New Processor Or More RAM?

Hi,
I just wanted to know whether to buy a new processor or some more RAM. I am pretty sure more RAM won't help, seeing as I only have a 400mhz processor. Its just my brother wants to play runescape on it and it won't take it, it's too laggy.
-Ollie

One trick you may try is to go to the top menu bar in your desktop and pull down: GO > Go to Folder... > and type in /var/vm/. This will take you to a directory and if you see several files with names like swapfile0, swapfile1, etc. , then you need more ram. Judging from your profile, it probably does need max ram as you're talking about running a game. Don't concern yourself too much with clock speed as the ram is of greater impact, in this particular case.
Good luck

Similar Messages

Which is better, faster processor or more ram?

Hello all!
I'm planning on upgrading from my 1.33Ghz g4 ibook with 512mb of ram to a new macbook, because Logic Express 7 and Final Cut Express 3.5 don't run very well on my current system. Because of money constraints, I'm limited in what features I can afford, so I'd like some advice from other mac users. In having to choose between getting an entry level macbook with 2gb of ram, or the mid-level macbook with only 1gb of ram, which would you think might handle these two applications best?

Hi skipgo,
welcome to macbook forum.
I would go with the faster processor, not only the processor is fixed and not upgradeable, you also got bigger hard drive and superdrive that will be crucial for backing up big files on dvd (4 gb) or dual layer dvd (8 gb) and or burn your project into dvd from your FCE using iDVD.
And memory is tend to go cheaper each day and relatively easy to upgrade it yourself compare to built to order 2 gb memory in entry model at apple store.
And remember that apple will not accept return on BTO model just in case you decided to return it within their 14 days grace period.
Good Luck.
ps: beat by Mike with the same advise.....

Snow Leopard uses more RAM?

I just installed Snow Leopard on my MacBook Pro and found that RAM usage is obviously a lot more than 10.5 when my system is not running any demanding programs at all. With only Mail, Safari and iTunes running, RAM usage is already more than half of my 3GB RAM, which is the maximum for my 2.33Ghz MacBook Pro. I've heard some people say that to use 10.6, you need at least 4GB RAM to make your system really meaningfully workable. Is that true? Is it really true that 10.6 itself uses more RAM than 10.5?

If you've got the ram, SL will use it. It's supposed to be that way. Reading files from a hard drive really can't keep the OS running as fast as the other hardware can provide. New program features don't work as well with limited ram.
I think that every new OS uses more ram than it's predecessor (same for Windows). Snow Leopard may take less hard drive space, but part of that is because code for PPC Macs has been removed.
Every time a program has to use a hard drive to store part of it's code it's running too slow. I look forward to new memory management techniques that will allow for immediate use of the computer, but still continue to load itself into all the ram it can use. Some of this is already happening, but it will get even better.
As the CPU's get faster, and the memory management systems become more powerful I expect to be able to use even more ram in the future. My 3 year old MBP also has a 3GB limit, but my iMac supports 8 GB of much faster ram. I don't expect to be doing the same type of work with my laptop which shipped with Tiger as I do with the iMac and will probably sell the older laptop in another year to offset part of the cost of the next killer MBP.
Typically I need the MBP to run Windows at a clients site, and XP with 1GB assigned in Parallels has been good enough. Soon I'll need to run Windows 7 on a regular basis, and it requires 3 or 4 times as much ram as XP to get the best performance, plus the IC2D processor can use an update with a couple more cores
Ram is still the cheapest way to help a computer perform at it's best, so when I can, I add all the ram a machine can use and expect changes in the OS and programs to eventually 'obsolete' my machines every 3 to 5 years. I say obsolete because I tend to voluntarily upgrade to the latest hardware and programs when the prices taper off a little.
We are only seeing the beginning of what Snow Leopard can do. The more powerful programs aren't really ready for SL's performance enhancements yet, but as they come online in the next year or so I think they'll take advantage of even more ram...
Meanwhile, there aren't any programs that really require SL and there are still a few that won't work well or at all. Leopard worked very well on my laptop.

