How to Speed Up Mac? This post lists 11 methods to speed up your Mac and make it work like new.
Mac Tips & Issue Fixes
Mac Related Tips
Update Apps Regularly in macOS Catalina on Mac. Updating your apps regularly keeps the macOS Catalina running smoothly. Sometimes, the outdated apps aren’t supported by the latest OS systems. So you need to keep your Mac apps updated regularly and always have an eye if the system is running too slow. Adding More RAM to Mac. You can also install software, such as SMC Fan Control for Mac and SpeedFan for Windows—these will increase the speed of your CPU's fan to make it work faster. In addition, you should also.
Mac Problems & Fixes
Mac Clean Tips
You might have the habit of wiping and dusting off your Mac screen and cleaning out keyboard and indeed, physical cleaning could make your Mac look sleek and shine as new. However, is your Mac computer working like new?
I believe the answer is a big NO. Even if you spent more than $ 2000 on one of the best Mac computers, it is still inevitable that your Mac might get slow and sluggish, even stuck on some window. How to speed up Mac? If you are troubled by this problem, don’t worry, we are here to help. Here in this post, we summarized the most efficient 11 tips to help you speed up your Mac and make it work like new.
Method 1. Make Sure Your Mac OS Is Up to Date
Apple provides free OS updates and these updates could fix bugs and glitches that slowing down your Mac. There is no reason to stay at old version of Mac OS at all! Below are detailed steps of how to update to latest Mac OS.
Step 1. Locate the version of Mac you require, check if your Mac is supported and if there is enough room for your Mac.
Step 2. Backup your Mac.
Step 3. Click on the App Store icon in the Dock and select Updates. You can also click the Apple logo at the top left of your screen and select Software Update from there. (Please make sure you have logged in iCloud account on your Mac.)
Step 4. Search Mac OS, download it to your Mac. Follow the prompts, you can have the newest version of Mac OS.
Method 2. Cleanup Your Browser like Safari, Chrome, Opera, etc.
No matter what browser you are using on your Mac, Safari, Chrome or Opera, when you are browsing some webs, the more tabs you open on your browser, the more memory storage it takes up, and more slowly your computer works. If don’t believe it, you can launch Activity Monitor (Steps: Macintosh HD > Applications > Folder of Utilities > Activity Monitor) to check it.
Close Unused Tabs in Safari/Firefox/Chrome/Opera to Speed Up Mac
- Close unused tabs in your browser.
- Cleanup the cookies, caches and browsing history from your browser:
– For Safari users: Click Safari on left hand of desktop > Clear History and Website Data > All History > Clear History.
– For Chrome users: Click Chrome on left hand of desktop > Clear Browsing Data > the beginning of time > Select the items you want to clear > Clear browsing data.
– For Firefox Users: Launch Firefox > Click History on the upper left corner of your desktop > Select the history you want to remove > Click Setting > Select Delete button.
– For Opera Users: Click Opera at the left hand of your desktop > Click Clear Private Data > Select the browsing data you want to delete > Click Clear Browsing Data.
Also Read: How to Free up Space on Mac >
When you clearing browsing history and cookies from some browser, you can choose to keep the password, or you will input them again when you visit the webpages you logged in before.
Method 3. Remove All Junks from Your Mac
Apps To Make Mac Run Faster For Free
If you want to speed up your Mac completely, it is quite necessary to find out and remove the junk files from it. Don’t think it is troublesome to open every app to clear its junks? Here we offer you an all-in-one Mac cleaning tool – MacClean that allows you to one click to remove System Junks, App junks, Users Junks, and Internet Junks from your Mac without Googling how to figure out some tough problems, how to delete history and caches from Firefox browser, how to get rid of app leftovers from Mac, etc.
Related Reading:
Method 4. Cleanup Your Desktop
Cleanup Your Desktop to Speed Up Your Mac
Contrary to Windows computer, Mac has only one hard disk, and we put all the things in the same disk. We never worry we will run out of all the storage of C drive, and never thought they will slow down our Mac. However, if you just keep your files disordered on your desktop, and keep all apps on the dock, the items on your desktop also will slow down your Mac. Because macOS treat each desktop item like a small window with its own performance boost, and your desktop plays a part in how many time it will take for you to boost the system (it is the first screen that it has to load up).
Therefore, here are several ways to clean up your desktop:
– Remove unused Apps from Dock: Select the App > Right click this App > Select Options > Remove from Dock.
When removing some App from Dock, you should quit it firstly, or you can’t find the option of “Remove from Dock”.
– Delete unless files, and put valuable files into folders.
– Remove Apps from Computer. Apps take up both CPU and storage.
Also Read: How to Clean MacBook Pro Hard Drive Easily >
Method 5. Empty the Trash
You know that every file you delete and every App you uninstall are placed in Trash unless you right click and empty it. So if you ensure all your deleted files are useless, empty trash regularly and remove them from your Mac permanently.
Method 6. Close Unused but Running in Background Applications
When looking at Activity Monitory, except browser tabs take much storage, you must have noticed that some apps you don’t launch are running in the background. So close those unused apps to speed up your Mac.
Close Unused Apps with Activity Monitory to Speed Your Mac
Method 7. Close Widgets on the Dashboard You Don’t Use
Like Apps and browser tabs, the widgets on your Dashboard also take up a little bit of memory. So go to Dashboard and remove the widgets you don’t use by following the steps: Launchpad > Mission Control > Dashboard > Click “-” > Click the “x” of the widgets you don’t use. Absolutely, you also can use the same way to add the widgets you delete by mistake.
