8 Tips to Improve Your Mac’s Performance

You may have a completely new Mac with macOS Big Sur, or you could have an older Mac, which you have been successfully using for years. Either way, all Mac users want to experience the best possible performance while using their computers. 

However, time is not the main factor that influences the speed and performance of a Mac. One of the most important things is to ensure that you always have enough free disk space on your computer. Otherwise, the apps will start unresponding, lagging, and the entire computer slowing down.

Therefore, to have a fast Mac for years to come, you need to learn how to maintain its best condition. Thus, here, in this article, we will share eight tips that will help you improve the performance of your Mac. 

Tip #1: Avoid Downloading Large Media Files

Avoid Downloading Large Media Files

Free disk space means a lot if you want your Mac to perform well, and you should avoid cluttering your computer in the first place. For example, you could start using streaming services for movies and music, such as Netflix and Spotify.

Using such services will save you time because you will not have to wait until a file downloads. You will ensure that the file you are opening is not inflicted with malware, and the streaming platform will provide useful recommendations.

Tip #2: Clean Your Desktop Daily

Clean Your Desktop Daily

The more items you keep on your desktop, the more you slow down your computer. To display every icon on your screen, the operating system uses up memory resources that influence a slower performance.

Also, keeping a couple of files on your desktop for quick access might be useful, but if your screen is cluttered with tens or hundreds of files, it will become more than easy to forget about large files that you could simply delete.   

Tip #3: Update the macOS

Updates are created to fix bugs, improve the performance of a device, and enhance the security so that your Mac is well protected from malware and viruses. Therefore, updates are a must for a Mac user that is striving to have a well-performing computer.

If you skipped an update, you could find it by clicking on the Apple icon from the top menu, going to the System Preferences, and clicking on Software Update. If there is a pending update, you will see a red dot on the Software Update icon.

Tip #4: Invest in an Effective Antivirus

As the numbers of Mac users are constantly growing, hackers tend to focus on these computers more. Some years ago, when there were fewer Mac users, these computers were considered to be one of the safest ones. However, hackers focused on Windows users only because there were much more of them.

Therefore, make sure that you choose an effective antivirus for your Mac. Even though Macs have their own Firewall, that is not enough to keep your device and data safe.

Tip #5: Use Activity Monitor

Every single time your computer becomes slow out of nowhere, check the Activity Monitor to see if there are any resource-hungry apps running in the background.

To open the Activity Monitor, click the magnifying glass icon from the upper menu and type in “Activity Monitor.” Then, navigate to the CPU section and close the apps that use up the biggest amounts of resources.

Tip #6: Quicken the Startup Process

To prevent a slow startup process, avoid adding way too many apps as your startup items. A couple is fine, but a few are already a crowd. 

If you already have a problem with a slow startup, then you will need to edit the list of Login Items. To do so, click the Apple icon from the upper menu, go to Users & Groups, and then choose Login Items. 

Tip #7: Check Disk Space

Check Disk Space

Make sure that you check the disk space regularly. Aim to have at least 10% of the disk space free. If you have less than that, your Mac will begin to lag and underperform.

If you have never checked storage space on your Mac, click the Apple icon, open the About This Mac menu, and click on the Storage tab. In the Storage menu, you will see how much free disk space you have left. 

Tip #8: Uninstall Large Apps

Once you have problems with low disk space, start removing unneeded items from your Mac. As apps tend to take up quite a lot of space, begin with defining which large apps you no longer need and uninstall them.

To locate such applications, in the Storage menu, click Manage, and you will see a list of apps installed on your computer, including the disk space that they are using.

Marie Foster
Marie Foster
Marie Foster is a reporter based in UK. Marie has also worked as a columnist for the various news sites.

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