6 Ways to Improve Mac Speed Performance [TESTED]

Even though we have a soft spot for Apple products, even Macs may lose speed with age. The rapid, responsive performance that Mac systems are known for eventually diminishes as the demand for applications and programs continues to expand, using a higher quantity of system resources.

To make matters worse, certain third-party apps and software might slow down and even crash your Mac. While it’s crucial to track out corrupted files or applications when necessary, poor performance is often due to something far less ominous. Instead of spending a lot of money on a new computer to fix this issue, you may try these 10 steps to make your Mac system quicker than it has ever been.

Luckily you land in the right place. Here I have found the major possible factor by which your Mac running slow and its fixes so that you can improve Mac speed performance and not have any problems in the future. By following these proven tips, you can quickly fix a slow-running Mac.

What may be causing my Mac to operate so slowly?

Apps will eventually cease responding, starting up will take longer than making coffee, and movies will stutter no matter how fresh or old your Mac is. There’s an issue if you have to ask yourself, “Why oh why is my Mac operating slow?” every morning.

Prepare to enter a field where such a question has more than one possible solution. One or more of the following may be to blame:

Background processes that drain your performance: MacOS does a lousy job of informing you when a process constantly consumes precious CPU cycles or memory. This can happen, for example, if a process is buggy or has crashed, or even (worst case scenario) when a virus has infected your Mac. To avoid anything more severe, check your Mac for viruses using our free Avast Mac Security (contrary to popular misconception, Macs get viruses, too!).
Fancy visuals: Even though Apple has dialed back a lot of the eye candy over the years, macOS is still cluttered with many visual effects that put a heavy tax on older Mac hardware. This affects battery performance, too.
Outdated apps or macOS: Chances are that new versions of your OS or your installed apps run faster or have fewer bugs that cause slowdowns. So it might be time to update.

In addition, several other factors might contribute to your Mac’s decreased performance.

How to Improve Mac Speed Performance

Put on your seatbelts because we’re about to go headfirst into the most efficient methods for optimizing performance on an iMac, MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, or any other Mac you may have.

In order of importance, below are the best methods to speed up a Mac:

1: Hard drive capacity getting full

If you have too many files, folders, songs, videos, and other stuff, then total capacity is the primary factor behind your Mac running slowly. And it always seems very difficult to delete them, which are your collections.

How to fix

One thing to be noted is that most of your hard drive capacity is used by the cache, logs, language packs, and other things. These are the hardest things to remove safely from your Mac without deleting your important stuff. CleanMyMac is the best option for cleaning your Mac safely. This tool for Mac clean up is every unnecessary thing stored on your Mac, and its best feature is that it knows what to delete and what not to.

Go to the CleanMyMac website

2: Outdated OS X version

You may wonder why Apple keeps on launching a new OS X version. The reason is simple: get better working performance from your Mac. Each time you see the update, it contains many fixes, which also directly or indirectly improve your Mac’s performance.

How to fix

The answer is simple: update to the latest OS X version. Go to the Mac App Store and check for the latest OS X version and install it. Once you install the latest OS X version, you will probably see better Mac performance and boost your Mac speed. Make sure, for better performance, you always have your Mac with the latest OS X version.

If you still find any problems with your Mac’s performance, there may be a case of broken disc performance. You can easily fix this problem using the CleanMyMac Repair Disc Permission tool.

3: Background activities

When you are working on your Mac, even if you are not using some apps installed on your Mac, they still keep on running behind the screen, which is a significant factor in slowing your Mac’s speed. Background activities consume lots of processor usage, causing your Mac’s performance.

How to fix

To check the background activities running on your Mac, navigate to the Applications folder> Utilities> Activity Monitor. Check the apps running on your Mac in real-time. You can quickly check which app is consuming more processor power. Tap to the memory option, and it sorts according to memory usage. The more the memory shows, the more it is consuming Mac speed. If that particular app is not so useful, select it and tap the cross icon above.

NOTE: Do not remove the things you don’t know.

4: Startup activities affecting Mac performance

There are many possibilities that when you start your Mac, it is taking a much longer time than it usually takes. This mostly happens when many things load in parallel during the start of a Mac, and they keep on running in parallel, affecting Mac performance throughout the time you are working on your Mac.

How to fix

This problem is expected, and the best solution is to use CleanMyMac. This fixes all your Mac’s problems and keeps your Mac running faster. The reason behind this is that this app deletes all unwanted things that are loading unnecessary while starting your Mac. Once you install CleanMyMac, this will solve your problems related to its performance in minutes. If you are not going for this option, the other option partially improves your Mac’s performance. Navigate to System Preferences > Users & Groups. Now go to username and tap login. Here you will see the list of apps launched during the startup. You can easily remove what you think is not entirely helpful.

5: Change your Internet Browser

Sometimes it is even noticed that the internet browser you are currently using may create the problem. This also slows down your Mac’s performance while working over the internet.

How to fix

You can try a different Internet browser that may enhance your Mac’s performance. For example, if you are using the internet on Safari, you might use a different browser, such as Google Chrome, which may solve your problem and make your Mac run faster.

6: Hardware problem

With time, your Mac hardware gets older, which slows down your Mac’s performance. If you are done with the above steps, the only thing left is time to change your hardware. This is a bit costly, but there’s no other option left.

How to fix

You can check your hardware stuff from your Mac. Fixing hardware problems takes time and is a bit expensive. Figure out the necessary hardware issue and replace them. Once done with this, you can easily see better performance.

6 Ways to Improve Mac Speed Performance if Your Mac Running Slow

What may be causing my Mac to operate so slowly?