LowEndMac has published a guide that can help you improve the performance of your Mac when a simple reboot or closing unused applications is not enough.

Their tips include (visit their site for the explanations of each.):

1. Clean out Startup Items
2. Turn off Universal Access, Bluetooth, Speech Recognition, and Internet Sharing if You Don’t Use Them
3. Clean Out ‘Other’ System Preferences
4. Check Out What ‘Build’ Your Software Is
5. Clean Out Unnecessary Code
6. Get Rid of Languages and Translations You Won’t Use
7. Cool Off
8. Evaluate Your Widgets
9. Keep an Eye on Activity Monitor
10. Clean Off Your Hard Drive
11. Run OnyX

I also suggest uninstalling fonts you never use.

In any case, its pretty rare to encounter performance issues on a new Intel Mac and are almost always solved with a reboot.

[11 Ways to Optimize Your Mac’s Performance]

Tags: apple, apple mac os x, os x, mac os x, optimize os x