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Optimize a Mac for DAW usage
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-=Mandari=-
Mandari
Started Topics :
28
Posts :
655
Posted : Nov 16, 2014 14:00:44
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hey folks,
so i wrote up this sheet and would be pleased if you share any hints i missed or any opinion you have on that.... its mainly tweaking performance by avoiding stuff one doesnt need....
the only pre-installation hint you wanna assure is making a custom installation instead of the standard one, screwing all those drivers, fonts, languages etc.….
first step should be making a complete software update. i recommend getting the latest mavericks cause its free n worthy, though this sheet here will cover any Intel OS until 10.9.x… i wouldnt jump on the yosemite wagon for now, cause mavericks is stable, fast and just exactly what we want for now.. if your mac´s some older, mavericks will get the most out of it, be sure. bare in mind commands might be different for rosetta based or supported OS! n be aware rosetta based plugins wont run anymore on mavericks!!
after the update, we start our first tweaks n open a terminal instance. we wanna get rid of stuff we dont need or use…. imho you wanna avoid things like dashboard running in the background, spotlight indexing all the time n all those fancy stuff we dont need. we want all the available power of our machine for intended usage.
so here you go:
shutoff spotlight: sudo mdutil -a -i off
spotlight icon: sudo chmod 600 /System/Library/CoreServices/Search.bundle/Contents/MacOS/Search ; killall SystemUIServer
(bring back with sudo mdutil -a -i on and sudo chmod 755 /System/Library/CoreServices/Search.bundle/Contents/MacOS/Search ; killall SystemUIServer)
shutoff dashboard: defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled –boolean YES
+ killall Dock (bring back with -boolean NO)
shutoff Mission Control: defaults write com.apple.dock mcx-expose-disabled -bool TRUE && killall Dock
(bring back with defaults delete com.apple.dock mcx-expose-disabled && killall Dock)
shutoff Notification Center: launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.notificationcenterui.plist + killall NotificationCenter
(bring back with launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.notificationcenterui.plist + killall NotificationCenter)
shuttoff Icon-Preview: rightclick on desktop->display options
in your system settings->user accounts->startup objects ….. delete all entries!! except you def. want to keep smth urgently there. … itunes helper will stay there, no worries…. its ok 
under general settings ensure to let your OS close all windows after apps have been shut down. depending on release its checking the box or leaving it unchecked, just read the lines…. oh yea n we dont need any fancy lcd-optimization shizZl too…
your dock settings should be clean, no animations weither dock or apps. i.e. leave all boxes unchecked….
shutoff the location service: under system settings->security settings->privacy
shutoff automatic updates etc.: system settings->app store
some note aside….. save your stuff anywhere but NOT ON THE DESKTOP! its a hazzle for any OS to handle users idleness. i mean OSX does it well, but remember any files, folders etc. put there are just LINKS to the actual file which is put onto your HD/SSD/USER/NAME/DESKTOP. at least keep your desktop as clean as possible, it saves a lot of power! while we are here, ensure to keep at least 25% free space on your disk/flash. AT LEAST, better go 40% and have great performance. put that stuff elsewhere…
some small things you might want to consider:
shutoff airport and use only to update things….!!
shutoff bluetooth
no sharing!!
AFTER you´ve done all that to your own satisfaction you may again open terminal and run apples service script:
sudo periodic daily weekly monthly
repair permissions after by: sudo diskutil repairpermissions
i suggest you dont need to check or repair volume…. do that upfront for sure if you have to!!
clear cache: sudo purge
restart your system holding down p and r buttons….. this will clear pram and nvram.
kAbOomMsKi, banging fast that beast 
PS: if the killall command doesnt run in one prompt just split into two and run the killall prompt after the first. should do its job.... its needed to show the effect instantly. otherwise restarting or logout is needed to see any effects of the tweak!
I know some steps will result in doubling several tasks, according to permission repair i.e. i experienced this being a good deal. try yourself and feel free to report. correct me or add your cup of tea! i´d be happy to tweak more out of it, though its not necessary on my side... just curious whats really under the hood 
all prompts are sudo cause each on their own sure need sudo rights. anyways, once a terminal instance is sudo you shouldnt have to enter it again before closing that instance
the first boot might be not that lazer, the second should be noticeably different..... i.e. faster!
hope been helpful, cheers!
oh n if your eyes start bleeding on this, feel free to down a textfile here: http://mab.to/97vTUYDfz
though i gues wont make such a difference   FUCK GENRES, LOVE MUSIC!!!!
http://soundcloud.com/mandarimedia
http://banyan-records.com |
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TimeTraveller
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
80
Posts :
3207
Posted : Nov 16, 2014 20:01
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Thanks for this mate! I'm still on snow leopard 10.6.8 and I think it's about time to update soon as well as follow the essence of your help for a succesful optimization.
