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addictzz

macrumors 6502
Jun 11, 2012
392
30
You won't notice any lag right after boot, it happens over time and that depends very much on your usage style.

I am getting confused. I am under the impression that it happens right out of the box. If it gets choppy overtime, isn't that memory usage problem? You would need to restart your macbook pro to fix it.
 

prism

macrumors 65816
Dec 6, 2006
1,060
389
I am getting confused. I am under the impression that it happens right out of the box. If it gets choppy overtime, isn't that memory usage problem? You would need to restart your macbook pro to fix it.

Bingo, memory could indeed be the culprit here. It does NOT happen right out of the box. When you boot, all the choppiness is gone, its buttery smooth under after a long while and after having many apps open and running. That is why I'm highly sceptical to those that claim their machines don't have the problem or that this might be a hardware issue.
 

diesel

macrumors 6502a
Aug 3, 2007
807
25
Bingo, memory could indeed be the culprit here. It does NOT happen right out of the box. When you boot, all the choppiness is gone, its buttery smooth under after a long while and after having many apps open and running. That is why I'm highly sceptical to those that claim their machines don't have the problem or that this might be a hardware issue.



Be sceptical all you want but the truth is that there are plenty of people that don't have the problem that you are describing. Why not exchange your machine for a new one.
 

prism

macrumors 65816
Dec 6, 2006
1,060
389
Be sceptical all you want but the truth is that there are plenty of people that don't have the problem that you are describing. Why not exchange your machine for a new one.

Because i've seen the same problem on every machine I've tried. I have a colleague with the exact same 13" as mine, with same specs and...surprise...its there!
 

Youhoney

macrumors newbie
Mar 24, 2015
14
0
Bingo, memory could indeed be the culprit here. It does NOT happen right out of the box. When you boot, all the choppiness is gone, its buttery smooth under after a long while and after having many apps open and running. That is why I'm highly sceptical to those that claim their machines don't have the problem or that this might be a hardware issue.

For me it's present right from boot. So seems like we're dealing with different problems.
 

cbautis2

macrumors 6502a
Aug 17, 2013
894
1,106
Because i've seen the same problem on every machine I've tried. I have a colleague with the exact same 13" as mine, with same specs and...surprise...its there!

Some people are far more tolerable when it comes to lag than others. If someone coming from Windows (which is fast but not efficient but has extremely smooth Touch UI on a well maintained machine and OS) to Mac, they will have higher standards for UI smoothness.
 

prism

macrumors 65816
Dec 6, 2006
1,060
389
For me it's present right from boot. So seems like we're dealing with different problems.

Not if it is eliminated by switching on the contrast in accessibility. If the GUI jitteriness disappears by activating contrast, it must be a software issue, end of story.
 
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numberfour

macrumors regular
Jan 27, 2015
231
165
I'm not experiencing any choppyness, running rMBP 2015 2.7GHz/256gb/8gb. Fresh install at 1600x1050
 

Youhoney

macrumors newbie
Mar 24, 2015
14
0
I just did a clean install of Yosemite without restoring a backup. The UI lag was there still. Seems it's either a hardware problem or otherwise the lag should be the same for everyone, and others (like me) were only more keen to notice it. I doubt that's the case. Going to give Apple a call next and see what they think. Hoping to get a replacement. Maybe going to an Apple store and comparing my rMBP with other ones could help.
 

prism

macrumors 65816
Dec 6, 2006
1,060
389
I just did a clean install of Yosemite without restoring a backup. The UI lag was there still. Seems it's either a hardware problem or otherwise the lag should be the same for everyone, and others (like me) were only more keen to notice it. I doubt that's the case. Going to give Apple a call next and see what they think. Hoping to get a replacement. Maybe going to an Apple store and comparing my rMBP with other ones could help.

Have you tested with contrast feature on? If you see no noticeable difference your issue might indeed be different.
 

Youhoney

macrumors newbie
Mar 24, 2015
14
0
Have you tested with contrast feature on? If you see no noticeable difference your issue might indeed be different.