Adding a new processor + RAM to a Sun Fire X2270

Hi,
I have a Sun Fire X2270 with Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5504 @ 2.00GHz CPU and 8 GB RAM from factory.
The server has 2 processors sockets, I want to add another new processor (before it gets older).
Can I just buy a new processor from Internet? I called Oracle but I think they are not interested in selling and sending just one processor.
According to the tech specs of the server hardware I have a couple of Intel processors options apart of the one that came preinstalled, the same Intel Xeon 5500 series.
This is the one I want:
Intel® Xeon® Processor L5520 (8M Cache, 2.26 GHz, 5.86 GT/s Intel® QPI)
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=40201
Can I just buy it and plug it in? no special version from Sun/Oracle? isn't the same exact model of the one that already has, but the same Intel series, is this possible to have different processors models? this one has a couple of more features and it is faster.
Of course I also will buy more RAM, what do you say about this one:
Kingston KTS-SF313/8G 8GB 1333MHz Reg ECC Module
http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/partsinfo.asp?root=us&LinkBack=http://www.kingston.com&ktcpartno=KTS-SF313/8G
Thank you in advance?

Hello
I think that you have got an obsolete architecture (RAM/CPU). I suggest you to read this:
*Sun Fire[tm] X2270 M2 Server - Full Components List*
CPU Module
Option # Manufacturing Part # Description Previous Part #
X4371A Price 310-0239 [F] Heatsink n/a
371-4984 [F] 3.06GHz Intel 6-Core Xeon X5675, 95W n/a
X4372A Price 310-0239 [F] Heatsink n/a
371-4983 [F] 2.53GHz Intel 6-Core Xeon E5649, 80W n/a
X8381A Price 310-0239 [F] Heatsink n/a
371-4885 [F] 2.4GHz Intel Quad-Core Xeon E5620, 12MB, 80W n/a
X8382A [S] 310-0239 [F] Heatsink n/a
371-4888 [F] 2.8GHz Intel 6-Core Xeon X5660, 12MB, 95W n/a
X8383A [S] 310-0239 [F] Heatsink n/a
371-4889 [F] 2.93GHz Intel 6-Core Xeon X5670, 12MB, 95W n/a
Memory
Option # Manufacturing Part # Description Previous Part #
X8361A Price 371-4917 [C] 8GB Registered DDR3-1333 Low Voltage DIMM n/a
X8362A Price 371-4916 [C] 4GB Registered DDR3-1333 Low Voltage DIMM n/a
X8359A [S] 371-4902 [C] 8GB Registered DDR3-1066 DIMM n/a
X8360A [S] 371-4901 [C] 4GB Registered DDR3-1066 DIMM n/a
XRA-ST3C-24G2FMD 1 [N] 371-4531 [C] [N] 24GB SATA-based Sun Flash Module n/a
1 Support for XRA-ST3C-24G2FMD was cancelled on 07/28/10.
For more details:
https://support.oracle.com/handbook_private/Systems/SunFireX2270_M2/components.html
https://support.oracle.com/handbook_private/Systems/SunFireX2270_M2/spec.html
Bye.

I have 1 GB RAM on an '07 MacBook Pro. 1) How do I check remaining memory? 2) I have Microsoft office 2004 - do I need to buy more RAM to upgrade to '11? 3) I need a new battery ... Is it worth the $$ to buy a new battery, RAM and Microsoft office 2011?

I have a MacBook Pro from '07 with 1 GB of memory. The battery is shot and my AppleCare has run out. I just upgraded the OS to 10.6.8. But a few questions:
1 - How do I even check how much memory I have left on this computer?
2 - How do I check how many battery cycles are left?
3 - I want to upgrade to Microsoft Office '11 because I don't have Adobe Acrobat to creat pdf's and I need to be able to do this for school... Instead of buying acrobat, I figured I would just upgrade to Office '11 because I can generate pdf's from Word. Roughly how much RAM does Office '11 take up?
4 - Does Apple still make batteries for this computer (from '07)? How much do they cost?
5 - How much does 1 more GB of memory cost?
AND lastly -- is it even worth it to spend the $ on more RAM, a new battery and Office '11?
Or does it make more sense to just get a new computer entirely? (trying to avoid this).
ANY help would be sooo appreciated! Thanks.

