Tweaking refers to fine-tuning or adjusting a complex system, usually an electronic device. Tweaks are any small modifications intended to improve a system.
In electronics, it is a synonym for "trimming." Analog circuit boards often have small
potentiometer
A potentiometer is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding or rotating contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. If only two terminals are used, one end and the wiper, it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat.
The measuring instrum ...
s or other components on them that are used to
calibrate or adjust the board as a service procedure: the small insulated screwdriver used to turn them is often called a "tweaker."
This use was echoed in the name of the product ''Tweek'', a popular but controversial audio product during the 1980s, which was claimed to improve the electrical characteristics of audio switch contacts.
Hardware
Hardware tweaking is a process of modifying certain parts of a hardware such as changing the
cables, cleaning the heads of a
VHS player with a branded cleaning fluid or oiling the moving parts of an
engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
with the best possible oil.
Computer hardware
Computer hardware tweaking is an extension of hardware tweaking, specifically geared towards the components of a
PC. They include: changing
voltage
Voltage, also known as electric pressure, electric tension, or (electric) potential difference, is the difference in electric potential between two points. In a static electric field, it corresponds to the work needed per unit of charge to ...
and
clock rate
In computing, the clock rate or clock speed typically refers to the frequency at which the clock generator of a processor can generate pulses, which are used to synchronize the operations of its components, and is used as an indicator of the pr ...
s of
processing units, modifying
RAM unit timing, improving
cooling systems to reduce chance of overheating, etc.
Tweaks specifically designed to allow a processor to operate at a higher clock speed than normal are known as
overclocking.
Modifications of computer systems not aimed at increasing performance, such as
quieter fans, external controls, and decorations such as lights or windows, are known as
modding
''Modding'' is a slang expression derived from the English verb " to modify". The term refers to modification of hardware, software, or anything else, to perform a function not originally intended by the designer, or to achieve bespoke specif ...
.
Software
Software tweaking is the process of improving the performance of an
application
Application may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks
** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...
or the quality of its output. There can be two ways of accomplishing this: manually (that is, if one is familiar with
programming; though it may be irrelevant if the
source of the application is
closed
Closed may refer to:
Mathematics
* Closure (mathematics), a set, along with operations, for which applying those operations on members always results in a member of the set
* Closed set, a set which contains all its limit points
* Closed interval, ...
, and there are no built-in means to adjust its performance) or using another piece of software specialized for that purpose. Tweaking of this kind generally increases usability, in terms of personal configuration preferences, rather than objective performance of the system overall).
Some very precise applications need constant and thorough tweaking to stay up to date and deliver best possible results. One of the most obvious examples of such a fine tuning is
LAME MP3 encoder, whose 3.9x branch is not only considered as the state-of-the-art
MP3
MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...
encoder, but also continues to shape the boundaries of the MP3
codec
A codec is a device or computer program that encodes or decodes a data stream or signal. ''Codec'' is a portmanteau of coder/decoder.
In electronic communications, an endec is a device that acts as both an encoder and a decoder on a signal or ...
and stay competitive with its successors.
See also
*
Overclocking
*
Modding
''Modding'' is a slang expression derived from the English verb " to modify". The term refers to modification of hardware, software, or anything else, to perform a function not originally intended by the designer, or to achieve bespoke specif ...
*
TweakUI
Tweak UI is a free application, released in 1996 by Microsoft for customizing the Microsoft Windows operating system's user interface. Tweak UI modifies the Windows Registry in the same way as a user could edit it manually with a program such as ...
References
External links
{{curlie, Computers/Hardware/FAQs,_Help,_and_Tutorials/Tweak_Your_Own_PC/, PC Tweaking
Tweakguides.comSite with various Windows and PC Game tweak guides
:-)
Computer hardware tuning