Does installing a bunch of unnecessary fonts slow computers down?
Several sites and blogs advise users to remove the excess fonts from their OS. Does this help in performance or is this just a myth? If it is true, why is that so?
windows macos performance fonts
edited Dec 18 '12 at 22:12
Linger
2,764102739
asked Dec 18 '12 at 13:08
Fábio Perez
9491822
add a comment |
Several sites and blogs advise users to remove the excess fonts from their OS. Does this help in performance or is this just a myth? If it is true, why is that so?
windows macos performance fonts
edited Dec 18 '12 at 22:12
Linger
2,764102739
asked Dec 18 '12 at 13:08
Fábio Perez
9491822
Why is it these blogs suggest moving the fonts? That'd be a helpful point.
– cutrightjm
Dec 18 '12 at 13:10
add a comment |
Several sites and blogs advise users to remove the excess fonts from their OS. Does this help in performance or is this just a myth? If it is true, why is that so?
windows macos performance fonts
edited Dec 18 '12 at 22:12
Linger
2,764102739
asked Dec 18 '12 at 13:08
Fábio Perez
9491822
Several sites and blogs advise users to remove the excess fonts from their OS. Does this help in performance or is this just a myth? If it is true, why is that so?
windows macos performance fonts
windows macos performance fonts
edited Dec 18 '12 at 22:12
Linger
2,764102739
asked Dec 18 '12 at 13:08
Fábio Perez
9491822
edited Dec 18 '12 at 22:12
Linger
2,764102739
asked Dec 18 '12 at 13:08
Fábio Perez
9491822
edited Dec 18 '12 at 22:12
Linger
2,764102739
edited Dec 18 '12 at 22:12
Linger
2,764102739
edited Dec 18 '12 at 22:12
Linger
2,764102739
2,764102739
asked Dec 18 '12 at 13:08
Fábio Perez
9491822
asked Dec 18 '12 at 13:08
Fábio Perez
9491822
asked Dec 18 '12 at 13:08
Fábio Perez
9491822
9491822
Why is it these blogs suggest moving the fonts? That'd be a helpful point.
– cutrightjm
Dec 18 '12 at 13:10
add a comment |
Why is it these blogs suggest moving the fonts? That'd be a helpful point.
– cutrightjm
Dec 18 '12 at 13:10
Why is it these blogs suggest moving the fonts? That'd be a helpful point.
– cutrightjm
Dec 18 '12 at 13:10
Why is it these blogs suggest moving the fonts? That'd be a helpful point.
– cutrightjm
Dec 18 '12 at 13:10
add a comment |
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
The reason that it is recommended is that Windows (at least, not sure about Mac and Linux) has to load font information on boot. Not only can this slow the boot process (though I don't think you would actually notice this on a modern computer) but, more importantly, each font requires an amount of in-memory storage. This is then no longer available to other OS processes and so can slow down the OS due to paging.
So on a modern computer with plenty of memory and a fast drive, you won't notice any difference under normal circumstances.
answered Dec 18 '12 at 15:54
Julian Knight
12.9k11535
add a comment |
The main performance hit is not the fonts on their own, but the extended load times for applications using them (Word, Excel, Corel etc.).
Graphics-Unleashed
SourceDaddy
edited Dec 18 '12 at 14:52
Dave M
12.7k92838
answered Dec 18 '12 at 13:23
bummi
1,50131421
If you're not actively using the fonts, then why load them and consume system resources?
– da4
Dec 18 '12 at 14:41
@da4 I'm not OT, I on my own have to develop and test software with different fonts, an since I've to use chinese for testing too, a few others won't harm me.
– bummi
Dec 18 '12 at 14:55
add a comment |
From my own experience, I have to say yes, installing many fonts will slow down a system. My own anecdotal evidence is as follows:
In early 2011, I wanted to see if there was any truth as to whether a lot of fonts slowed down a system. To test it out, I used FontFrenzy on a Windows 7 machine to unload all but the fonts installed with Windows 7 by default. In all, I disabled about 250 fonts I had accumulated. That being the only change I made, my boot time (from BIOS screen to useable Desktop screen) lowered by 6 seconds (from 50 seconds to 44 seconds). Programs like Word, Photoshop, etc. felt like they loaded faster (however, I didn't actually time them).
I don't recall the exact system specs, but it was an i5 machine running Win 7 Home Premium with 6GB RAM and a 750GB Caviar Green 5400RPM drive.
The problem with anecdotal evidence like this is that I'm sure that no one is going to have the exact software/hardware setup I had. However, for the one test I ran, it cut the boot time slightly by having less fonts.
answered Dec 18 '12 at 14:56
Trav
788520
add a comment |
Yes it does, as windows reads all fonts on start up and must validate all fonts in:
C:windowsfonts
before resuming start up.