1 - How do I even check how much memory I have left on this computer?
If you're asking how to check to see if you need more RAM, open Activity Monitor and go to the System Memory tab, then compare page outs and page ins. If page outs is 10% or more of page ins, you probably need more RAM.
2 - How do I check how many battery cycles are left?
There's no limit on the number of battery cycles, it's just that the more cycles you've used the more "worn out" your battery gets. You've got a 4-year-old machine, and if it's still got the original battery, it's probably about time for a replacement battery. You can check battery health using System Profiler... look at the Power section under Hardware.
3 - I want to upgrade to Microsoft Office '11 because I don't have Adobe Acrobat to creat pdf's and I need to be able to do this for school... Instead of buying acrobat, I figured I would just upgrade to Office '11
You don't need Office 2011 to create PDFs. Any application capable of printing can create PDFs on a Mac. Just choose File -> Print, but instead of clicking the Print button in the print dialog, click the PDF button and choose Save As PDF in the menu that appears.
4 - Does Apple still make batteries for this computer (from '07)? How much do they cost?
5 - How much does 1 more GB of memory cost?
I'll "ditto" sig's answers to these.
AND lastly -- is it even worth it to spend the $ on more RAM, a new battery and Office '11?
Or does it make more sense to just get a new computer entirely? (trying to avoid this).
If Office 2004 is still working fine for you, stick with that and don't incur the costs of Office 2011. As to the RAM, only add more if the test I mentioned above indicates that you need it. If you buy more RAM when you don't really need it, you won't see much (if any) performance improvement. That just leaves the battery... and if the machine is still doing what you need it to do and you don't really need a new machine for anything, you could definitely buy a new battery and get a few more years out of it.

Opinions - time for a new computer? need more RAM, Time Machine back up full - get new computer?

I am in a quandary. My early 2008 iMac needs more Ram. I could upgrade from 2gb to 4gb for around $60. My 1T external hard drive for Time Machine is full and I do not relish the idea of it erasing old data if I continue to use it this way, but then I am shelling out more money for a new hard drive. Can get new 3T hd for about $200. Is it worth it to shore up my computer? I have recently upgraded OS to ML and it is really starting to act sluggish. I hate the idea of having to transfer everything over to a new Mac and therefore new OS. I need a working computer every day for business for my husband, so it would be impossible to go without a computer while things are being transferred over - and how long would it take for me to do that. Plus, will files and photos be transferred over exactly as I have organized them? I have spent a lot of time organizing bookmark folders in Safari, mailboxes in Mail and albums and folders in iPhoto. Don't want to start from scratch again. Also don't like the idea that the new iMacs don't have a slot for dvds and cds, playing and burning. I do a lot of this kind of thing. So then I would need to buy a separate thing for doing this as well as the computer itself. Have wondered how many things have changed from ML to Maverick. Another big learning curve???
Would really appreciate any thoughts and opinions. I am a senior citizen and don't know how to sort through this. One thing I think about is that I don't know how much longer I will be living and able to do computer work. I know everything is a risk, but would like some advice even if it is only an opinion.

It's probably time for a new machine. You won't have to start from scratch. Migration Assistant will bring over all of your data and apps (some may need to be re-activated using product keys). Depending on how much you actually have, a few hours should be all it takes over Ethernet.
Time Machine should continually erase the oldest backups when it needs space for new ones.
You might want to do both. Upgrade the RAM in the old machine to the max it will take, and buy a new machine as well. If your husband really needs a machine available all the time for business, having a 'spare' is a good thing.
Check out what's available in the refurb store. They are virtually indistinguishable from new retail stock and come with a full warranty. You can save hundreds.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

IMac 2012 (December) more RAM or faster processor?

I will buy a 21.5 iMac. Basic user: web, MS Office documents, some photo editing, burn DVDs. Maybe light video. I tend to keep my computers a long time (current Mac is the half dome from about 8 years ago).
Question: for the most bang for the buck, and long term use, is it worth adding more RAM (8 to 16) or upgrading the processor (2.7 to 2.9)?
Or just keep the basic model?
Unlike previous questions like this, the 21.5 Macs don't let you add RAM later. I get conflicting opinions from Mac store.

IMHO if you intend to keep the machine a long time in order to get the best performance and most futureability I'd recommend getting the i7 21.5" with 16GB and get the 1TB Fusion drive. The 2012 21.5" iMacs are not designed to be user upgradeable for anything however OWC (www.macsales.com) sells a RAM upgrade kit. It takes skill to do the upgrade and will probably invalidate the warranty but it's possible.
IMHO I'd buy the upgrades from Apple at the point of order. You can purchase the above (i7, 16GB, Fusion drive) configuration from Apple's online store, I doubt the brick and mortar store would carry it.

