442 posts
 
Dtc...from what i understand, Fidelizer uninstalls itself at every boot. the program must be reloaded/reinstalled every time you restart. once installed and run, i don't think you can "turn it off"?. reboot required to do that which again, is an uninstall. no "convenient way to run it" because it can't be run/shut down period. only installed and removed at reboot.

a temporary program of sorts?? who knows?. have only been using it for a few days so hopefully someone with more knowledge about the program/topic will chime in (i set a low bar when it comes to computer know how). can tell you it's working very well for me.

cheers
dtc's avatar
dtc
1,047 posts
 
I did not hear any advantage in running it, so I probably will uninstall it. It does not show up in the list to uninstall. I can delete the files, I am just not sure if it has done anything else. I guess I may need to go back to a restore point to do that. It might be a good program, but it is certainly unconventional in the way it installs.
sbleam
35 posts
 
Has anyone had a problem with Fidelizer fully starting up? I downloaded fine, run the application, can choose the settings (Extreme, Audiophile ), and then I even see some of the status screens while it is checking my Windows 7 settings. However, then nothing? I presume I should see some kind of player open up to actually play my music library? Am I missing something – any advice would be appreciated – have found almost nothing on the web.
phusis's avatar
phusis OP
1,133 posts
 
Sbleam --

No worries, Fidelizer is doing what it's supposed to do just fine reading through your message above. After you've chosen your setting and pressed 'Fidelize' it then "does its thing" as indicated by the small process-window(status-screen), and when it's done the small window closes and a browser to their website pops up. Simply close the browser, and then start up your playback software. From here om Fidelizer has managed you PC according to your setting and closed down processes corresponding one of the three chosen stages - either Professional, Audiophile, or Extremist. I'd recommend you use the Audiophile setting, as it still allowes basic usage of your PC while having shut down a variety of processes that interferes with audio quality.

To achieve the desired effect of Fidelizer it is important that you run the program BEFORE you start up your playback software. Simply run Fidelizer as the first thing when you start up your PC, and Fidelizer will then continue its effect until reboot. That's also saying that you need to start up Fidelizer manually after every reboot, a small measure of action that only takes a few seconds.

Remember, Fidelizer only shuts down a variety of processes on your PC, and that's it. It's not a playback software to manage your music library; it simply "re-calibrates" your computer by shutting down processes that would otherwise interfere with audio quality in making the soft- hardware environment less "noisy." Fidelizer is simply "incognito" while running, the only visible effect of which is when you access the Task Manager under 'Services' and sees how many of them are stopped when scrolling down(compared to when Fidelizer is not in use).
dtc's avatar
dtc
1,047 posts
 
Phusis - the problem I have with Fidelizer is that it does not act like a good Windows citizen. It does not register itself as a app, so you cannot delete it easily. It also does not provide an easy way to start it up on re-boot. Once runnng, it does not provide any way to know what it is doing. I wounder how many people think it is working after a reboot, when, the best I can tell, you actually have to restart it manually after each reboot. It may do what it is suppose to do, but for the casual user, it is very mysterious. Quite frankly, for the paranoid, it looks like a pretty suspicious program. I believe they need to work on making it user friendly if they really want people to use it.
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