If you install new fonts in windows, you will experience slower boot by windows.
That is why it is recommended that you only keep the main fonts in windows listed in this link and keep also fonts you are using in special editing software like Photoshop or CorelDraw, or installed software or games on your system that require special fonts.
answered Feb 28 '15 at 9:45
Ashraf Abusada
18916
add a comment |
Just an idea:
If you need many fonts sometimes, then you'd better to have those fonts in external folder (like C:my_fonts1) and make a symlink of those files in c:windowsfonts, and when you close Photoshop/etc, then you can just rename to C:my_fonts2 and then all files in windowsfonts directory will become unusable.
answered Dec 7 '18 at 22:31
T.Todua
1,40631628
add a comment |
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5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
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The reason that it is recommended is that Windows (at least, not sure about Mac and Linux) has to load font information on boot. Not only can this slow the boot process (though I don't think you would actually notice this on a modern computer) but, more importantly, each font requires an amount of in-memory storage. This is then no longer available to other OS processes and so can slow down the OS due to paging.
So on a modern computer with plenty of memory and a fast drive, you won't notice any difference under normal circumstances.
answered Dec 18 '12 at 15:54
Julian Knight
12.9k11535
add a comment |
The reason that it is recommended is that Windows (at least, not sure about Mac and Linux) has to load font information on boot. Not only can this slow the boot process (though I don't think you would actually notice this on a modern computer) but, more importantly, each font requires an amount of in-memory storage. This is then no longer available to other OS processes and so can slow down the OS due to paging.
So on a modern computer with plenty of memory and a fast drive, you won't notice any difference under normal circumstances.
answered Dec 18 '12 at 15:54
Julian Knight
12.9k11535
add a comment |
The reason that it is recommended is that Windows (at least, not sure about Mac and Linux) has to load font information on boot. Not only can this slow the boot process (though I don't think you would actually notice this on a modern computer) but, more importantly, each font requires an amount of in-memory storage. This is then no longer available to other OS processes and so can slow down the OS due to paging.
So on a modern computer with plenty of memory and a fast drive, you won't notice any difference under normal circumstances.
answered Dec 18 '12 at 15:54
Julian Knight
12.9k11535
The reason that it is recommended is that Windows (at least, not sure about Mac and Linux) has to load font information on boot. Not only can this slow the boot process (though I don't think you would actually notice this on a modern computer) but, more importantly, each font requires an amount of in-memory storage. This is then no longer available to other OS processes and so can slow down the OS due to paging.
So on a modern computer with plenty of memory and a fast drive, you won't notice any difference under normal circumstances.
answered Dec 18 '12 at 15:54
Julian Knight
12.9k11535
answered Dec 18 '12 at 15:54
Julian Knight
12.9k11535
answered Dec 18 '12 at 15:54
Julian Knight
12.9k11535
answered Dec 18 '12 at 15:54
Julian Knight
12.9k11535
12.9k11535
add a comment |
add a comment |
The main performance hit is not the fonts on their own, but the extended load times for applications using them (Word, Excel, Corel etc.).
Graphics-Unleashed
SourceDaddy
edited Dec 18 '12 at 14:52
Dave M
12.7k92838
answered Dec 18 '12 at 13:23
bummi
1,50131421
If you're not actively using the fonts, then why load them and consume system resources?
– da4
Dec 18 '12 at 14:41
@da4 I'm not OT, I on my own have to develop and test software with different fonts, an since I've to use chinese for testing too, a few others won't harm me.
– bummi
Dec 18 '12 at 14:55
add a comment |
The main performance hit is not the fonts on their own, but the extended load times for applications using them (Word, Excel, Corel etc.).
Graphics-Unleashed
SourceDaddy
edited Dec 18 '12 at 14:52
Dave M
12.7k92838
answered Dec 18 '12 at 13:23
bummi
1,50131421
If you're not actively using the fonts, then why load them and consume system resources?
– da4
Dec 18 '12 at 14:41
@da4 I'm not OT, I on my own have to develop and test software with different fonts, an since I've to use chinese for testing too, a few others won't harm me.
– bummi
Dec 18 '12 at 14:55
add a comment |
The main performance hit is not the fonts on their own, but the extended load times for applications using them (Word, Excel, Corel etc.).
Graphics-Unleashed
SourceDaddy
edited Dec 18 '12 at 14:52
Dave M
12.7k92838
answered Dec 18 '12 at 13:23
bummi
1,50131421
The main performance hit is not the fonts on their own, but the extended load times for applications using them (Word, Excel, Corel etc.).