More RAM = longer processor life ????????

does anyone out there know if adding more RAM helps reduce stress on the processor, thereby extending its lifespan? significantly?

Miguel Peralta:
i what about the difference between putting a computer to sleep and shutting it down. i have the idea that "sleep" does not mean that the computer stops working, and that it in fact remains ON. would shutting down be a better option istead of sleep, to conserve CPU life??
When you place it in sleep mode, the entire state of the machine is still in the DRAM, and the memory is still on and being refreshed. Basically a "1" is stored in a DRAM bit on a single capacitor where the voltage decays rapidly. The mechanism basically reads and rewrites each location periodically to ensure that the state of the memory is maintained above a required threshold to recogize a "1". It takes a certain amount of power to do this.
I believe the CPU power consumption is severely reduced in sleep mode.

Get more Ram or new computer?

I have an iMac G5 with 1 GB (I think) of RAM. I run programs like InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and find myself watching the spinning rainbow more than I am getting any work done. Would getting more RAM help my computer run faster or do I have to resort to getting a new computer? Any help provided would be greatly appreciated!
This is what shows under my RAM window...
DIMM0/J4000:
Size: 512 MB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC3200U-30330
DIMM1/J4001:
Size: 512 MB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC3200U-30330

You have not maxed out your memory. Since you did not indicate which model iMac you have, see the following:
Rev A models - 2GB
Rev B (Ambient Light) - 2GB
Rev C (iSight) - 2.5GB
You can install the RAM yourself. Your user manual that came w/your computer has detailed instructions. Also see Article http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300205 iMac G5 DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Instructions
As Miriam already stated, make sure that the RAM you purchase has a lifetime warranty.
MGW, the servers are wacky again.

Can users install more RAM on the new 21.5 iMacs?

Can a user upgrade and install more RAM on the new 21.5 iMacs?

butcherbird190 wrote:
This page says it is configurable to 16GB. Mac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014) - Technical Specifications
That means at time of order.

Ok, so i bought a imac 27 about 4 months ago, and now they release a new one! ****... So my question is, should I sell this one (which by the way is the i5 2.8 with 1 gb 5750 and 4gb ram) and buy the new imac 27 i5,or keep the one i have and buy more ram

ok, so i bought a imac 27 about 4 months ago, and now they release a new one! ****... So my question is, should I sell this one (which by the way is the i5 2.8 with 1 gb 5750 and 4gb ram) and buy the new imac 27 i5,or keep the one i have and buy more ram. I mostly use my computer for photoshop cs5 and illustrator cs5 for graphics out put as well as surfing the web and music.
Please give me you thoughts on what I should do!! Thanks lot!

The new iMac is about 25% or so faster than your current iMac(comparable model would be the 3.1ghz version). There are a couple of things that you will benefit from such as the dual Thunderbolt/Mini Display ports/ which may help with multitasking. The video card in the new iMac again the comparable model being the 3.1ghz is a lotttttttt better than the current one that you have. So thinking of the long run those few things may be beneficial for you to upgrade(but it depends on what is important to you).
I had the 2.93ghz i7 version that I just bought in March this year and I turned around and sold it about a week before the new iMac's were announced. I got about $1600 for it, yeah I took a loss but to me it was worth it because my new iMac performs that much better. Now keep in mind I went from i7 to i7...3.4ghz i7 with the 2gb video card. Now I have dual thuderbolt/mini display ports. I have noticed significant gains in my video editing and also in my gaming. So to me it was definitely worth the upgrade!
One last thing, I would not have sold my 2.93 i7 and then bought the 3.1ghz i5, the big reason is because HT(hyper threading), it's only on the i7 model(3.4ghz)... If you take a look at some of the bench marks on engadget, maclife, macrumors, macworld, ****Barefeats.com(they really get into benchmarking)*** you will see charts that will help you make a better decision.
In closing I would say look into it, if you can get a good price out of your current iMac to put toward a new iMac then do it. Like others have mentioned to you, tech changes and Apple will change the tech in these machines next year or do a speed bump later this year or so. One last thing if you go from the 2.8 i5 up to the 3.4 i7, you would definitely see the difference (HT is a must especially for programs that utilize it. You can go to my youtube channel(mob1278) and take a look at my geekbench results.... my 2.93 i7 scored around 10500-11000(8gb ram)...my 3.4 i7 scores from 12700-13000 with 4gb ram....so yeah as you can see big difference. Basically the 3.4 i7 would perform similar or just under a 2.4ghz 8core 2010 Mac Pro which runs you about $3500 with no monitor.... it's your money spend it how you want....and Lion is only going to push it even more when it is released!

