OS X Optimization

[icsd08063]

Hello to everyone,

Recently added my self to the Mac world as i currently own a Retina MacBook Pro 13inch with 16GB of Ram. Well, i do know basic staff for controlling and overall handling my computer but i need an optimiazation guide. Still i did not upgrade to Yosemite yet since i want the Mavericks for learning and experimenting. I will do a clean install of the Yosemite, probably next week.

So, i was thinking about my 16GB's of Ram and the swap file. Is it a good idea to move the swap file into the Ram, or may I just unload the pager deacon once and for all? Also, to use or not to use antivirus? I am Kaspersky user for many years in my PC and i have no complain at all..

Doing my research, i discoverd this guide and decided to go with the following on my machine:


Turn off local Time Machine snapshots (well, i've doing the same thing in my pc since my data is always in another hd and i always have an image of a fresh install - the worst case senario here is to re-install the os but wthout the fear of loosing data)

Turn off hibernation (also doing this on my pc but i do not really know how it works on os x)

Set noatime flag (i did not understand it completely this..)

Turn off sudden motion sensor (it seems logical to me.. eh?)

Turn off hard drive sleep (the same as above..)

Misc Tweaks: disable waking up when lid opens


Well, what is your opinion on all the above stuff? Since the thread I found was a little bit old, are there any other, updated info out there for optimizing my Macbook's Pro performance?

 

[GGJstudios]

So, i was thinking about my 16GB's of Ram and the swap file. Is it a good idea to move the swap file into the Ram

No, you don't need to interfere with memory management. OS X will take care of that automatically.

Also, to use or not to use antivirus? I am Kaspersky user for many years in my PC and i have no complain at all..

Macs are not immune to malware, but no true viruses exist in the wild that can run on Mac OS X, and there never have been any since it was released over 12 years ago. The only malware in the wild that can affect Mac OS X is a handful of trojans, which can be easily avoided by practicing safe computing (see below). 3rd party antivirus apps are not necessary to keep a Mac malware-free, as long as a user practices safe computing, as described in the following link.

​

Read the What security steps should I take? section of the Mac Virus/Malware FAQ for tips on practicing safe computing.

Well, what is your opinion on all the above stuff? Since the thread I found was a little bit old, are there any other, updated info out there for optimizing my Macbook's Pro performance?

This may help:

Performance Tips For Mac OS X​

 

[0004838]

Turn off local Time Machine snapshots (well, i've doing the same thing in my pc since my data is always in another hd and i always have an image of a fresh install - the worst case senario here is to re-install the os but wthout the fear of loosing data)

I've just implemented this. I see no harm, but just bear in mind that your Time Machine backups will be less comprehensive than intended without this. So long as you backup to Time Machine regularly, you should be fine.
Regarding backups in general, though: I'd highly recommend making a regular clone of your entire boot drive. You'll get your Mac back up and running a lot more quickly. I'm not sure how you'd combine this clone with your Time Machine data to bring it fully up to date, though. I think I may investigate that myself, actually.

Turn off hibernation (also doing this on my pc but i do not really know how it works on os x)

I've implemented this on all my SSD-equipped Macs. By disabling this, you have disabled all ability for your Mac to write a copy of the contents of RAM to an image file to disk when it enters a sleep mode. The most important thing to remember here is that if your computer's battery runs out, normally your Mac would write this image to disk, and then use it to reboot to exactly where you were before the battery died once you plug into AC power. With this disabled, you will now lose all data should your battery die while the Mac is in use, including if it is asleep (this has happened to me from time to time, and whilst it doesn't seem to do much harm, it's not a great thing to let happen).

Set noatime flag (i did not understand it completely this..)

I implement this on all my SSD-equipped Macs. In brief: every time your Mac accesses (reads from) a directory on most filesystems, it updates the "access time" information for that directory. This can result in a lot of writes to an SSD. Disabling atime (using noatime) stops this happening, and there don't appear to be any drawbacks for common users. It appears to be a requirement for certain types of UNIX certification, I believe, hence its implementation.

Turn off sudden motion sensor (it seems logical to me.. eh?)

I use this on my MacBook Pro. It's both a power-saving hint, and a crash-prevention hint: apparently some SSDs cause(d) a kernel panic if you leave this on. Seeing as Sudden Motion Sensor is designed to park drive heads before a fall, it's pointless on an SSD.

Misc Tweaks: disable waking up when lid opens

I only implemented this after reading how an online reviewer had occasionally found his notebook on in his backpack because the lid had opened. I liked the idea. I also like the fact it allows me more control over when exactly my MBP wakes from sleep at any other time.

I think you covered all the same steps I did. You shouldn't need to do anything more.