Most people would probably agree that PC maintenance isn't as high a priority as it used to be. As such we'd expect the success of software like TuneUp Utilities to suffer from the fact that people either don't need to (or can't be bothered to) optimise a machine or are happy to make do with the tools supplied with Windows.

This is a shame, in a way, since TuneUp Utilities 2009 really is an impressive collection of utilities that'll help you clean, streamline and tweak various areas of the operating system to help improve performance and generally avoid the inevitable build up of clutter. The main problem here is that, as suggested, much of this can be done with the rather rudimentary tools supplied with Windows (if you know where to look) and the new version doesn't bring anything revolutionary to the table.

A revised interface and a bit of tweaking of the existing toolset is all you can expect for 2009, which isn't enough for an upgrade but the suite should still have distinct appeal to those who like to keep a clean PC.

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The main interface splits tools into useful categories to cover functions such as cleaning and repairing the registry and hard drive and optimising system settings, startup and performance. The 1-Click Maintenance solution is still available for those who want to search for and fix common problems and there are tools included, such as file shredder and undelete, that you won't find within Windows.

These can be run individually if you have a specific task in mind, but the software also monitors your machine for you and can present you with a list of suggestions for areas of your system that can be optimised. These are split into System Maintenance, Speed and System Status on the main interface with notifications that range from ‘optimised' (everything's fine) to recommendations for improving performance or critical areas that should be addressed immediately.

Most individual tools work by scanning the relevant area of your machine to prepare a diagnosis before allowing you to fix or optimise as need be. This is rarely more than a two or three step process and there's plenty of information on offer that explains detected problems and gives you some idea of what to expect after a fix. If you encounter problems after running any of the tools the Recovery Centre can ‘undo' changes to restore your system and this also doubles as a System Recovery tool that's more powerful and comprehensive than that supplied with Windows.

Beginners will certainly appreciate the fact that each of the components is very approachable and in nearly all instances improves on the alternative available as part of Windows' system tools. For these reasons we can see the target market for such a product being people with older machines that still struggle with day-to-day tasks and beginners who aren't confident enough to trawl through the free solutions available.

In this light it's an excellent collection of tools and there are few similar suites on the market that trump TuneUp Utilities in terms of usability and the range of varied solutions on offer.

Despite the fact that there aren't any major new features in the latest version, TuneUp Utilities is still one of the most comprehensive optimisation suites on the market. It's fast and easy to use and is perfectly suited to beginners or those with older machines that would benefit from a performance boost.