Aging g4 just keeps going but is more ram worthwhile?

I have a g4 that was purchased in 2000. I have never had a problem with it and probably haven't turned it off 50 times since I bought it. My question is that I can't afford a new computer but is it worth putting more RAM in it now in view of it's age? I run heavy apps on it (i.e., adobe and open-source). Currently I have 756 total RAM. My understanding is that with OS X I can go as high as 2GB so is it worth it? I know I have been extremely lucky with how this computer has performed.
The only other option I might consider is a Mac Mini with 4GB of RAM but everything I've read says that this is not a "production" machine. I am a graphic/web designer so performance is important (yeah, I know, so why am I using a dinosaur?).

Hi, helloiamamac -
There's no factual way to answer that question, only opinion.
When using OS 9, since you already have more than 512MB of RAM, adding more will not help much, as long as you are not running out of RAM under your current usage patterns. If you had less than 512MB, you could see (subjectively) an improvement in OS 9 by adding more. OS 9 can address a max of 1.5GB of RAM.
If you are using OSX, then adding more can help, specifically by reducing or eliminating the need for the OS to use swap space on the disk (a form of virtual memory). No data is read faster than data in RAM. Although fast processors (which you do not have) can manage swapping data from disks much better, it's still not as fast as reading from RAM. OSX can address a max (on your machine) of 2.0GB of RAM.
That machine, a G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) model, has four RAM slots (it was the last machine prior to the G4 MDDs which has more than three slots); each slot is rated for a max RAM module size of 512MB. Four of those give the machine's max total of 2.0GB.
You stated your machine has "756 total RAM" - might that be 768MB instead? 768MB is usually the result of one 512MB module and one 128MB module, although it could also be three 256MB modules (or some other combo of modules). In order to get 2.0GB of RAM in it, the minimum number of 512MB modules you would need is three; the max is four. You would need to balance the cost of those vs. the cost of a newer machine, one with more RAM than you have now.
By "newer" machine I am suggesting that instead of a brand new machine, you look at ones older than new, but newer than yours. Some of the G4 MDDs are going for good (i.e., low) prices, perhaps even lower than the cost of adding RAM to your machine. G5s are another possibility, provided you do not need to boot to OS 9.

What will I notice with more RAM? or FCE HD?

Right now FCE2 seems to be laboring between tasks. Since I just upgraded to the intel it is kind of a disappointment because my g4 Ibook never blinked (at all)... I like the new mac but seems like the old one handled more with less processor and same ram... Is it the older FCE2 or do I need more RAM? Would like to get dialed in for performance... so I can get more work done...

FCE2 is running under Rosetta. Since it is not a Universal Binary program it will not work as well as FCE3. 512 Mb ram is not much even for running FCE3. You would get better performance with more RAM. RAM is very cheap right now, I paid $39.00 US for a 1 GB stick recently. More RAM would help your FCE2 run better. You would also find it improves a lot of other things on your Mac.

With intel core 2 duo it's possible more RAM? in early imac 2006

I could change the processor core duo per core 2 duo of my IMAC, that is from early 2006... the cuestion is: the description of this mac says that only works with 2 gb of ram, but with the new processor it can upgrade this RAM, per 3 or 4 gb?
Thanks for your answer

You actually were able to change the processor to a Core 2 Duo in that machine? I've only heard of one other person who did this, but it did not work too well for them. Also, they did it so they could upgrade to Lion and that did not work either: the App Store recognized the machine ID as one with a Core Duo and would not allow them to install Lion. So if you changed yours to a Core 2 Duo to get Lion, your efforts were wasted.
As for allowing for more RAM - since people do not replace processors on iMacs in general, no one here will probably be able to answer your question.

More RAM or time to buy?

