AMD's Fusion for Gaming Tool was in beta for about four months, but now version 1.0 is out, so now is a good a time as any to give it a shot.
What the tool does is help make your game playing experience more smooth by optimizing system usage, essentially. Here are the features listed in the FAQ:
It has the ability to close open applications. It will also shut down non-essential services. It may speed up your HDD. It will also disable the power save features of your PC. It will tune your CPU and GPU.The only requirement really is an AMD processor, though the more AMD stuff you have in your rig, the more advantageous this will be to you. Windows XP and Vista 32 and 64-bit operating systems are supported.
For further enhancement, ATI Catalyst Control Center with AMD OverDrive can be used in conjunction with it.
A few warnings to heed before trying this: antivirus/security software may be disabled upon activation of the tool while gaming (there's an option for it), and your computer could be damaged or have its life shortened (none of which is covered by warranty) due to the performance tuning. Hard stuff, but if you're feeling brave, try it out, and let us know your experiences in the comments. Results are great so far, however, with a 4.2 out of 5 rating based on 36 user reviews.
Here's a walkthrough video of Fusion for your viewing pleasure:
Bugs and other technical information for the tool can be found via the AMD link below, which should be read before installing.
Update: Our experience running a system with just an AMD CPU proved more negative than positive. The tool cut out Windows Firewall each time upon enabling, though it could be enabled again while still running Fusion for Gaming. While performance did seem slightly improved, one of the sound effects in the game (Prince of Persia) no longer triggered. Testing was with the Basic mode -- Advanced cut out all kinds of things, and for us anyway, was more hassling than helpful. Custom profile experiences may vary.
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