Summary

• You don't really need benchmarking programs after the first few days of your new PC.
• Spark Mail and Beeper help bring multiple programs together, but I find this can hurt my productivity.
• Equalizer APO and Snagit might be too complicated for most users, when FxSound and Snipping Tool are available.
• Microsoft PowerToys is great for power users, but for others, keeping things simple is more important.

I'm the first one to recommend must-have programs for every PC, from a fast browser and decent VPN client to a great wallpaper app and RGB software. However, I also believe one should not go overboard with installing every single "productivity-enhancing" program one comes across. As you can guess, I'm firmly in the "keep things simple" camp, and think you should also consider joining it.

There are many PC programs tagged as "essential" which most users can easily do without. You either don't need to have them permanently installed, or don't need them at all. Let's look at 6 such programs that I think are far from essential on a PC.

6 Benchmarking programs

A catch-all for most synthetic benchmarks

When you've built a new PC, the urge to want to benchmark the heck out of it is real. Running the best stress testing and benchmarking tools on your system and basking in the scores seems novel for a few days, but you don't really need them on your PC afterward. As long as your PC is running fine and delivering the performance you expect, constant benchmarking will only bring anxiety and FOMO.

Programs like Cinebench 2024, Furmark, AIDA64, 3DMark, and others are excellent options when you need to test the stability of your overclocks, diagnose issues, or set new performance records. When you're not doing any of those things, it's best to uninstall them, and enjoy your PC and your day without worrying about every little thing. I've even built PCs where I've never had to run a single benchmark — there's actually not always a strong reason to do it.

5 Spark Mail

It can be useful, but you probably don't need it

Spark Mail can combine all your email accounts into a single inbox, allowing you to view everything at the same place. It also has smart features to separate the critical stuff from the fluff, and some AI tools to help you write professional emails. However, I find that I don't need or want to see my work and professional email accounts in the same place. Plus, every single one of my email accounts is on Gmail, and a quick click on my account icon is enough to switch between them.

You might experiment with Spark and see if it fits your lifestyle, but you might find that some things are best left on their own.

Besides a company-mandated email account on Outlook or Gmail, most people probably have a single personal email account. Even if I have to use my work and personal accounts on the same device, I would prefer keeping them separate, so it's way easier for me to maintain my sanity after office hours are done. You might experiment with Spark and see if it fits your lifestyle, but you might find that some things are best left on their own.

4 Beeper

Probably does more harm than good

I have nothing against streamlining your day-to-day tasks, and bringing all your messaging services under a single roof sounds like a good thing. And it probably is, if you can't afford to miss a single Instagram notification, Twitter (sure, X) DM, or Telegram message. For me, however, this sounds like inviting trouble — I prefer to have all my social media apps separate, so that I can decide which one deserves my attention during the day.

Instead of making things simpler, this would hurt my productivity, as I would spend more time than usual checking all the different tabs for anything new.

Combining everything in a single place will no doubt cause needless checking of messages and notifications, when what I should be doing is focusing on work. Instead of making things simpler, this would hurt my productivity, as I would spend more time than usual checking all the different tabs for anything new. If you're thinking of spending less time staying online and more time on other important things in life, I think you'd agree with me.

3 Equalizer APO

Tuning audio is important, but simpler options exist

Equalizer APO is one of the essential apps recommended for every PC, thanks to its powerful features for tuning Windows audio exactly the way you want. I've recommended it myself, but while it's no doubt power-packed (and free on top of that), I find it's suitable for power users. For most users, there are far simpler and lighter options available, such as FxSound that I use on my system.

I'd still recommend you to use one of the simpler equalizer programs for Windows before Equalizer APO.

Given enough time, you can surely master Equalizer APO, and find use cases for tuning every single one of your speakers, headphones, monitor speakers, and more. However, I'd still recommend you to use one of the simpler equalizer programs for Windows before Equalizer APO. You might not need the latter at all.

2 Snagit

Is screenshotting your passion?

I take screenshots for a living nearly everyday, and I still don't find the need for anything more than the Snipping Tool in Windows. I think most users just need the ability to take simple screenshots, with a little bit of editing features thrown in. Snagit might provide that and a lot more in a single application, but the Snipping Tool is already capable of editing screenshots, recognizing text, recording videos, and more.

Snagit requires a paid subscription or one-time license after the expiry of its 14-day trial period. Most users won't find that worthwhile.

Snagit might have extra features like scrolling screenshots, removing unwanted elements, and custom presets to automate tasks, but again, do you absolutely need them? Moreover, Snagit requires a paid subscription or one-time license after the expiration of its 14-day trial period. Most users won't find that worthwhile, and that's why Snagit is one of the Windows programs that you could do without.

1 Microsoft PowerToys

This might be controversial

PowerToys is one of the most popular, and certainly most powerful, programs on Windows. Made by Microsoft, it essentially supercharges your Windows environment with helpful features like easily managing multiple windows, renaming files in bulk, resizing images in bulk, and remapping your keyboard keys, among many other tools.

Most users want to keep things simple, and PowerToys, no matter how good it is, isn't about that.

My take on PowerToys is that I've never felt the need to do all those things. The only time I've used PowerToys was when I wanted to disable the side buttons on my mouse, so I didn't accidentally press "back" from a webpage I was reading. Most users want to keep things simple, and PowerToys, no matter how good it is, isn't about that. So I believe that, unless you're a power user, you can easily go about your day without missing much if you're not using PowerToys.

Easy does it, for most Windows users

There is no dearth of powerful third-party programs to enhance the functionality of Windows, and by all means, you should experiment with them. However, most users aren't power users with demanding tasks, and I believe that they won't miss much if they don't use these popular Windows programs on their PC.

Sure, your needs and habits might change in the future, and you might find them useful later; but even as a power user, it's not always necessary to focus on "productivity tools" to increase your productivity. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to not do anything extra at all.