I'm on an early 2009 iMac with 24 inch screen.
Processor 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 8 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Software OS X 10.9.5 (13F34)
I knew I was running into RAM problems, so I upgraded to 8GB but it's clearly not enough. Machine seems to be running okay otherwise. I've used two different cleaning programs and now have to use them all the time. Is it possible to increase the RAM to 16 GB on this computer? Or (sigh) have I reached the end of the line, and it's just time to cough up money for a new model?
Thanks!
Krista

If 8 GBs isn't enough then you may be trying to run too much concurrently. Perhaps you should try running fewer programs. One thing that will help is uninstalling or removing the cleaning software you installed. They aren't required and certainly won't fix the problem.
Things You Can Do To Resolve Slow Downs
If your computer seems to be running slower here are some things you can do:
Start with visits to:     OS X Maintenance - MacAttorney;
                                  The X Lab: The X-FAQs;
                                  The Safe Mac » Mac Performance Guide;
                                  The Safe Mac » The myth of the dirty Mac;
                                  Mac maintenance Quick Assist.
Boot into Safe Mode then repair your hard drive and permissions:
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions Pre-Lion
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
Repair the Hard Drive - Lion/Mountain Lion/Mavericks
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the Utilites Menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD disk icon and click on the arrow button below.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported, then click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.
Restart your computer normally and see if this has helped any. Next do some maintenance:
For situations Disk Utility cannot handle the best third-party utility is Disk Warrior; DW only fixes problems with the disk directory, but most disk problems are caused by directory corruption; Disk Warrior 4.x is now Intel Mac compatible.
Note: Alsoft ships DW on a bootable DVD that will startup Macs running Snow Leopard or earlier. It cannot start Macs that came with Lion or later pre-installed, however, DW will work on those models.
Suggestions for OS X Maintenance
OS X performs certain maintenance functions that are scheduled to occur on a daily, weekly, or monthly period. The maintenance scripts run in the early AM only if the computer is turned on 24/7 (no sleep.) If this isn't the case, then an excellent solution is to download and install a shareware utility such as Macaroni, JAW PseudoAnacron, or Anacron that will automate the maintenance activity regardless of whether the computer is turned off or asleep. Dependence upon third-party utilities to run the periodic maintenance scripts was significantly reduced since Tiger. These utilities have limited or no functionality with Snow Leopard or later and should not be installed.
OS X automatically defragments files less than 20 MBs in size, so unless you have a disk full of very large files there's little need for defragmenting the hard drive.
Under no circumstances should you install so-called maintenance software from MacPaw or ZeoBit (CleanMyMac/CleanMyDrive or Mac Keeper, respectively.) You do not need special software to maintain your computer.
Helpful Links Regarding Malware Protection
If you are having an immediate problem with ads popping up see The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Guide and AdwareMedic.
Open Safari, select Preferences from the Safari menu. Click on Extensions icon in the toolbar. Disable all Extensions. If this stops your problem, then re-enable them one by one until the problem returns. Now remove that extension as it is causing the problem.
The following comes from user stevejobsfan0123. I have made minor changes to adapt to this presentation.
Fix Some Browser Pop-ups That Take Over Safari
Common pop-ups include a message saying the government has seized your computer and you must pay to have it released (often called "Moneypak"), or a phony message saying that your computer has been infected, and you need to call a tech support number (sometimes claiming to be Apple) to get it resolved. First, understand that these pop-ups are not caused by a virus and your computer has not been affected. This "hijack" is limited to your web browser. Also understand that these messages are scams, so do not pay any money, call the listed number, or provide any personal information. This article will outline the solution to dismiss the pop-up.
Quit Safari
Usually, these pop-ups will not go away by either clicking "OK" or "Cancel." Furthermore, several menus in the menu bar may become disabled and show in gray, including the option to quit Safari. You will likely have to force quit Safari. To do this, press Command + option + esc, select Safari, and press Force Quit.
Relaunch Safari
If you relaunch Safari, the page will reopen. To prevent this from happening, hold down the 'Shift' key while opening Safari. This will prevent windows from the last time Safari was running from reopening.
