Does the amount of files on desktop affect computer performance?

Solution 1:

Short answer, yes it actually can!

Longer answer, it depends on how much you have on the desktop. The other guys answer is partially correct. Everything on the desktop is scanned on startup. So if you literally have 50 folders with tons of junk in them, or gigs of movies on the desktop, then it can degrade performance and on ear startup time. I have literally had over 50gb sitting on my desktop, and my computer ran like crap (Intel i5 with 8gb ram and 1tb hard drive). Once I cleaned my desktop, it ran like a dream again.

Here is what I do now. I have. Separate partition setup for most of my stuff. I have 250gb for my OS and the rest another partition as "storage". I have my documents, downloads, etc actually mapped to my storage partition. This way, if I format, I don't have to worry about "my documents" and all that. I also have a 2tb storage NAS drive..

On your desktop try to use shortcuts. I have a movies folder on my desktop, but it's just a shortcut to the movies somewhere else. This way, on startup, the computer only had to parse the shortcuts on your desktop instead of folders with more junk inside them.