Increase Your Free RAM
As I described in detail in RAM, free RAM correlates strongly with speed, and running out of free RAM—which in turn increases virtual memory usage—is a major reason for slowdowns. So in this chapter I explore ways to keep more of your RAM free. The things that free up RAM often reduce CPU usage and disk access too, but here I’m looking at cases where RAM is the main consideration.
Of course, the best way to increase your free RAM is to add more (see Add RAM). But if your Mac won’t hold any more or can’t be upgraded, or if you can’t afford to add physical RAM, the steps in this chapter should help.
Reduce the Number of Open Apps, Windows, and Tabs
Look at your Dock right now. How many apps are open? (Open apps have a dot ...
Get Take Control of Speeding Up Your Mac, 2nd Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
