Operating System: Mac OS 9
When the Mac was in its infancy, its speed didn’t matter all that much. After all, the computer was making us more productive than we had ever been before. For example, a document that might have taken a group of people hours to create could be written, designed and printed in a matter of moments. But as is normal in human nature, we wanted more. Thus began the quest for speed.
Over the years, the Mac has made tremendous strides in performance, culminating in the G4–arguably the fastest consumer computer on the market today. But short of buying a new computer, what can you do to squeeze the most performance from your computer? In this article, we’ll review everything you can do to make sure your computer is screaming.
For Just a Few Bucks
You might not have enough money to go out and buy the latest and the greatest. Fortunately there are a few relatively inexpensive items that you can purchase to make even the slowest machine a bit more tolerable.
Get All the RAM You Can Afford
Short of replacing the processor, there’s nothing that will improve your computer’s overall performance more than installing the maximum RAM. Once installed, make sure you increase the memory allotment for the programs you use daily. Otherwise, the Finder will be the only program that gets full use of the RAM.
Add More L2 Cache
The L2 cache works in conjunction with the processor’s internal cache to provide the maximum performance. For G3 and later processors the L2 is built on the processor module and isn’t upgradeable. But if you’re using an older machine, you should make sure you have the most possible for your machine (which can vary from 256 K to a theoretical limit of 4 MB). To determine the maximum for your machine, review the manual or review the Apple Tech Info Library article on the topic at:
https://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n14750.
Working with What You Have
Now that we’ve reviewed the purchases you can make to get your Mac smoking, let’s take a look at some of the things you can do to your present system’s software to improve performance. Within just a few moments you’ll quickly discover that your entire computer is a bit zippier. Sort of like you felt when you were a kid and you got a new pair of sneakers!
Optimize Your Disk Cache
The next thing you should do to make sure your Mac is humming at the fastest speed possible is to take a trip to the Memory control panel, as shown in Figure A. Here you can control how the memory on your computer is used. As a rule of thumb, the Disk Cache should be set to 128 K for every 4 MB of RAM. But why do the math when you can let the utility do it for you? To always have the right amount of cache, just make sure the Default Setting option button is activated in the Disk Cache.
Figure A
You’ll be best served by letting the Memory control panel make the Disk Cache calculations for you.
In Figure A you’ll also notice that we have Virtual Memory turned on, but just barely. You’re probably wondering why we’re even bothering with the option if we’re only trying to squeeze out a little more RAM. Actually, we have virtual memory on to make our applications launch quicker, not for extra memory. Unlike older, non-Power PC machines, all applications benefit from the superior file-mapping that virtual memory allows.
While we’re discussing the Memory control panel, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the RAM Disk. With the RAM Disk option activated, you can set aside a portion of the available memory to function as a disk drive. Since the drive is actually RAM, the computer can read and write files to it much quicker than if it were accessing the hard drive. If you have a lot of RAM, this is an excellent option for your browser cache. Just remember to select the Save On Shut Down check box so the cache will be available when you reboot.
Finally, reboot your computer more often. Doing so takes care of memory fragmentation problems that have plagued the Mac over various iterations of operating system versions.
Optimize Your Disk
Once you’ve done everything you can to the RAM, your next step is to examine another culprit for sluggish performance–the hard drive. First, make sure the disk isn’t fragmented. If it is it may take your computer much longer to launch applications and read and write files.
Also, if a disk is reaching capacity you should consider upgrading to a newer one or removing some of the files. When a disk is almost full, performance decreases, as the operating system has to search over more area. Should you replace the drive with a new one, you’ll encounter another speed up since the drives of today are more efficient and faster than disks from a few short years ago. And always make sure you have the most current driver available for your hard drive.
As an aside to disk optimization, don’t forget to frequently rebuild your desktop. A corrupted desktop is often the culprit when your system begins to falter, both in terms of speed and reliability.
Blow Out the Pipes
Remove any extraneous extensions, control panels, preferences or fonts you’re not using. These extra files not only increase the time it takes for your system to boot, but they can also slow down the time it takes to launch applications. Furthermore, the more you have in your system, the less stable your system will be. As an added benefit, this cleanup will free up RAM that you can use elsewhere. For more on what to yank and what to keep, refer to the article "It’s spring cleaning time again for your Mac" in the May 2000 issue of The MacAuthority.
Get Rid of the Pretty Pictures
Granted, it’s cool to have snazzy desktop pictures adorning your Mac and striking a chord for your individuality, but keep in mind that the larger the file size of the picture, the slower your screen redraw. For the best results, stick to simple desktop patterns. They’re smaller, and in the long run, they’ll make your desktop appear much tidier.
And speaking of your desktop, you might consider reducing the number of colors and the resolution you have your monitor set to. Some programs work better with the monitor set at 256 colors. As for the resolution, the larger it is, the more area your computer has to redraw.
Computational Mechanics
The best way to ensure that your Mac is running as quickly as possible is to decrease the computations that it has to make. For example, do you really need to know how large every folder on your hard drive is? If you have this option activated, your Mac constantly has to re-evaluate the sizes as you move, create and alter files. To save yourself time, in the Finder choose Edit > Preferences, and then select the View tab. Now deselect the Calculate Folder Sizes option.
While we’re on the subject of folders, avoid cramming too many files in a single folder. This makes your folders open much more quickly–especially over a busy network.
Since the goal is to keep your computer from having to think whenever possible, you should also deactivate the Remember Recently Used Items in the Apple Menu Options control panel. Most people use this option to open routinely accessed applications, documents or servers. Instead, create aliases of the files you access regularly. Your Mac will run quicker for it.
Finally, while we’re deactivating features, consider the need for File Sharing. If you’re working on a lone computer, it doesn’t make sense to load the File Sharing extension each time you boot up. To save processor time, remove both the File Sharing extension and the control panel.
If it Looks Fast…
There are also a number of changes you should consider that don’t technically make your computer run faster, but rather give you the overall impression of zippier performance. And after all, speed is largely little more than a user’s perception.
Generally Speaking
To make your Mac appear hyper, open the General Controls control panel and turn off the Menu Blinking option. After all, why wait for the menu to blink up to three times when choose a command? All that does is delay the computer from proceeding to the next task.
Repeat Yourself
In the Keyboard control panel, set the Key Repeat Rate to Fast and the Delay Until Repeat to Short. You’ll find this makes deleting text much quicker than ever before.
Supercharge Your Mouse
The settings for the double-click rate in your Mouse control panel also affect the speed in which you can rename files on the desktop. Therefore, set it to the fastest setting possible.
It’s All in the Synergy
Like so many things in life, the individual options themselves won’t make a large amount of difference. However, in total they can greatly affect the overall performance of your computer. And while you’re only saving a few seconds here and a few seconds there, the savings can really add up over time.
Copyright © 2000, Element K Content LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Element K Content LLC is prohibited. Element K is a service mark of Element K LLC.
This article was last modified on January 6, 2023
This article was first published on March 26, 2001
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