ACE Optimizer

ACE Optimizer is a lightweight Windows utility that detects ACE anti-cheat processes directly and reduces their CPU impact by lowering process priority and pinning them to the last CPU core.

简体中文：ACE Optimizer 是一个 Windows 桌面工具，会直接检测 ACE 反作弊进程，并通过降低优先级、绑定最后一个 CPU 核心来减少 CPU 占用。

Highlights

• Direct ACE process detection without a game allowlist
• Sets detected ACE processes to Idle priority
• Pins detected ACE processes to the last CPU core
• Runs quietly in the system tray
• Optional startup task via Windows Task Scheduler with elevation support
• English and Simplified Chinese UI resources

Monitored Processes

Process	Description
SGuard64	ACE user-mode process
SGuardSvc64	ACE service process

Platform

ACE Optimizer is built for Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Some ACE versions require administrator privileges before Windows allows priority or CPU-affinity changes. If optimization is blocked, restart ACE Optimizer as administrator when prompted.

Download

Download the latest installer or portable archive from GitHub Releases:

ACE Optimizer Releases

Release assets usually include:

File	Description
ACEOptimizer_Setup_v*.exe	Windows installer
ACEOptimizer_Portable_v*.zip	Portable single-file build

Usage

1. Start ACE Optimizer.
2. Launch a game or application that starts ACE.
3. ACE Optimizer detects SGuard64 or SGuardSvc64 automatically.
4. When access is allowed, the detected process is moved to Idle priority and pinned to the last CPU core.
5. Use the tray icon to reopen or exit the app.

Tech Stack

• .NET 8
• WPF
• WPF-UI 3.0.4
• H.NotifyIcon.Wpf 2.1.4
• NetSparkleUpdater 3.1.0
• Inno Setup
• GitHub Actions

Build

dotnet restore
dotnet build

Publish Locally

dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=true -p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true -p:EnableCompressionInSingleFile=true -o ./publish

Automated Release

The repository includes a GitHub Actions workflow that builds and publishes releases when a v* tag is pushed.

Releases require an Ed25519 update-signing key. Add NETSPARKLE_PRIVATE_KEY as a GitHub Actions secret containing the Base64 private key generated by NetSparkle.

The public signing keys are embedded in Services/UpdateSecurity.cs. Never commit an Ed25519 private key. Before rotating keys, publish a version that trusts both the current and next public keys, then switch the release workflow to the next private key.

Each release includes a signed appcast.xml, its detached appcast.xml.signature, the installer, and the portable archive. The application verifies the appcast and installer with Ed25519 before installation. The binaries are not Authenticode-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may display a warning.

To create a new release:

1. Update the version in ACEOptimizer.csproj.
2. Confirm NETSPARKLE_PRIVATE_KEY is configured.
3. Commit and push to main.
4. Create and push a tag matching the project version.
5. The workflow validates the tag, runs tests, generates the signed update feed, and publishes a GitHub Release.

Example:

<Version>1.2.14</Version>
<AssemblyVersion>1.2.14.0</AssemblyVersion>
<FileVersion>1.2.14.0</FileVersion>

git tag v1.2.14
git push origin v1.2.14

The release workflow rejects tags whose version does not exactly match the Version value in ACEOptimizer.csproj.

Notes

• ACE Optimizer only changes process priority and CPU affinity for the monitored ACE process names.
• It does not modify game files, anti-cheat files, drivers, or system services.
• Compatibility can change if ACE changes process names or blocks priority and affinity updates.

Author

Created by @Ninthless.