Is there a way...

[cporterfield]

I switched from Chrome to Vivaldi (browser) recently, and now my laptop gets far less bogged down with RAM getting sucked up by Chrome.

[gecko]

Hi.

I have a 2010 (!) MacBook Pro 17” maxed out at 8 gigs of RAM and no problems with the site on Safari.

A couple of years ago, I was “forced” to upgrade from the original OS or Quickbooks would no longer function in the upgraded version that they insist that you buy. This of course slowed EVERYTHING down as each new OS is designed assuming a newer computer with faster processor and more RAM. The solution was to upgrade the hard drive to a (1 TB) internal aftermarket flash drive. I now have fast everything from booting up to shutting down.

Until Sierra came along....can’t upgrade there because I’ll lose all my legacy Adobe design programs, now only offered in the Cloud for rent. So I have a second external drive with Sierra as OS that I boot only to use the new iTunes because the newer iOS won’t work with the old iTunes! That’s the only way I can back up newer iPhone and IPod and manage music. What a mess!

If everything else is working fine except this site on your Mac, I would start by contacting the site manager and then check in with Apple. They are wonderful about providing support even on older Macs. Also, have you tried closing all other programs except your browser? That would fee up more RAM.

Good luck, and let us all know about your progress!

[SilverHouseDreams]

What version of OS X? Do you install all updates? Are you sure you haven’t installed malware inadvertently in your attempt to “improve” things?

If you open Activity Monitor you can look at the Energy Impact for overall CPU usage trending, as if an app hogs resources it consumes more energy. You can also look at memory “pressure”, as free/used memory means nothing on an OS that actually manages memory correctly (which modern OS X does).

If memory pressure is high, then you need to either close apps or tabs within the browser. If you don’t have an SSD in your system, then upgrading to one will give your system new life.

As for the iPad, also matters what version of iOS you run. Some people fall for this FUD that iOS updates are “bad” and believe they are engineered to force you to buy new hardware, which is utter BS. My first generation iPad Air works perfectly fine with iOS 12 and is much improved over previous versions.

[md11flyer]

Originally Posted by starpicker

Hi Bob,
I’ve had Macs for years and would try a few things:

1. If nothing we say here helps, try the Genius Bar at an Apple store.
2. Have you kept up with iOS updates?
3. Given the size of updates in recent years, depending on your chipset and model, 8 of RAM is too little in most cases as the iOS could use at lot of that RAM in some cases. . RAM can have a huge impact on speed. I would consider increasing to 16 of RAM if possible.
4. Do a speed test on your internet service. Some folks have service as low as 8mbps which makes a huge difference.
5. Have you kept up with updates on your WiFi router if any? Apple has new WiFi hardware at reasonable prices and will handle over 1000mbps speeds.
6. As mentioned before, empty your cache and run the monitor to see how much memory you are using.
7. Have you checked your privacy settings and Safari settings. Blocking “cookies” can really slow down your page loads. Other settings can make a big difference as well.
8. Sad to say, but get some adware and “clean my Mac” type of programs. I use one for cleaning out clutter - if your hard drive is near full, it will really slow down performance. I use another program for “adware” or “malware”. Most of these are ad programs that mess up internet usage.
9. Finally, as others have pointed out, you are having a similar drag on speed loading. Some coding on these type of sites can be slower or dated, but seldom result in the drag you are mentioning. Faster internet service and more RAM would help a lot IMO. I have not noticed any drag on loading this site, but my cable internet service speed averages 500mbps so any latency would be hard to notice. Hope this helps!😎

I agree with all of the aforementioned suggestions and would also suggest you check your hard drives's current capacity. If it gets nearly full they WILL slow down your system. Also purchase a decent tech support program that monitors your computer for virus's etc. If a new computer is out of the question upgrade your memory (crucial.com is what I use) and consider upgrading your HD to an SSD. The speed increase with the new SSDs is phenomenal. I recommend the Samsung SSDs. I am running a 8 yr old iMac and have not seen any degradation with this site.....

[DavidsonOverlander]

Originally Posted by gecko

The solution was to upgrade the hard drive to a (1 TB) internal aftermarket flash drive. I now have fast everything from booting up to shutting down.

I did this too (or at least I bought the parts and my son did the work) and I can't believe how fast my 6-year old MacBook Pro runs now. It was really lagging before, especially if I had a lot of Chrome tabs open or if I was using multiple programs. We removed the SuperDrive which I rarely use and replaced it with a 500 GB SSD. We left the original 500 GB hard drive in place for storage. We have an external CD/DVD drive that I can use if I need it.

If you're not using Chrome you could see if that works better. I never found the Airforums site to be any slower than other sites.

[SilverHouseDreams]

Macsales.com can give you guidance on SSD and RAM upgrade options if you think are going that route. 16GB and an SSD should make a huge difference, though depending on what model of desktop it could be somewhat CPU constrained...but the SSD over a spinning drive is the best investment anyone can make. There are several tools to make it easy to copy your data over, such as the trial versions of Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper. You would just want to buy a kit that includes a USB case for your existing HDD (Macsales offers those as bundles usually).