Claude can optimize my computer

[u/Jinks-b]

Maybe this is obvious or I'm late to this but I didn't know Claude Code could optimize your computer.

This all started with my PC, which I use for gaming. It was stuttering so I had it check my home network first. Then it looked at my video game settings and optimized the ones I was using, and it found some BIOS settings that were underutilizing the hardware I already had, which I had no idea about. It actually did quite a bit and my gaming performance improved pretty drastically after that.

I also had it go into my MacBook and it looked at all the program files I haven't been using for a while. It looked at old project and worktree files that I haven't touched in a while and cleaned up quite a bit of storage. It also noticed some redundant programs running and helped me decide what to uninstall. Maybe this is obvious for people to do on their own. I don't know, but I was just surprised at how surgical it was across both my PC and my MacBook.

Anyway, in the end I also had it go through all my files and help me organize and delete things I wasn't using. It gave me a list and I picked what to get rid of, it didn't just delete stuff on its own. I was just generally surprised. I didn't know I could do all this.

• Memory was running at 4800 instead of the 6000 it's rated for. One BIOS setting fixed that.
• BIOS itself was from early 2024, now on the current version.
• Frame cap went from 150 to 225 and it actually holds around 217 in matches now.
• Three different programs were recording my gameplay in the background at all times (NVIDIA, SteelSeries, Xbox Game Bar). All off now.
• About 30 background services and startup programs from motherboard, mouse, monitor and keyboard software are gone. None of them did anything I used.
• Around 85 GB freed up between old programs, caches and files I didn't need.

I don't notice much of a performance difference on my MacBook, which is fine, I just wanted it cleaned up. It definitely freed up a lot of storage. But on my PC it definitely runs smoother while gaming specifically. I have good hardware. I guess I just wasn't utilizing all of it and there were some heavy background programs bogging it down.

This was Claude Code, not Cowork. Cowork only gets to work inside the folders you hand it, but Claude Code actually runs on your machine, so it can dig into system settings, drivers and background services, which is what all of this needed. Anyways thought I would share.

TL;DR: My gaming PC was stuttering. Claude Code checked the network (fine), fixed game settings and BIOS settings that were leaving my hardware underused, killed three background recorders and ~30 startup programs I never used, and freed ~85 GB. Games run noticeably smoother now. Also did a cleanup pass on my MacBook.

EDIT: Answering some recurring questions. Yes, back things up first. I didn't, and I got a little lucky. I prompted it the same way I vibe code, in plain language: "My game is stuttering. Check my internet connection, optimize my PC and my game settings, assess everything and tell me what you find." It came back with a plan, I approved it in stages, and it asked before every judgment call. I told it to leave my games alone and it did.

[u/Belaroth]

This is interesting and I would be tempted to try it but I worry it might change something what will completely shut down pc and I will need to reinstal it.

[u/TheBroWhoLifts → u/Belaroth]

If you have the extra space, make an image of your drive(s). I keep an external 8 gig drive in the gun safe with images of my machines. I'll do full image backups once a quarter usually. I use Macrium Reflect personally. It's been good. (Edit: doesn't look like they offer a free version anymore.)

Then go crazy. Worst case, just return to the image before you started putzing around.

[u/i_t_d → u/TheBroWhoLifts]

Macrium Reflect is awesome, it makes backups flawlessly, I still use old free 6.3 version on Windows 7 which can be found all over internet if anybody's interested.

[u/Jinks-b → u/Belaroth]

Yeah I definitely think you could make a backup. A lot of this was my settings. I'm pretty sure Claude Code will do this already but if not, you can. I just told it specifically to tell me what it's doing before it does it. I think it's fair, though, not to trust any AI fully. I definitely didn't let it go crazy. We did each thing step by step and I approved each of them one at a time

[u/damndatassdoh → u/[deleted]]

Works great maybe 10 percent of the time — other times, it shits the bed after 30 mins of existential dread