Great instruction
https://soundcloud.com/shivagarden |
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frisbeehead
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
10
Posts :
1352
Posted : Nov 16, 2014 22:00
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I've updated and I have my laptop (MBP) running Logic 9 smoothly as ever... It's been all good since they've updated Mavericks to a stable and reliable OS, which it wasn't when it was first introduced. Not that one, nor Lion and Mountain Lion. So I to stuck with Snow Leopard for a long time, still have it on the Imac, only problem being that some more recent stuff now asks for at least Lion installed in there. All in all, think it's a safe move from SL to Mavericks or Yosemite even. I didn't notice any difference as far as stability goes...
Ok, and thanks for d avise mate! Very nice list in here, will have to check everything out!
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-=Mandari=-
Mandari
Started Topics :
28
Posts :
655
Posted : Dec 1, 2014 13:50
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hey guys, thanks for giving it a go! i got my old machine running 10.6.x too, except mission control and notification center commands they should be fine anyways
most OS that get released arent stable on their initial release. thats why i recomended sticking to mavericks for now, which just like you mentioned is fine now, after several bugs have been fixed. snow leo is cool, and i still use it, though i will def. upgrade to mavericks soon, cause memory usage is way better handled in mavericks.
im curious to yosemite, though i doubt theres a huge difference to mavericks. upgrading from snow leo to mavericks instead made a huge difference!
thanks again for your time, im glad if its of some help to anyone
cheers
FUCK GENRES, LOVE MUSIC!!!!
http://soundcloud.com/mandarimedia
http://banyan-records.com |
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ansolas
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
108
Posts :
977
Posted : Dec 1, 2014 22:44
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-=Mandari=-
Mandari
Started Topics :
28
Posts :
655
Posted : Dec 6, 2014 14:06
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thats depending i´d say. thats why i made clear "for DAW usage"... if you´re organized, its not needed. instead just disturbing performance with its indexing process...
but you´re all free to take from this what ever you find beneficial for your needs sure all those other commands run seperately and you may feel free to keep spotlight if you find it useful
to me its never been handy, taking a good amount of your resources while indexing or used. at least on older machines shutting off was very beneficial to me. on my recent mac i wouldnt have to, anyways i made everything of this sheet in advance of doin anything else... but i have a seperate, old machine for internet and other things which i can feed with all this rubbish that i think i need. im able this way to keep that from the machine im working on. which i can only recommend. setting up this machine and cut everything that is not for DAW usage will make things just plain more enjoyable. it boots during 1-2 second max. and shuts off instantly!
i7 2,2/16gb/250ssd on latest mavericks...
i also compared its performance with and without the tweeks. aside speed performance i was able to decrease the initial RAM usage of the system by more than 3GB! which is a huge difference imho you can have these 3gb (depending on your projects your swap will thank you) or leave it to your system, which takes it for any rubbish you dont actually need.
BUT, repeating myself ^^
FUCK GENRES, LOVE MUSIC!!!!
http://soundcloud.com/mandarimedia
http://banyan-records.com |
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frisbeehead
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
10
Posts :
1352
Posted : Dec 6, 2014 15:19
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+1!
if you leave the default settings on, the system WILL use many resources for trivial tasks that have nothing to do with music making. These settings are there for the convenience of the most common user, who just wants to browse the internet, upload their pictures to social networks, sync all their data across multiple services like google, facebook and tweeter with stuff from other apps like mail, calendar, so forth and so on...
the indexing system on the mac, despite many upgrades and boosts - it's much better then windows's... - also means some kind of disk activity is always present under the hood. doesn't mean as much performance lost on a system with an SSD disk, but it can mean a lot for systems with common hard drives. 'cause when a project gets busy, there's like tons of files that have to be read by your daw.
ok, so another tip - which isn't as obvious as those in this great list above - is simply to place your samples in one place or to use the options within your daw to organize the project, which usually involves creating a copy of used files to the project's folder. if your daw needs to pick one sample from here, another from there, that will put some pressure on your disk and it will also cause some performance lost. so there you have it!
another thing that can easily be overlocked is to turn off the input settings on your audio settings unless you actually plan to record something on those tracks. some software (like Logic and Ableton) usually enable input monitoring by default when you create new audio tracks. make sure to change this, it's much better to enable this only when you need it!
On Logic, if you select a track that doesn't have a lot going on there, you'll notice that the whole thing plays more smoothly. That's because the track selected is instantly turned into "live" mode, enabling you to record or perform - so this means the system will focus on that specific track you have selected and give it priority over the others, so to speak. So, be sure to bare this in mind to!
Another trivial thing: turn of those analysers on the EQ plug-ins when not using them. FFT is also somewhat demanding and if you run multiple instances of it, guess what...
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PsyGalaXy
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
68
Posts :
437
Posted : Dec 13, 2014 02:25
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-=Mandari=-
Mandari
Started Topics :
28
Posts :
655
Posted : Dec 16, 2014 12:55
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Suloo
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
87
Posts :
2822
Posted : Dec 29, 2014 21:19
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