How To Speed Up OS X Yosemite On Your Older Mac [Guide]

Here’s how you can speed up OS X Yosemite running on your older Mac. Complete details and what you need to follow can be found right here.

Yosemite is without a doubt the biggest update to OS X in years, and while the operating system has been optimized to run as smoothly as possible on newer hardware, the same cannot be said for those boasting older Macs. Simply follow the tips we’ve outlined below and you’ll witness an increase in performance on your OS X Yosemite running Mac in no time.

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Disable / Uninstall Flash

Flash is a big culprit in degrading battery and performance on OS X. Though many websites require its presence but it’s a good idea to uninstall it.

Simply go to this link to download the Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller and choose the ‘Mac OS X, version 10.6 or later’ download. Run it, and after a few seconds Flash will be long gone.

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Disable Transparency Effects

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An eye-candy for a lot of users, but a performance degrader in disguise. Open System Preferences > Accessibility > Display and then check the Reduce Transparency box to turn it off.

Disable Unwanted Extensions

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Useful for getting tasks done in a snap, but may slow down the overall performance of the OS. Open System Preferences > Extensions > Today and uncheck all the unwanted Extensions.

Disable Power Nap

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This can be a huge battery and performance guzzler when enabled. Go to System Preferences > Energy Saver > Battery and turn off Enable Power Nap while plugged into a power adapter. Click on the Power Adapter tab and do the same.

Disable Unused Widgets In Notification Center

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Widgets are handy for a lot of things, that’s the truth. But if they’re left there for nothing, then they’ll eat up unnecessary resources. To disable / remove unwanted widgets, open up Notification Center, scroll all the way down and click on Edit. Remove all the unwanted widgets by clicking on the red ‘-‘ button.

Disable System Sound Effects

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It’s good to be notified using audio feedback when you perform an action, but that little ‘pop’ or ‘click’ sound can take up some resources. Open System Preferences > Sound and uncheck the ‘Play user interface sound effects box.’

Disable Genie Effect When Minimizing Apps

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The Genie effect looks cool without a doubt, but it can be a hit on overall performance. Open System Preferences > Dock then select Scale effect under ‘Minimize windows using’ setting.

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