Smart Optimize and hardware tiers

Smart Optimize is the "choose for me" button. It looks at your detected hardware tier and automatically ticks the modules that make sense for your PC — aggressive on strong machines, lightweight on weak ones — then runs them. It is the safest fast path because it never forces tweaks your hardware can't comfortably take.

How hardware tiers are decided

BRUTAL classifies every PC into one of four tiers based on GPU VRAM, RAM and CPU cores:

ULTRA — GPU VRAM ≥ 10 GB, RAM ≥ 32 GB, CPU ≥ 8 cores. Maximum aggressiveness.
HIGH — GPU VRAM ≥ 6 GB, RAM ≥ 16 GB, CPU ≥ 6 cores.
MID — GPU VRAM ≥ 2 GB, RAM ≥ 8 GB, CPU ≥ 4 cores.
LOW — anything below the MID thresholds; gets a small set of light, safe modules.

Your tier is shown on the Home dashboard with a per-component breakdown (which parts pass, which hold you back, and what the next tier needs). Smart Optimize reads that same tier.

What Smart Optimize selects per tier

The selected module set scales with your tier:

LOW — modules 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 15. Seven lightweight, broadly safe modules.
MID — modules 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 20, 22.
HIGH / ULTRA — modules 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22. ULTRA runs them at maximum intensity.

Smart Optimize deliberately excludes the two ADVANCED boot/security modules — Module 11 (VBS/HVCI + Spectre) and Module 12 (Timer/HPET). Those change boot config and need a conscious opt-in, so they are never auto-selected. If you want them, enable them by hand on the Optimize page (you will get a one-time confirmation) or use the Aggressive run.

Free vs Pro selection

Smart Optimize only ticks modules you are entitled to run. On the Free tier it skips the five Pro-only deep modules (11, 16, 19, 20, 21) automatically — they stay locked and are simply not selected. Everything else in your tier's set runs normally. This honours BRUTAL's no-tricks promise: the Free tier is the whole toolbox minus the Pro deep-tuning, and the app never pretends to apply a module you don't have.

How to use it

Open the Optimize page.
Press Smart Optimize.
BRUTAL logs your tier and how many modules it selected (e.g. "MID tier — 16 modules selected"), ticks them, and starts the run.
A system restore point is created first, then each module is applied with a live progress bar and log.
Restart your PC when prompted for the changes to fully take effect.

Best practice

Run Smart Optimize first; it is tuned to your machine and avoids the riskiest modules.
If you want to see the selection before running, you can press Smart Optimize to tick the boxes, then look at which toggles lit up — or use Preview on the Optimize page.
On a borderline machine, sit at your current tier rather than chasing the next one; the per-component breakdown on Home shows the cheapest upgrade.

Common issues / troubleshooting

Tier looks wrong — detection uses WMI and can misread unusual hardware. Check the Home dashboard's component breakdown; if a component reads zero, your drivers or WMI may need attention.
Fewer modules ran than listed — on Free, the Pro-only modules in your tier set are skipped. The log states how many were selected vs run.
Wanted module 11 or 12 — those are never auto-selected. Enable them manually and accept the advanced-module prompt.