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Mac upgrade performance questions



S

sebtucknott

Active member
Aug 22, 2011
317
Shoreham-by-Sea
Hi all,

My designer's iMac is starting to struggle a little and want to help speed it up.

iMac spec -
2.8Ghz Intel Quad Core i5 (mid 2010)
16GB 1333 DDR3 ram
Currently running OS X 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard)

Question 1 - will clearing it out and upgrading to El Capitan improve performance (I presume so..?)

Question 2 - I have an old Mac Pro late 2006 which is unused -

Spec -
2 x 2.66ghz Quad Core
5GB 667 DDR2 Ram - expandable to 32GB

If I was to buy 32GB ram (~£150) would this our perform the iMac? It will have slightly worse spec processors although has 2 rather than 1. It would have ram that's technically 1/2 the speed but twice as much?

Any thoughts much appreciated!

Ta!
 




beorhthelm

beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
35,303
first of all, ensure you've turn it off and on again.
computers themselves do not slow down. we install applications and tools and guff that does. so the best way to improve performance is have a clear out, remove unused software, then defrag. near all poor performance on computers, PC, Mac or servers, is disk access as its the slowest part of the system and the most prone to become inefficent.

im not familar with Mac memory usage but im reckoning 5GB (!? odd amount) is fine. it would not notably improve performace unless you regularly use most of that RAM (4GB+). if you do, then you would certainly see improvment, though probably dont need to max it. a 2006 iMac is unlikly to outperform 2010 iMac.

for both machines, the best thing to improve performance is install/upgrade to SSD if this is possible. the performance leap from old HDD to SSD is drastic, probably more noticable than the CPU on these two machines for general office work.
 


Grombleton

Grombleton

Surrounded by <div>s
Dec 31, 2011
7,356
Another vote for moving to an SSD; i treated myself to a new MBP earlier this year and ensured it had an SSD installed and the speed is unreal compared to a standard hard drive. Photoshop opens and loads in seconds. Combine that with more RAM and I can have a number of tasks (FTP uploads, raw images open etc) and no drop in performance.

As a web designer myself, its a massive bonus.
 


T

TimWatt

Active member
Feb 13, 2011
166
Richmond
beorhthelm said:
first of all, ensure you've turn it off and on again.
computers themselves do not slow down. we install applications and tools and guff that does. so the best way to improve performance is have a clear out, remove unused software, then defrag. near all poor performance on computers, PC, Mac or servers, is disk access as its the slowest part of the system and the most prone to become inefficent.

im not familar with Mac memory usage but im reckoning 5GB (!? odd amount) is fine. it would not notably improve performace unless you regularly use most of that RAM (4GB+). if you do, then you would certainly see improvment, though probably dont need to max it. a 2006 iMac is unlikly to outperform 2010 iMac.

for both machines, the best thing to improve performance is install/upgrade to SSD if this is possible. the performance leap from old HDD to SSD is drastic, probably more noticable than the CPU on these two machines for general office work.
Click to expand...

Defrag is not a term that applies to Macs - but otherwise correct. A clean install will sort things out, and be a good discipline for clearing out the cruft but may not be necessary.

Simple first measures to try first:

  • Make sure you're system is up to date, to the latest version of your OS, or to El Capitan if all your regularly used software is updated for that.
  • Have you checked if you're running out of disk space? Check About this Mac.
  • Make sure you're regularly used software is up to date.
  • Tidy up your desktop - move files to Documents or delete.
  • Check Disk Utility for disk problems.
  • If it's just growing running slow, clear the cache, cookies etc.

Otherwise, Google it - and you'll probably be pointed to the Apple forums.

Always do a backup first before doing something you may regret.
 


S

sebtucknott

Active member
Aug 22, 2011
317
Shoreham-by-Sea
TimWatt said:
Tidy up your desktop - move files to Documents or delete.
Click to expand...

