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
potentiometers 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
cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
s, cleaning the heads of a
VCR 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 ge ...
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 (electrical) potential difference, electric pressure, or electric tension, is the difference in electric potential between two points. In a Electrostatics, static electric field, it corresponds to the Work (electrical), ...
and
clock rate
Clock rate or clock speed in computing typically refers to the frequency at which the clock generator of a processor can generate pulses used to synchronize the operations of its components. It is used as an indicator of the processor's s ...
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
In computing, overclocking is the practice of increasing the clock rate of a computer to exceed that certified by the manufacturer. Commonly, operating voltage is also increased to maintain a component's operational stability at accelerated sp ...
.
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.
Software
Software tweaking is the process of improving the performance of an
application 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, 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 encoder, but also continues to shape the boundaries of the MP3
codec
A codec is a computer hardware or software component 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 o ...
and stay competitive with its successors.
See also
*
Overclocking
In computing, overclocking is the practice of increasing the clock rate of a computer to exceed that certified by the manufacturer. Commonly, operating voltage is also increased to maintain a component's operational stability at accelerated sp ...
*
Modding
*
TweakUI
References
{{Reflist
External links
Tweakguides.comSite with various Windows and PC Game tweak guides
Computer hardware tuning