Graphics-Unleashed
SourceDaddy
edited Dec 18 '12 at 14:52
Dave M
12.7k92838
answered Dec 18 '12 at 13:23
bummi
1,50131421
edited Dec 18 '12 at 14:52
Dave M
12.7k92838
edited Dec 18 '12 at 14:52
Dave M
12.7k92838
edited Dec 18 '12 at 14:52
Dave M
12.7k92838
12.7k92838
answered Dec 18 '12 at 13:23
bummi
1,50131421
answered Dec 18 '12 at 13:23
bummi
1,50131421
answered Dec 18 '12 at 13:23
bummi
1,50131421
1,50131421
If you're not actively using the fonts, then why load them and consume system resources?
– da4
Dec 18 '12 at 14:41
@da4 I'm not OT, I on my own have to develop and test software with different fonts, an since I've to use chinese for testing too, a few others won't harm me.
– bummi
Dec 18 '12 at 14:55
add a comment |
If you're not actively using the fonts, then why load them and consume system resources?
– da4
Dec 18 '12 at 14:41
@da4 I'm not OT, I on my own have to develop and test software with different fonts, an since I've to use chinese for testing too, a few others won't harm me.
– bummi
Dec 18 '12 at 14:55
If you're not actively using the fonts, then why load them and consume system resources?
– da4
Dec 18 '12 at 14:41
If you're not actively using the fonts, then why load them and consume system resources?
– da4
Dec 18 '12 at 14:41
@da4 I'm not OT, I on my own have to develop and test software with different fonts, an since I've to use chinese for testing too, a few others won't harm me.
– bummi
Dec 18 '12 at 14:55
@da4 I'm not OT, I on my own have to develop and test software with different fonts, an since I've to use chinese for testing too, a few others won't harm me.
– bummi
Dec 18 '12 at 14:55
add a comment |
From my own experience, I have to say yes, installing many fonts will slow down a system. My own anecdotal evidence is as follows:
In early 2011, I wanted to see if there was any truth as to whether a lot of fonts slowed down a system. To test it out, I used FontFrenzy on a Windows 7 machine to unload all but the fonts installed with Windows 7 by default. In all, I disabled about 250 fonts I had accumulated. That being the only change I made, my boot time (from BIOS screen to useable Desktop screen) lowered by 6 seconds (from 50 seconds to 44 seconds). Programs like Word, Photoshop, etc. felt like they loaded faster (however, I didn't actually time them).
I don't recall the exact system specs, but it was an i5 machine running Win 7 Home Premium with 6GB RAM and a 750GB Caviar Green 5400RPM drive.
The problem with anecdotal evidence like this is that I'm sure that no one is going to have the exact software/hardware setup I had. However, for the one test I ran, it cut the boot time slightly by having less fonts.
answered Dec 18 '12 at 14:56
Trav
788520
add a comment |
From my own experience, I have to say yes, installing many fonts will slow down a system. My own anecdotal evidence is as follows:
In early 2011, I wanted to see if there was any truth as to whether a lot of fonts slowed down a system. To test it out, I used FontFrenzy on a Windows 7 machine to unload all but the fonts installed with Windows 7 by default. In all, I disabled about 250 fonts I had accumulated. That being the only change I made, my boot time (from BIOS screen to useable Desktop screen) lowered by 6 seconds (from 50 seconds to 44 seconds). Programs like Word, Photoshop, etc. felt like they loaded faster (however, I didn't actually time them).
I don't recall the exact system specs, but it was an i5 machine running Win 7 Home Premium with 6GB RAM and a 750GB Caviar Green 5400RPM drive.
The problem with anecdotal evidence like this is that I'm sure that no one is going to have the exact software/hardware setup I had. However, for the one test I ran, it cut the boot time slightly by having less fonts.
answered Dec 18 '12 at 14:56
Trav
788520
add a comment |
From my own experience, I have to say yes, installing many fonts will slow down a system. My own anecdotal evidence is as follows:
In early 2011, I wanted to see if there was any truth as to whether a lot of fonts slowed down a system. To test it out, I used FontFrenzy on a Windows 7 machine to unload all but the fonts installed with Windows 7 by default. In all, I disabled about 250 fonts I had accumulated. That being the only change I made, my boot time (from BIOS screen to useable Desktop screen) lowered by 6 seconds (from 50 seconds to 44 seconds). Programs like Word, Photoshop, etc. felt like they loaded faster (however, I didn't actually time them).
I don't recall the exact system specs, but it was an i5 machine running Win 7 Home Premium with 6GB RAM and a 750GB Caviar Green 5400RPM drive.
The problem with anecdotal evidence like this is that I'm sure that no one is going to have the exact software/hardware setup I had. However, for the one test I ran, it cut the boot time slightly by having less fonts.
answered Dec 18 '12 at 14:56
Trav
788520
From my own experience, I have to say yes, installing many fonts will slow down a system. My own anecdotal evidence is as follows:
In early 2011, I wanted to see if there was any truth as to whether a lot of fonts slowed down a system. To test it out, I used FontFrenzy on a Windows 7 machine to unload all but the fonts installed with Windows 7 by default. In all, I disabled about 250 fonts I had accumulated. That being the only change I made, my boot time (from BIOS screen to useable Desktop screen) lowered by 6 seconds (from 50 seconds to 44 seconds). Programs like Word, Photoshop, etc. felt like they loaded faster (however, I didn't actually time them).
