9 Tips To Increase Speed & Performance Of A Mac

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Suppose you are a Mac user and use your computer for working or studying. In that case, a slow-performing and lagging device might be frustrating, especially in those situations when you need to attend a scheduled conference call or solve some quick issues.

However, a Mac does not become slow for no reason, and the way you were using it often has a lot to do with it. Just like any other electronic device, a Mac needs proper care if you want it to perform well.

Therefore, in today’s blog post, we will share nine quick and easy tips that will help effectively improve the speed and performance of your Mac, even if it is an old one.

Tip #1: Remove Startup Items

Each day you start using your Mac by turning on the computer, and a slow booting process might be an annoying thing and waste a lot of time. More to it, it may become an obstacle to solve urgent situations at work.

Therefore, it is best to review the list of login items and remove them. To do so, click the Apple logo in the upper left corner of the screen, go to System Preferences, open Users & Groups, and go to Login Items.

Tip #2: Update The Operating System

If you want your Mac to perform well at all times, the operating system’s updates are important because they often include security enhancements, performance improvements, and bug fixes, which are all related to how fast your Mac will work.

Moreover, new malware and viruses are released daily; thus, Apple is constantly working on optimizing the security of your Mac so it can be protected from the most recent threats.

Tip #3: Check Storage

In times when you have low storage space, it can affect the speed and performance of your computer. It is recommended to have at least 10% of free disk space. If your Mac has less, it will start to lag.

To manually check how much free disk space you still have left, click the Apple icon from the top menu, open the About This Mac window, and go to the Storage options. Here, you will see how much space is taken up by apps and other files.

Tip #4: Optimize Storage

Once you are done checking how much free storage space you have, you can clear up some disk space if you click the Manage button that is located on the right side of the window.

It will open a new window that will show you four different suggestions that can help you create more free space on your Mac’s disk. For example, one of them is Store in iCloud. Choosing this option will automatically keep most of your files on the iCloud platform.

Tip #5: Start Using Streaming Services

Using streaming services is excellent prevention for a full disk. If you choose to watch tv shows and movies on platforms like Netflix or HBO, you will avoid downloading large files to your device and forgetting to delete them afterward.

You can also use such streaming platforms as Spotify to listen to your favorite artist and avoid downloading multiple audio files to your computer. Saving space equals a faster Mac.

Tip #6: Scan For Malware & Viruses

You might have heard the myth of Macs not needing antivirus, which is false. It is true that Macs do have a lot of security advantages; however, that is not enough to protect your computers from malware and viruses that are created constantly.

Therefore, make sure that you find a trustworthy antivirus application and scan your computer for malware and viruses from time to time.

Tip #7: Edit Visual Effects

Such visual effects like transparency can decrease Mac’s speed and overall performance because the computer will use additional resources to display the effect. Therefore, as there is no convenient use that the effect provides, it would be a good idea to disable it.

First of all, click the Apple icon at the top of the screen, then open the System Preferences, click the Accessibility icon, and in Display options, click Reduce Transparency.

Tip #8: Clear Cache Files

To launch certain processes and applications faster, macOS is constantly creating temporary files. Unfortunately, over time these files accumulate and only take up so needed disk space on your Mac.

Browser cache files can be easily deleted manually by opening the Safari browser, going to the Develop menu, and choosing the option Empty Caches.

Tip #9: Uninstall Unneeded Apps

As having enough disk space is very important for Mac’s speed and apps tend to take up quite a lot of it, you shouldn’t keep unneeded apps on your computer.

Often people download and install new applications just to experiment and check something new out of boredom. The downside of downloading apps spontaneously is that it is easy to forget about them.