If you didn’t know where your Mac’s Activity Monitor is, you can access it by either tying it on your searcher or opening your Launchpad and clicking on the application. From there, you will see five tabs, and each of them helps you keep track of different aspects of your Mac. These include; CPU, Memory, Energy, Disk, and Network. We’re going to breakdown each of these sections and explain how they monitor and diagnose your Mac’s performance.
5 Tips on How to Use Activity Monitor to Speed Up Mac
1. CPU
This section breaks down how your Mac’s processor works by letting you know what applications and programs are running the hardest. For instance, if your Mac starts to overheat, you will be able to pinpoint what applications are consuming the most memory and battery power. There are also times that you may notice some background application or extension running without your knowledge. This will allow you to close them and keep your processor operating optimally. You can force-quit any unresponsive applications from this section as well.
Alternatively, if you ever end up noticing that your CPU is running too heavily, it may be because you have connected too many peripherals and external devices to it. In such cases, we suggest utilizing a USB hub with a long cord, as it will allow you to expand your Mac’s connectivity ports without putting too much pressure on your CPU. If you don’t already own one, we suggest purchasing the CB-C35H-1M model. It is a universally compatible docking station that features a 3.3ft extra cable extension for extra workspace convenience. It also comes with 4 USB 3.0 Ports that are backward compatible with USB 2.0. This allows you to connect external devices such as keyboards, mobile devices, or storage drives. It also offers a high data transfer rate of up to 5Gbps, with a 60W power pass-through to charge external devices.
2. Memory
This section breaks down how much RAM your Mac’s applications and programs are each using. This will allow you to figure out which applications are consuming the most RAM and close them from there. You should also look at the bottom of the Memory section and check to see how much Swap your Mac is using. These are essentially the virtual memory files that are on your hard disk. If there is a large amount of space used by Swap, it shows that it is time you restarted your Mac to fix that.
3. Energy
This section will let you know what applications and programs are consuming the most power from your battery. For example, if you own an iMac, this does not matter because you are connected to a socket. However, if your MacBook is losing power very quickly, this is the place to find out why. This can also be a good way of fighting out which web browser you should use. For instance, every Mac user knows that Google Chrome is one of the biggest RAM consumers out there. As such, you are often encouraged to use Safari as your default browser, as it uses the least amount of power in your Mac.
In this regard, you should remember that overheating poses a big risk to your battery performance, which would also affect your Mac’s energy output. As such, it is always best that you avoid using your Mac on unstable surfaces, such as sofas or beds. This is because it can interfere with the airflow around your Mac. This can then lead to battery degradation. However, a simple way to avoid this is by using a laptop angle stand. These accessories will help elevate your Mac and keep it at a level that provides sufficient airflow to prevent any risk of overheating. It will also help alleviate any possible health issues, such as poor posture, back pains, or eye strain.
If you don’t already own one, then we suggest an L5 stand. It comes with an adjustable function providing multiple angles of use, and the rise-up structure also keeps your workspace neat and organized. It is also extremely lightweight, making it surprisingly portable and compact yet durable enough to withstand heavy-duty carry. Another useful feature is its open design that provides effective heat dissipation. This prevents the risk of slower performance, battery damage, and system crash due to overheating.
4. Disk
The Disk tab is probably the least concerning section. This is because all it shows is the amount of data written and read on your hard drive. However, since this also uses a certain amount of power from your Mac, it may help identify why your Mac’s battery may not be storing power efficiently. For instance, a program that will show a lot of activity is your iCloud data storage. This will end up being high if you tend to transfer a large number of audio, photo, or video files from your cloud storage to or from your Mac.
5. Network
This section will show you how much network data is being uploaded and downloaded through your Mac over your wireless or wired network connection. It will breakdown every application of your Mac, and give you a detailed analysis of everything that is happening on each of them in real-time. Also, if you ever have any poor internet connectivity issues, this is the place to find out why that is happening. In some cases, it could be because an application is consuming an excessive amount of bandwidth. This can often result in slow loading times on your browser.
However, keep in mind that this section will show all network activity, not just internet activity. In other words, not all apps consuming large amounts of data may be responsible for your slow internet speed. For example, if you have a Time Machine backup running in the background, you will notice it is consuming a lot of data.
Conclusion:
In summary, we hope this has been a rather informative yet easy-to-understand breakdown of how your Activity Monitor works. It provides you with a real-time assessment of your Mac's behavior. As such, if you know how to read it properly, you can avoid a huge number of problems that many other Mac users find themselves complaining about.
One of the most common being why is my Mac overheating, for example. In this regard, we already recommended that you should invest in a laptop stand but you can also go the extra mile and invest in a completely new laptop stand desk, as well. This is useful, especially if you want something that affords you more room to work efficiently and keep your Mac cool in the process. Luckily, there are different varieties that should suit you and your needs best.
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