CAD Fonts Slow Down Windows

We all know how a brand-new computer running Windows seems to get slower with time. Some attribute that to psychology: a faster computer feels slower as the faster speed becomes normal. Others think it's because of all the software that gets added to the computer.

Oli at The PC Spy decided to test the problem empirically in What Slows Windows Down? He found the two biggest slowdowns due to are:

- Norton Internet Security 2006
- 1000 Fonts installed

I don't use Norton (too many horror stories, plus it costs money) but I did have over 500 fonts in my \windows\fonts folder. A good number are because of my daughter downloading cutsie fonts, but a large number were installed by CAD vendors -- Autodesk, SolidWorks, and Intergraph.

Don't just erase fonts, because you don't know which apps are needing a specific font. For example, my Eudora email software uses a specific font for the status window. Instead, I dragged over 300 font files into another folder I named \Fonts; when some fonts are needed again, I can just drag their TTF files back into the \Windows\Fonts folder.

Comments

[Anthony Frausto-Robledo]

Actually looking at the results is very interesting and instructive, but there are plenty other reasons why Windows gets slower and slower over time. One big reason identified in our multi-OS studio is the fact that Windows XP has far too many security problems - period! You simply can't just go out into the wild Internet with Windows "unprotected" and expect to not experience risk. Many mild malware issues don't get detected easily but lurk in the system slowing down core OS performances. While this reference articled tested boot times and load times for applications, Windows and its interface itself can become slower over time due to a multitude of issues.

This is one of the chief areas where Mac OS X has a performance advantage over the life-time of the machine. Mac machines don't get slower over time with use under these circumstances.

However, Macs will experience load time delays with many more fonts - just like Windows. However, these two systems handle fonts differently so one cannot assume what happens to one OS due to fonts happens to the other.

To keep "font fatigue" from affecting you Mac OS X system you should read this excellent article here at CreativePro.com:
Font Fatique: Pruning Excess Fonts from Mac OS X
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/20000.html

A word to the wise: If your Mac OS X machine has less than 300 fonts, don't even bother with this. Macs just don't experience font slow-down significantly enough to warrant the time and risks associated with pruning fonts from your system. But if you work with 1000's of fonts, this is a really good skill to learn.