Remove Unused Widgets from Dashboard to Speed Up Mac
Method 8. Managing Startup Items
If you find it takes you one or two minutes to boot up your Mac, maybe you should check your login items on your Mac, and there have too many applications to open. When you install some applications, they automatically are added into Login Items, and they will launch automatically when you start your Mac. Without a doubt, this will make your Mac slowly. If you don’t know what Apps are added in your Login Items, you can check with steps below: Settings > Users & Groups > Current User > Login Items > Select the items you want to remove > Click “-” button.
Method 9. Add RAM or Upgrade the Hardware
If you have tried all the methods listed above, but your Mac still works slowly. At this moment, you can consider upgrading the RAM to speed up your Mac. As known to us, Mac computer is very expensive. Compared with getting a new Mac, upgrading your RAM is the simplest way to make your Mac run faster. If you have only one piece of RAM attached in your Mac, consider getting another one.
Add RAM or Upgrade Hardware to Speed Up Mac
Method 10. Add an SSD to Mac
SSD stands for “Solid State Drive”, and an SSD drive is just the same shape and size as a traditional drive. The biggest difference between them is that an SSD drive uses RAM chips instead of a spinning hard disk to store information, which makes it much faster.
We suggest you add an SSD drive to run just macOS and your applications, and keep your existing hard disk for your user files. This means your System files and Applications are on the new SSD drive, but your user data like iPhoto or iTunes stay on your old Hard Disk. This will speed up your boot time and application launching.
Also Read: How to Clean MacBook Pro >
Method 11. Restart Your Mac
For most of us, especially those who are working with a MacBook Pro or Air, we won’t restart our Mac unless we meet some problem and can’t solve it. Normally we just close the lid and let it sleep. However, restarting your Mac will clear out the cache and re-initializes hardware, and rebooting regularly can have performance benefits. Moreover, nowadays the Macs equipped with SSD drivers can boost as quickly as they awake from Sleep. Therefore, if your Mac works slowly, you can restart your Mac and see if it is faster.
We also strongly suggest you make more available room for your Mac computer, especially when you are working a 64 GB or 128 GB MacBook Air. To get the most useful tips to free up space on Mac, you can refer to 4 Methods to Free up Space on Your Mac >
In addition, as every MacBook user, you also want your MacBook battery life to be good in condition because the battery of MacBook is integrated battery, which means it’s not easy to remove and install for general users. Also, the price of battery replacement is expensive. That’s why we bring you – Best Tips to Improve MacBook Battery Life >
Product-related questions? Contact Our Support Team to Get Quick Solution >
Purchasing a Mac may seem like a big investment. For some, it really is. But if you use this computer for work or to create music, graphic designs - you will hardly find a better tool to invest in. More to it, Macs are very well known for their longevity. So even though you invest a big sum of money at first, you will have this computer for years and years. Of course, if you want your Mac to function properly, perform well, and feel like new for a longer period of time, you yourself will also have to put in some work. Even though Macs do not require a lot of maintenance, there are some things that are a must if you want to maintain the fast speed of this computer.
One of the most important things you should do is regularly clean your Mac. You can either use specialized software for that or do it manually. Doing it manually will take a lot more time, but if you want to know your Mac better, here we will share some methods that will make your Mac feel like new.
Method #1: Remove Some of the Login Items
Once you start your Mac, you might notice that some of the applications are starting automatically with your computer. This is because they are listed as login items on your computer. Not that you should be concerned - once you install a new app, it is often a default setting that many people overlook. And it is also okay to have a couple of apps starting by themselves - but only if you truly use them right away when you start your Mac. If you want to remove some of these items, click the Apple icon on the top left of your computer’s screen, click on System Preferences, then choose Users & Groups, and finally locate the Login Items tab and click on it. Mark the apps you want to remove from login items and click the minus button.
Method #2: Add More RAM to Your Mac
For some of you, this may sound tricky, but it is easier than it sounds. Once you open up your computer, you can easily add some more RAM into it. Of course, any kind of RAM will not work. What you need to do first is to perform research on Google Search - find the exact model of RAM that fits your Mac’s model. It’s not about the brand - you just need to figure out the correct speed, type, and amount of the RAM that you are about to purchase.
Method #3: Force Quit Apps
If you have apps launched that are using significant energy and memory resources, you should shut them down and consider to search for alternative apps. Not only these kinds of apps are making your Mac slower, but they also are unhealthy for your battery. This is because each battery has a limited number of cycles. After the number of cycles is finished, your Mac’s battery will be able to hold less and less power until you will find yourself unable to use the computer without a charger plugged-in. It is not like it will happen within one day, but the health of your computer and its battery consists of many small but important things. To see which apps are using significant memory and energy, use the Spotlight Search and type in Activity Monitor. These tools will show you which running apps are using the most of Mac’s resources.
Method #4: Clean up Your Hard Drive
If your hard drive is nearly full, then your Mac will start underperforming and decreasing in speed. The more clogged up your computer’s hard-drive will be, the slower it will become.
If you want to see exactly how much space you have left, you can do that by clicking the Apple icon, choosing About This Mac, and clicking the Storage tab. You will have to give your computer a few moments to calculate everything, and soon you will be able to see the results.
Method #5: Reduce Transparency & Animations
How To Make Mac Run Faster
All of the macOS versions have their own animations and transparency effects. This seems fun at first, but later on, you get used to it and don't even notice anymore. And as it is known that these visual elements lead to underperformance, the best solution is to turn them off.
Apps To Make Mac Run Faster Youtube
First, to reduce transparency, go to System Preferences, click Accessibility, and choose Display from the left panel. Check the box next to the option of 'Reduce Transparency'. To turn off animations, go to System Preferences, click Dock, and for Minimize windows using, pick the Scale effect instead of the Genie effect.