OS X Yosemite
Top tips to increase the performance of OS X Yosemite on your Mac. macworld

While OS X Yosemite with version 10.10 brings a great OS experience for most Mac users, many others have not been able to get the maximum out of the upgrade.

Yosemite can run on older 2007 model Macs, but this does not mean that the performance will be equally speedier. Several users have had irksome experiences after installing the new desktop OS, including apps being slow, abysmal boot-up time and unpleasant overall performance.

Luckily, there are a few tweaks available using which you can speed up the performance of your Mac running OS X Yosemite version. Check out the following tricks if you are also stuck with a slow performing Mac.

Reduce the Fancy Effect

  • Go to System Preferences
  • Click on Accessibility
  • Click on Reduce Transparency checkbox
  • You can also add a check mark on Increase Contrast for better viewing experience of the folders and Windows

By disabling the transparency feature, many users seem to have noticed an increase in the overall performance with apps and Finder windows opening up very quickly.

Use Safari Instead of Google Chrome

Google Chrome on OS X Yosemite drains battery at a faster rate and uses resources when it does not have to. It is definitely a great web browser, but when you want the most out of your Mac, it would be a better option to use Safari, which is faster than Chrome on the OS X and does not consume more power and resources.

Disable Notification Widgets

It is advisable to disable all the widgets so that they do not use up resources.

  • Click on Notification Center icon on the top right corner of the screen
  • Click on Today tab then click on Edit at the bottom
  • Click each of the red delete buttons for the widgets to remove them from Notification Center
  • Click Done to save the changes you just made

This in turn should speed up the Notification Center and thereby improve the performance of your Mac.

Minimise Window Effect

  • Open System Preferences
  • Click on Dock
  • Find Minimise Windows using and change it from Genie Effect to Scale Effect

By doing this you can get rid of the fancy minimising effect and get a basic window effect.

Perform Clean Installation

While most of the users opt for an easy upgrade for OS X, some prefer doing a clean installation, which means the computer's hard drive will be completely erased and OS X Yosemite will be installed to factory settings. Also, no apps and files will be stored, except the default apps and files which come along with OS X Yosemite.

[Source: GottaBeMobile]