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Late 2009 Imac (Performance Issues)

S

shenfrey

macrumors 68030
Original poster
May 23, 2010
2,558
825
So as title suggests, its a C2D 3.06 4GB DDR3 and all that other stuff, I am running Lion and its fully up to date. My problem is, when I am using many of lions features such as Mission Control, or launchpad it doesn't operate very smoothly infact stutters along. And sometimes my Imac can just slow to a crawl it would feel like, not often usually if its been on standby for more then 24 hours, or if I have many programmes open.

I have done many tweaks such as disable dashboard and I have uninstalled alot of pointless software that I didn't want/need, but it has helped some just not alot. I was hoping you guys could give me some performance tweaks that will hopefully make my imac feel like new again, I only listen to music, watch films and browse the web with it. Real simple stuff.

Thanks guys
 
For "like new" performance, you'll probably need to wipe it clean and reinstall OS X from scratch. At least that's the first thing that comes to mind for me.
 
shenfrey said:
So as title suggests, its a C2D 3.06 4GB DDR3 and all that other stuff, I am running Lion and its fully up to date. My problem is, when I am using many of lions features such as Mission Control, or launchpad it doesn't operate very smoothly infact stutters along. And sometimes my Imac can just slow to a crawl it would feel like, not often usually if its been on standby for more then 24 hours, or if I have many programmes open.

I have done many tweaks such as disable dashboard and I have uninstalled alot of pointless software that I didn't want/need, but it has helped some just not alot. I was hoping you guys could give me some performance tweaks that will hopefully make my imac feel like new again, I only listen to music, watch films and browse the web with it. Real simple stuff.

Thanks guys
Click to expand...

You need to max out the RAM. Go to OWC online, it won't cost you much and the installation is a piece of cake. Your iMac will run WAY better.
 
shenfrey said:
Ok, an extra 2Gb or 4GB? : )
Click to expand...

Max it out. RAM is dirt cheap these days. Go to OWC (macsales.com) (I have no affiliation, just a satisfied customer) and look up your model and it will tell you what RAM it will take. Buy it all. For example, I have an early 2009 iMac and it said my system would support 2x4GB of 1066 DDR or whatever. I bought it and it cost me all of $58. Installation was trivially easy -- if you turn your computer over, the instructions are printed on the bottom of the base. I'm not kidding. Give it a try, you'll be pleasantly surprised how easy this whole process is.
 
So just added 8GB of ram (total of 12 now) and its so much faster! Things open up nearly instantly and I no long have stutters when using Launchpad, mission control or anything else like that!

Also the installation was a breeze, the hardest part was trying to find the right screwdriver to get the damn screws out! I can't believe how east it was : / I just slot the guys in and bam, my grand parents could of done that for me!

Anyway thanks for the advice guys, worked like a charm : )
 
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