My collection of software for a gaming and entertainment PC in the year of 2025
8Software here is mostly free, or very cheap.
Software - Description
Windows - 10 Currently the most stable OS.
Chocolatey - Install, update or uninstall programs using command line scripts.
Google Chrome - Functional and secure web browser.
Google Drive - Backup utility to never lose your documents and savegames.
7zip - Create and extract archives of any format.
Ditto - Keep a list of recently copied data (text, images, files).
Hashcheck - Create or verify checksums of files.
Everything - Very fast file search.
Notepad++ - A much better notepad.
Speedcrunch - Calculator that supports expressions.
WinMTR-Redux - Network connection diagnosis tool.
Crystaldiskinfo - Storage drives information.
Crystaldiskmark - Storage drives benchmark.
CPU-Z - CPU, motherboard and memory information.
GPU-Z - GPU Information.
MSI Afterburner - GPU information, FPS meter, fan control and undervolt/overclock.
MPC-BE - Multifunctional media player that supports majority of video/audio formats.
LAVFilters - A more updated media decoders for MPC-BE.
madVR - High quality video renderer for MPC-BE.
Foobar2000 - High quality and multifunctional audio player.
Flac - Lossless audio encoder (can be used in Foobar2000).
MKVToolNix - Extract, mux, merge and split video files without re-encoding (very fast).
FFMpeg - Command line tool for almost any possible video manipulation, that supports majority of audio/video formats.
Shotcut - Video editor that supports almost all formats.
IrfanView - Image viewer that supports almost all image formats.
ShareX - A very good tool to mostly take screenshots.
OBS Studio - Video recorder that supports quality-based bitrate estimation, making good quality and small size videos.
Windscribe - A free VPN (free version has limited traffic that resets every month).
DGVOODOO - Allows running very old games on modern operating systems.
FileUnsigner - Removes digital signatures from files, allowing running older programs.
Unlocker - Allows deleting system-protected files.
JCleaner - Registry cleaning software. The older Windows installation is - the bigger speed boost after cleaning.
DXVK - Allows running DirectX games using Vulkan API. Sometimes Vulkan provides better performance or stability.
ImDisk ToolKit - Allows using RAM as storage.
Lossless Scaling - Allows to upscale and/or generate frames for games (or any other apps). Most useful for high DPI monitors.
AnyDesk - Remote PC control, mostly used to remotely install/fix software.
Capture2Text - Translate text, captured on screen using selecting rectangle. Supports many languages.
FolderChangesView - Monitors changes made in selected folders.
Feel free to add yours.