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Macs are amazing when it comes to premium looks, exceptional features, and robust security. Apart from being preferred by professional users, they make a great pick for gamers as well. But even the best systems require regular maintenance to deliver high performance, which matters a lot for gaming. Fortunately, some simple hacks have you covered for optimizing your Mac for gaming. Here are some you can rely on.
Clean desktop clutter
A crowded and cluttered desktop isn’t great to have because it can slow down your system. When a number of documents and photos are on the screen, the OS will render each of them for quick preview purposes. This can result in a performance slowdown, which is the last thing any gamer would want to happen. The best solution is a complete declutter, right from deleting the unused files to organizing the ones you use in folders.
Clear up your Hard Drive
Apart from a tidy desktop, a light and neat Hard Drive is also important. Ideally, 10% of HDD capacity should be left free at all times. Even if you are tempted to fill it up with your personal files and games, steer clear of the habit. Assess it regularly and delete the files, apps, and games you no longer need. It is also a wise idea to move less used large files to external storage.
Run the latest version
This one is a no brainer because running the latest version always puts your system ahead in terms of speed, performance, and security. Right now, you can install the beta version of Big Sur to see how it works. Most probably, you will be happy but you can easily resolve the problems, if any, with some simple steps. Timely version upgrades are a must if you are using your Mac for gaming because you wouldn’t want to compromise with a performance at any cost.
Don’t stress your RAM
All games, tasks, and apps use up processing power and RAM. If you have too many of them running at the same time, you will end up stressing out your RAM. So you need to close some apps before you start playing a game to get the best performance. You can check the Activity Monitor to understand how much RAM individual apps are using and close the ones that are eating it up. Similarly, keeping too many tabs or windows open isn’t a good idea.
Run a cleaning app
Another useful piece of advice for gamers is to use a cleaning app once a while as a part of scheduled maintenance for your Mac. This is a simple task to do as you don’t need to do much manually but still can be sure that all the dusty corners are thoroughly cleaned up. Cleaning apps also enable you to manage extensions, unused apps, startup items, and more. Running one a few times a month is good enough to keep your Mac in a good shape for gaming.
Taking good care of your Mac is essential if you want to get the best from it. Thankfully, there isn’t a lot you need to do for optimizing your system and these simple steps have you covered.
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This content is brought to you by Hailey Baker.
Photo: Shutterstock
