Process Lasso [quick review]

Lately I've been playing with a unique little program called Process Lasso. It's not a complicated task manager, nor is it just another a priority booster. It's much more special than that - it uses a proprietary algorithm ("called ProBalance") to manage all the processes on a PC to provide a consistently smooth user experience.

Process Lasso follows the logic that it's more effective to reduce the priority of offending processes, rather than boost the priority of the foreground process. Run any kind of stress-test software, and you can see that your consumption will remain at 100%, but your overall UI experience will still be relatively smooth, not just the program you're currently working with.

There's a free version with an impressive amount of features which should be satisfactory for most users. It's very tweakable as well, for those so inclined. I've been playing with the ProBalance settings, but usually going back to default. You can also restrict/disallow certain processes from ever starting - a very desired, but hard to find, feature for these types of programs!

So is it any good in casual applications? I'm using it in 3 circumstances, and as of right now I'm inconclusive:

1. The first time I used it was on one of those older Dell Optiplex desktops with a single core Intel processor. I had it running on the computer for the past year, where it was functioning as a print server and a Quickbooks station in my office.
2. I'm running it on my laptop, a budget-grade Dell Inspiron (I think a 5010 model?) with dual-core Intel processor.
3. It's on my desktop, with 5GB of RAM and an Intel Core 2 Quad.

In case #1, the desktop was pretty underpowered for the QB software I was running on it to begin with, unfortunately. In such a case, I can't tell whether it made a huge difference, since there wasn't much going on in the background and it was struggling with one main app. That being said, while it took QB ages to load a screen sometimes, the mouse and keyboard rarely locked up. (It still managed to happen now and then.)

In cases #2 and #3, where I multitask a lot, I haven't been running Process Lasso very long. On my desktop, which I've been using most of the last few days, I do notice that switching between running apps is smoother than before.

However, I seem to have noticed a couple of aberrations: I'll randomly get lag while typing on my keyboard and using my mouse. Since they're wireless, I believe there may be an issue with the proprietary Intellipoint software. I may swap them out with wired units next week, and if the problem's gone away, I'll update this post.

If you're looking to speed up your ageing computer - especially a workstation PC, or one with server processes running in the background - this could really rejuvenate your experience. Try it - and let me know what you think in the comments!