This will not work in all cases. The shift key must be held at the right time, and in some cases, even if done correctly, the window reappears. In these circumstances, after force quitting Safari, turn off Wi-Fi or disconnect Ethernet, depending on how you connect to the Internet. Then relaunch Safari normally. It will try to reload the malicious webpage, but without a connection, it won't be able to. Navigate away from that page by entering a different URL, i.e. www.apple.com, and trying to load it. Now you can reconnect to the Internet, and the page you entered will appear rather than the malicious one.
An excellent link to read is Tom Reed's Mac Malware Guide.
Also, visit The XLab FAQs and read Detecting and avoiding malware and spyware.
See these Apple articles:
Mac OS X Snow Leopard and malware detection
OS X Lion- Protect your Mac from malware
OS X Mountain Lion- Protect your Mac from malware
OS X Mavericks- Protect your Mac from malware
About file quarantine in OS X
If you require anti-virus protection Thomas Reed recommends using ClamXAV. (Thank you to Thomas Reed for this recommendation.)
From user Joe Bailey comes this equally useful advice:
The facts are:
1. There is no anti-malware software that can detect 100% of the malware out there.
2. There is no anti-malware that can detect everything targeting the Mac.
3. The very best way to prevent the most attacks is for you as the user to be aware that
     the most successful malware attacks rely on very sophisticated social engineering
     techniques preying on human avarice, ****, and fear.
4. Internet popups saying the FBI, NSA, Microsoft, your ISP has detected malware on
    your computer is intended to entice you to install their malware thinking it is a
    protection against malware.
5. Some of the anti-malware products on the market are worse than the malware
    from which they purport to protect you.
6. Be cautious where you go on the internet.
7. Only download anything from sites you know are safe.
8. Avoid links you receive in email, always be suspicious even if you get something
    you think is from a friend, but you were not expecting.
9. If there is any question in your mind, then assume it is malware.
Troubleshooting Applications
I recommend downloading a utility such as TinkerTool System, OnyX, Mavericks Cache Cleaner, or Cocktail that you can use for removing old log files and archives, clearing caches, etc. Corrupted cache, log, or temporary files can cause application or OS X crashes as well as kernel panics.
If you have Snow Leopard or Leopard, then for similar repairs install the freeware utility Applejack. If you cannot start up in OS X, you may be able to start in single-user mode from which you can run Applejack to do a whole set of repair and maintenance routines from the command line. Note that AppleJack 1.5 is required for Leopard. AppleJack 1.6 is compatible with Snow Leopard. Applejack does not work with Lion and later.
Basic Backup
For some people Time Machine will be more than adequate. Time Machine is part of OS X. There are two components:
1. A Time Machine preferences panel as part of System Preferences;
2. A Time Machine application located in the Applications folder. It is
    used to manage backups and to restore backups. Time Machine
    requires a backup drive that is at least twice the capacity of the
    drive being backed up.
Alternatively, get an external drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Get Backup
3. Deja Vu
4. SuperDuper!
5. Synk Pro
6. Tri-Backup
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files. For help with using Time Machine visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things Time Machine.
Referenced software can be found at MacUpdate.
Additional Hints
Be sure you have an adequate amount of RAM installed for the number of applications you run concurrently. Be sure you leave a minimum of 10% of the hard drive's capacity as free space.
Add more RAM. If your computer has less than 2 GBs of RAM and you are using OS X Leopard or later, then you can do with more RAM. Snow Leopard and Lion work much better with 4 GBs of RAM than their system minimums. The more concurrent applications you tend to use the more RAM you should have.
Always maintain at least 15 GBs or 10% of your hard drive's capacity as free space, whichever is greater. OS X is frequently accessing your hard drive, so providing adequate free space will keep things from slowing down.
Check for applications that may be hogging the CPU:
Pre-Mavericks
Open Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder. Select All Processes from the Processes dropdown menu. Click twice on the CPU% column header to display in descending order. If you find a process using a large amount of CPU time (>=70,) then select the process and click on the Quit icon in the toolbar. Click on the Force Quit button to kill the process. See if that helps. Be sure to note the name of the runaway process so you can track down the cause of the problem.
Mavericks and later
Open Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder. Select All Processes from the View menu. Click on the CPU tab in the toolbar. Click twice on the CPU% column header to display in descending order. If you find a process using a large amount of CPU time (>=70,) then select the process and click on the Quit icon in the toolbar. Click on the Force Quit button to kill the process. See if that helps. Be sure to note the name of the runaway process so you can track down the cause of the problem.
Often this problem occurs because of a corrupted cache or preferences file or an attempt to write to a corrupted log file.

New Processor Or More RAM?

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