A slowly performing computer is always irritating. You need to spend minutes, if not hours, waiting for the operation to complete, which is unacceptable in the modern high-tech world. Especially bothersome is the low performance of Macs – laptops marketed as the fastest in the market.
However, believing that your Mac will always perform at the top of its technical specifications is an illusion. After several months of use, you may notice the first signs of its slowdown, which requires a comprehensive audit of your user behavior. Instead of blaming Apple producers, investigate the causes of slow performance to see if it’s you or the hardware/software that causes the issue. Here is a quick guide on how to manage this problem with minimum input of time and energy, keeping your Mac at the top of its technical and functional capacity.
When Was the Last Update?
Software updates mean much more to your Mac’s performance than you think. Timely updates help your laptop function at its maximum as the new app and feature updates help remove the apparent bugs and improve performance. Otherwise, if you stay with the old versions of your programs and system files for too long, you risk getting stuck with a slow-performing device not supported by the official software provider.
So, to guarantee that updates are not an issue, visit your App Store regularly to check what updates are currently on offer by Apple. All of this is free of charge, so why not get the latest versions of your favorite programs?
When Was the Last Restart?
People sleep at night to refresh and restore after a hard workday. So, why do we deprive our Macs of this essential benefit? The habit of sending your Mac to sleep mode after finishing your working session is a bad one, as only a complete restart can help your device remove all data chunks, cookies, and temporary files uploaded for specific tasks not necessary anymore.
If you don’t restart a Mac for a week or so, you run into the risk of witnessing a dramatic performance reduction. The reason for this is the clutter accumulating in the RAM, disabling Mac’s quick information processing and task completion.
Is Your Mac Virus-Free?
Whenever you see an abrupt fall in your Mac’s productivity, it’s time to check it for viruses and malware. Unfortunately, Macs cannot be considered virus-proof anymore, with hackers becoming more sophisticated and finding new ways to infiltrate even secure systems like iOS. Thus, as soon as you notice suspicious changes in your Mac’s work, it’s time to run a virus scan and engage a robust anti-virus program for cleansing the system.
Don’t neglect the problem for too long, as postponing the solution may become too costly for your hardware. Viruses like warms or Trojans can damage important data, hardware, and critical system files on your Mac, making the damage irreparable. So, it’s better to take timely action and save your machine.
How Long Does Your Cache Accumulate?
Cache gets into the temporary memory of your Mac whenever you browse the web. The mass of user preference and browsing history data can make browsing of the same websites more straightforward, but it accumulates in your Mac to clutter the memory in the long run. Thus, a wise solution is to conduct regular cache cleaning sessions to optimize your memory storage. Leaving this issue unattended, you risk ending up with a slow Mac and tons of cache data you don’t really need.
Is Your RAM Sufficient?
RAM is the working memory of your Mac that it uses to process the just-in-time tasks. So, if you use the memory space unwisely or clutter it with some resource-demanding but redundant processes, your Mac will quickly lose its capacity to work well. If you see that the amount of RAM is chronically insufficient to manage all tasks at hand, you can purchase additional RAM and add it to your system. This solution will suit the users with resource-intensive tasks and software, such as, for instance, Photoshop or programming software kits.
What about Hard Disk Space?
While RAM is responsible for the day-to-day running of your Mac and the performance of current tasks, the hard drive space is meant for the permanent storage of files and data. If you don’t audit the hard drive space regularly, you may find it too cluttered with old, unnecessary files to function properly. Thus, it’s vital to visit the “Storage” section from time to time and choose the files you no longer need by using the “Manage” tab.
How Many Resource-Intensive Processes Do You Have?
As soon as you launch your Mac, a set of startup processes starts together with it. Some of them come as a built-in feature of the iOS, while others are the result of your work. It often happens that you unknowingly include a process or app in the list of startup processes, while in fact, you don’t need it regularly. The more processes launch at startup, the closer your Mac will be (at least in the first minutes after turning on). So, we recommend visiting the Activity Monitor regularly to see what processes consume your CPU’s energy. If you’re surprised to see some titles on the list, click “Quit” to stop that process and give your Mac a tangible performance boost.
Slowness Is not a Death Sentence
As you can see, a slow Mac is not a reason to rush to an Apple store and spend all your savings on a new monster machine. Keep in mind that it’s your use habits that may cause your device to deteriorate, and Mac’s performance is manageable within a couple of clicks even by people without professional tech skills.
The most frequent cause of Mac slowdown is the clutter – be it processes, data, or files. It’s easy to get the most of Mac potential, especially given that these devices are indeed created mighty, quick, and functional. So, arrange a quick cleanup to get everything right, and you’ll again be working on a revived, speedy Mac in minutes.