I don't recall the exact system specs, but it was an i5 machine running Win 7 Home Premium with 6GB RAM and a 750GB Caviar Green 5400RPM drive.
The problem with anecdotal evidence like this is that I'm sure that no one is going to have the exact software/hardware setup I had. However, for the one test I ran, it cut the boot time slightly by having less fonts.
answered Dec 18 '12 at 14:56
Trav
788520
answered Dec 18 '12 at 14:56
Trav
788520
answered Dec 18 '12 at 14:56
Trav
788520
answered Dec 18 '12 at 14:56
Trav
788520
788520
add a comment |
add a comment |
Yes it does, as windows reads all fonts on start up and must validate all fonts in:
C:windowsfonts
before resuming start up.
If you install new fonts in windows, you will experience slower boot by windows.
That is why it is recommended that you only keep the main fonts in windows listed in this link and keep also fonts you are using in special editing software like Photoshop or CorelDraw, or installed software or games on your system that require special fonts.
answered Feb 28 '15 at 9:45
Ashraf Abusada
18916
add a comment |
Yes it does, as windows reads all fonts on start up and must validate all fonts in:
C:windowsfonts
before resuming start up.
If you install new fonts in windows, you will experience slower boot by windows.
That is why it is recommended that you only keep the main fonts in windows listed in this link and keep also fonts you are using in special editing software like Photoshop or CorelDraw, or installed software or games on your system that require special fonts.
answered Feb 28 '15 at 9:45
Ashraf Abusada
18916
add a comment |
Yes it does, as windows reads all fonts on start up and must validate all fonts in:
C:windowsfonts
before resuming start up.
If you install new fonts in windows, you will experience slower boot by windows.
That is why it is recommended that you only keep the main fonts in windows listed in this link and keep also fonts you are using in special editing software like Photoshop or CorelDraw, or installed software or games on your system that require special fonts.
answered Feb 28 '15 at 9:45
Ashraf Abusada
18916
Yes it does, as windows reads all fonts on start up and must validate all fonts in:
C:windowsfonts
before resuming start up.
If you install new fonts in windows, you will experience slower boot by windows.
That is why it is recommended that you only keep the main fonts in windows listed in this link and keep also fonts you are using in special editing software like Photoshop or CorelDraw, or installed software or games on your system that require special fonts.
answered Feb 28 '15 at 9:45
Ashraf Abusada
18916
answered Feb 28 '15 at 9:45
Ashraf Abusada
18916
answered Feb 28 '15 at 9:45
Ashraf Abusada
18916
answered Feb 28 '15 at 9:45
Ashraf Abusada
18916
18916
add a comment |
add a comment |
Just an idea:
If you need many fonts sometimes, then you'd better to have those fonts in external folder (like C:my_fonts1) and make a symlink of those files in c:windowsfonts, and when you close Photoshop/etc, then you can just rename to C:my_fonts2 and then all files in windowsfonts directory will become unusable.
answered Dec 7 '18 at 22:31
T.Todua
1,40631628
add a comment |
Just an idea:
If you need many fonts sometimes, then you'd better to have those fonts in external folder (like C:my_fonts1) and make a symlink of those files in c:windowsfonts, and when you close Photoshop/etc, then you can just rename to C:my_fonts2 and then all files in windowsfonts directory will become unusable.
answered Dec 7 '18 at 22:31
T.Todua
1,40631628
add a comment |
Just an idea:
If you need many fonts sometimes, then you'd better to have those fonts in external folder (like C:my_fonts1) and make a symlink of those files in c:windowsfonts, and when you close Photoshop/etc, then you can just rename to C:my_fonts2 and then all files in windowsfonts directory will become unusable.
answered Dec 7 '18 at 22:31
T.Todua
1,40631628
Just an idea:
If you need many fonts sometimes, then you'd better to have those fonts in external folder (like C:my_fonts1) and make a symlink of those files in c:windowsfonts, and when you close Photoshop/etc, then you can just rename to C:my_fonts2 and then all files in windowsfonts directory will become unusable.
answered Dec 7 '18 at 22:31
T.Todua
1,40631628
answered Dec 7 '18 at 22:31
T.Todua
1,40631628
answered Dec 7 '18 at 22:31
T.Todua
1,40631628
answered Dec 7 '18 at 22:31
T.Todua
1,40631628
1,40631628
add a comment |
add a comment |
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Why is it these blogs suggest moving the fonts? That'd be a helpful point.
– cutrightjm
Dec 18 '12 at 13:10