Does storing files on the desktop negativity affect performance? I'm aware disk space would but didn't think about location!
Got a few macs to clear the desktop if that's the case!!

Would we see the performance of an SSD? The sata speed on the iMac is 3gb/s I thought you'd need more than that. That said the iMac did ship with an SSD as an upgrade so perhaps it would.
Also if I got a 6gb/s SSD would that work on a 3gb/s connection?
 






Lush

Lush

Mods' Pet
Jul 5, 2003
13,409
Wherever I lay my hat, that's my hat.
I have a Mid 2007 iMac. Was struggling stranded on Snow Leopard, so took it to the MacMan up Elm Grove to upgrade to 4gb of 667MHz of RAM. This cost £90. Now on Yosemite (El Capitan) and it's working well.
 


Bold Seagull

Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
29,789
Hove
Some Mac's, MacBookPro's and iMac's can run too hot slowing the processors down. There is a app that gives you all the temperature readings, and if you google 'iMac running too hot' there are tips on how to keep it cool.

Run Activity Monitor in the corner somewhere, this can really help identify an application or process that is using far too much of the CPU. I had a kernel task that was directly linked to the overheating of my MBP. A £5 laptop stand with built in fans actually sorted the problem out.
 




T

tinx

Well-known member
Jul 6, 2003
9,198
Horsham Town
If you haven't already done it the best speed update I found was adding an SSD. I put a 1TB SSD in my macbook pro about a year or so ago and it has run so fast and well ever since. I never thought it would make that much difference but it really has. It wa slike getting a brand new machine.
 


TWOCHOICEStom

TWOCHOICEStom

Well-known member
Sep 22, 2007
10,565
Brighton
SSD vote here too.


I added one to my 2011 MBP and it is like buying a brand new computer. Unbelievable performance. Do it do it do it.
 


Horton's halftime iceberg

Horton's halftime iceberg

Blooming Marvellous
Jan 9, 2005
16,484
Brighton
sebtucknott said:
Does storing files on the desktop negativity affect performance? I'm aware disk space would but didn't think about location!
Got a few macs to clear the desktop if that's the case!!

Would we see the performance of an SSD? The sata speed on the iMac is 3gb/s I thought you'd need more than that. That said the iMac did ship with an SSD as an upgrade so perhaps it would.
Also if I got a 6gb/s SSD would that work on a 3gb/s connection?
Click to expand...

Yes, lot of stuff on the desktop of a Mac can affect performance. Its beyond me about SDD working on Macs, book a genius bar appointment in Churchill square (may have to wait 4 days) or speak to the Mac Man up in Hanover, they will both diagnose and make recommendations I would imagine.
 






gullshark

gullshark

Well-known member
Dec 5, 2005
3,072
Worthing
IMO the iMac would perform better if you gave it a clean install of El Capitan and spent some cash on an SSD.
 


Albumen

Albumen

Don't wait for me!
Jan 19, 2010
11,495
Brighton - In your face
sebtucknott said:
Does storing files on the desktop negativity affect performance? I'm aware disk space would but didn't think about location!
Got a few macs to clear the desktop if that's the case!!

Would we see the performance of an SSD? The sata speed on the iMac is 3gb/s I thought you'd need more than that. That said the iMac did ship with an SSD as an upgrade so perhaps it would.
Also if I got a 6gb/s SSD would that work on a 3gb/s connection?
Click to expand...

http://computers.tutsplus.com/tutorials/why-you-shouldnt-store-files-on-the-desktop--cms-21721
 




Bold Seagull

Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
29,789
Hove
sebtucknott said:
Does storing files on the desktop negativity affect performance? I'm aware disk space would but didn't think about location!
Click to expand...

Each time the machine refreshes the desktop, it is visually having to update all the file information that is stored on the desktop - each time, especially image files with preview icons. It wouldn't need to do that if they are stored away in a folder. It is just one aspect that can cause slower performance.

Turning off visual stuff like magnification of the dock, having plain desktop pictures etc. will all help too.
 




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