Hey, turning it on helps noticeably with the lag, as I've already noticed before. I'm just not happy with such an ugly bandage. Also I suspect that many others dont have it as bad as I do.
 

cherrybombaz

macrumors member
Oct 18, 2011
43
5
I can confirm that there is definitely UI lag with the 2015 MBP, even at default scaling. For me, it is sporadic, and restarting will alleviate the issue temporarily. The lag is most noticeable using mission control. There are clearly times when it chugs and is not running at a high enough framerate. Another place where you can see significant lag is in the notification center; its much smoother on the iPhone. I previously had a 2013 MBA and it has no such issues, so I think its a combination of the resolution of the screen being too high and software/driver issues with Yosemite.

I'm pretty sure that its an issue that is affecting everyone, but some people just notice while others don't. I asked a friend if they noticed the lag on my computer on mission control, and they claimed not to notice a difference, when the fps was clearly lower than before. Thus, for those who claim that they don't see it, its probably because the lag isn't egregiously bad, but to the more careful eye, its definitely there.

I've tried resetting the PRAM, deleting the window server plists, etc. The issue always comes back.
 
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dagamer34

macrumors 65816
May 1, 2007
1,359
101
Houston, TX
Easiest way to see this is clearly UI lag:

1) Stick your "Applications" folder in the dock.
2) Right click "Applications" folder and set "View Content as" to "List".
3) Open "Applications" and scroll. It stutters, even on my 27" Retina iMac, which is fully maxed out on CPU and GPU.

And yet, scrolling a complex website in Safari like The Verge is 100% butter smooth. Other places I've seen definite UI stutter is in a podcast app, Instacast, which scrolling the list of podcasts is terribly jerky. But it's no more or less complex than say, scrolling a timeline in Tweetbot, which again is super smooth.

It definitely feels like a software issue that is specific to Retina iMacs because scaling is enabled. All of this UI lag completely goes away when you hook up a Retina computer to a non-Retina Thunderbolt display and close the lid. In that case, it's driving nearly the same number of pixels (2560x1440 - TB vs 2560x1600 - 13" rMBP). I have a hard time believing that those extra 160 rows of pixels are causing issues, when machines with far weaker GPUs have been pushing a TB display smoothly several years ago.
 

prism

macrumors 65816
Dec 6, 2006
1,060
389
Hey, turning it on helps noticeably with the lag, as I've already noticed before. I'm just not happy with such an ugly bandage. Also I suspect that many others dont have it as bad as I do.

If you go ahead and have it replaced by apple, I would be really curious to know how your replacement machine fares.
 

datafirm

macrumors newbie
Mar 26, 2015
15
0
If you go ahead and have it replaced by apple, I would be really curious to know how your replacement machine fares.

Ive got an i7/16 coming tomorrow to replace this i52.7/8. Im hopeful it'll be able to handle the 4k display better.
 

dtrace

macrumors newbie
Mar 30, 2015
4
0
I'm currently on Macvericks. Own a rMBP mid 2013, 16GB RAM and with a dedicated GPU. 10.10.2 was choppy as hell. Clean install and PRAM did not help, so I went back to Mavericks (super smooth now).

What I want to suggest: has anyone tried the latest 10.10.3 beta? Reports are that it improved animations...
 

hardy74

macrumors newbie
Dec 14, 2007
22
3
Witten, Germany
I'm on 10.10.3beta. I think it's a bit better but still choppy and no comparison to the smooth UI behaviour on my 3-year old MacBook Air.

If it wasn't for the gorgeous retina display I would still be using my Air.

I don't get why Apple is not able to solve this issue (which persists since the first Retina MacBooks)??
 

thadoggfather

macrumors P6
Oct 1, 2007
15,551
16,286
this thread makes me even more glad I opted for a 2014 refurb specifically so I could roll back Mavs (in addition to the savings)
 

cherrybombaz

macrumors member
Oct 18, 2011
43
5
Basically, out of the countless things I've tested, the only thing that works is killing the windowserver process. This fixes the issue, but only temporarily.

I've even tested the 10.10.3 beta, but the issue is not fixed.

I can only conclude that is it a software issue and hope that Apple fixes this annoying problem. Now, I'm just stuck killing windowserver every hour or so.
 
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