“Bits rot and atoms age. As time goes on, your software will slow down and your hardware will chug under the weight of age. It’s inevitable. But that doesn’t mean you have to give in,” Rene Ritchie writes for iMore. “Just the opposite: There are several ways you can push back on electronic entropy and fight against the dying of your Mac performance!”
“There’s a common misconception that newer versions of software are automatically more resource intensive than older versions,” Ritchie writes. “While that can sometimes be the case, the truth is there are so many bug fixes and performance enhancements in software updates that it’s almost always worth your while to download and install them.”
“Sometimes new features are even added, like the storage tools in macOS Sierra, that can really help you remove cruft and improve performance,” Ritchie writes. “I’ve also gotten in the habit of doing a new, clean install of macOS whenever a major new version comes out. It used to be an incredible pain in the apps, but with tools like iCloud Drive and Dropbox, Mac App Store, iCloud Keychain and 1Password, I can get back up and running in a matter of hours, and then only add back the apps and files I really need. I can’t recommend this for everyone, but the difference is so great I have to at least suggest considering it for those who feel comfortable.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: There’s nothing like a fresh clean install for your Mac!
Buy one of last year’s models that has more memory and less bling.
This article explains how you can upgrade an older mac for under $100 and it will run much much faster. Startup time is also reduced. (No – it is NOT a scam)
https://jmmxtech.wordpress.com/2016/10/17/how-to-get-a-new-macbook-pro-for-124/
Another one… Open System Preferences Users & Groups pane Login Items tab. If you “never” do a clean install of the OS, you may have hidden background processes (that start up and run automatically when you log in to your user account), for things you no longer use. You may even have “malicious” items that you did not intend to install, or “mystery” items.
I believe the only login item that is already there by default in “iTunesHelper.” Remove the ones you do not need.
How to determine which are needed? Five items show up on my system.”ExpanderDae”, “System”, “AdobeResour” and two “iTunesHelper”… one of of the iTunesHelpers is listed as “Unknown”. Everything else is listed as an Application.
And how do you actually get rid of anything there? The only option is a checkbox to “Hide” when you log in.
Leo,
Highlight the item you want to remove then click on the “-” minus button.
I’d remove the iTunesHelper that is “unknown.” For what to remove, if you don’t know what it is based on the name, there’s a good chance you don’t need it. These items are typically background processes that help the “parent” app in some ways.
You can right-click it and Show in Finder, to show the actual item in Finder window. Where it’s located may provide some clues. In case you need to add back something you remove, create an alias for it temporarily on Desktop (after doing a Show in Finder). If you discover a removed item is needed, use the alias to find the original, and drag it back to Login Items list.
probably for some uses like GPU (rotating a high res 3D model or something) the most powerful mac you can get is a 7 year old Cheese Grater Mac Pro with an updated Video Card.
This is absurd for a ‘tech’ company….
all the software tweaks in the world isn’t going to compare to 3- 5 times the GPU power vs the newest Macs including the touch bar MBP.
Meanwhile as I said in another post today , Tim Cook has a rare opportunity to meet Ivanka Trump and he brings — of all the senior SVPs at Apple — Apple’s ‘Head of SOCIAL INITIATIVES’. With all Ban China products, 10 billion plus EU fine, Qualcomm being defended by conservatives, T.C is worried about ‘social when he meets with Trumps ….
NO wonder so many Mac issues (the second biggest hardware money earner at Apple next to iPhone) and not fixed –TC has lost his head completely in ‘social initiatives ‘ AND BASICALLY NOT FOCUSED ON THE HARDWARE (besides macs what’s with the he Apple TV remote ?… etc )
Use a launchd GUI like LaunchControl to see if you have any apps that run when you’re logged in.
Just upgrade your RAM, put in an SSD, and if it’s a desktop, replace your CPU.
Oooops! Your Mac would need to be quite old to do that.
Not trying to be smug, really. But instead of clean install and the surrounding hoopla dances of cloud storage and restoring files, I just retire my MBP every 4 years and get a new one and call that a clean install. Because I managed to keep my life free of any craps from Adobe, MS, Alaphacrap etc. for almost a decade now, I don’t bother to transfer old applications to my new system. In my experience, my system doesn’t bog down all that much in 4 years when operated like this.
I have a mid-2012 MBPr 15″ and it runs as fast today as the day I bought it. The only non-Apple product I have on it is Microsoft Office 365. Have a few utilities like 1Password, Fantastical and Typinator and love this machine. Still works perfectly!
My 2010 MacBook Pro just keep on running!
Talking of iTunes, Is it just me, or is iTunes a complete mess, compared to years ago.
I greatly increased my computing speed by buying the components and building my own windows based computer to replace my increasing long in the tooth MacPro. Obviously, I got tired of waiting for Apple to refresh the MacPro lineup. Shame on Apple for deserting us MacPro users.