The Truth About Mac Restart Myths
Regardless of whether you’re an experienced user or have just begun your journey with macOS Sequoia, you may have come across the notion that Macs never require restarting. This belief has persisted since the days when PCs and Macs were portrayed by different personalities, but in reality, it’s simply not true.
Common Misconceptions Among Users
You might find some readers sighing and thinking, “Obviously!” Yet, many MacBook owners tend to close their devices at night, only to reopen them the following morning. The rare times they contemplate a restart are typically prompted by system updates.
I can relate; I’ve been utilizing Macs since 2000 (starting with the Power Mac G4 Gigabit Ethernet) and rarely made restarting a routine. It wasn’t until I purchased my first Apple silicon Mac that I began noticing issues. Despite having 16GB of RAM—double that of my previous model—I frequently faced slowdowns due to memory pressure and battery life inconsistencies.
An Ongoing Challenge
Initially, I assumed this was an issue linked to the M1 chip as it was part of Apple’s first generation in this category. However, even after upgrading to an M2 Pro machine with identical RAM one year later, my problems continued unabated. Eventually, I invested in a significantly more powerful machine: an M3 Max MacBook Pro featuring 36GB of RAM.
While I utilize my laptop regularly for tasks like Photoshop and Microsoft 365 applications alongside multiple Safari tabs constantly open (around twenty), even this powerhouse struggles after weeks without a restart. The impact becomes particularly clear regarding battery performance which can show erratic fluctuations irrespective of usage patterns.
Foundry
Observations on Performance Variance
A glance at my battery statistics from last week illustrates this point: average screen-on time clocked between 7-9 hours daily while only taking one simple action—a restart on Sunday night—boosted it close to 12 hours this week.
The Evolution of Mac Systems
In earlier days, Macs could thrive without any rest for months at a time while maintaining consistent performance levels; however today’s machines are significantly more complex entities than their predecessors. For instance, unified memory allocated for both CPU and GPU functionalities means it’s perpetually engaged during operation. Surprisingly enough as I pen these thoughts down now about 30GB out of my available 36GB is actively utilized by various processes running concurrently! This design isn’t inherently flawed; it taps into how macOS interacts seamlessly within Apple’s intricate system architecture—it aids smooth functioning but contributes heavily towards declination after extensive consecutive use periods.
A Simple Solution: Regular Restarts
This highlights why introducing weekly restarts into your usage habits can yield substantial benefits regarding system health—the pros far outweigh keeping secrets when chatting with PC enthusiasts!
