Every version of OS X is popular for its high speed and customized features, and make Mac one of the most popular computers all across the world. Recently, OS X has released its latest update ‘Yosemite’ that runs great on all latest Macs. However, the users who have updated it on some older models have to face performance issues repeatedly. There could be a variety of issues, which might affect the performance of the updated Mac, and most of them can easily be resolved with little effort.

In case you are also facing the same issue after updating Yosemite, then follow the below mentioned instructions to troubleshoot the most possible causes of a slow Mac and increase its speed as expected.

1. Increase the RAM of your system

This is the most general and best way to accelerate the speed of a Mac. Install more RAM on your Mac, this will automatically improve the performance. As, if your Mac doesn’t have the sufficient RAM, then the apps use virtual (disk-based) memory, which is slower. In order to check the impacting performance due to RAM, you can go to Activity Monitor and select the System Memory tab.

2. Disable The Eye Candy Transparent Windows

Eye Candy is a type of transparent menus, windows and title bars, which is basically for entertainment. Due to so many genuine effects, it needs processor power and memory to render. The latest model of Macs have enough space and power to handle the eye candy effects of Yosemite, but this same app can slower on older Macs. Therefore, you can disable The Eye Candy effect in order to improve the performance of Mac. To do this, go to System Preferences and choose ‘Accessibility’. Now, select ‘Display’ and check the box for ‘Reduce Transparency’.

3. Disable unwanted Widgets

These are the special applications, such as Weather, Stocks, Social, Reminders, etc., and also a source to slow down your Mac machine. As Widgets and Extensions in Notification Center also spend time to update while you reboot your system. In order to increase the speed of your Mac, you need to disable these applications as well, so that your older model of Mac can perform reboot and login process without taking a long time. In order to disable the widgets and extensions that you don’t need, go to System Preferences and select ‘Extensions’ and then click ‘Today’ from the left side menu. Then uncheck the options you don’t use and refresh the system.

 4. Check Activity Monitor

Check the Activity Monitor – it will allow you to identify which applications consume CPU, memory, or disk I/O. Activity Monitor is also used to track the apps that slow down the Mac. To do this press Command+Spacebar – this will bring up Spotlight – then type ‘Activity Monitor’ and press Return key. Here, select the CPU tab to sort by processor usage. If  you notice that something has been consuming the background and eating up 95% of CPU, then you can close that application, window or tab.

5. Clear the Desktop

Do not save all the applications or files on your desktop, as every icon needs memory to store and redraw when windows and apps move around or close. It is always advisable that keep your desktop clear, it will help to keep the performance according to requirement. It is a very easy thing to do: you just need to take everything from your Mac desktop and move them into a folder, and you can put that folder on the desktop as well. This process is called ‘Cleanup Mac’ or ‘Desktop Stuff’. It is better to keep everything out of the desktop to get the best speed boost.

These are the top five tips you can follow to improve the performance of your Mac. This will surely help you to run your Mac on a faster speed than before.