Clean install in Mac OS X make it faster?

So I know that clean installing an OS is the best way to make computer runs faster. I know that sometimes this is the case too for Linux/Mac OSX.

My question is, is this the case if I restore all my data from Time Machine backup, will it still be the case that it will run faster?

Solution 1:

You have several options for restoring data from backup. I don't know the exact options, but the following should be quite close:

You can restore the full system, effectively not reinstalling from scratch. This will not have any real effect in your situation.

You can choose to restore the applications you installed to /Applications. This depends on your personal preferences.

You can opt to only restore your user accounts. If you keep your personal applications in ~/Applications, you will have reinstalled your system and restored your applications, documents and other data. This last option is my personal favorite and I've used it a few times with great success. Remember to reinstall applications stored in /Applications, such as iTunes, iWork, and VMware Fusion.

Solution 2:

No. All the gunk that was clogging up your machine will get restored.