2018 MBP Bootcamp Issues (CPU/GPU throttling)?

[Nguberu]

Hi everyone,

I am planning to upgrade from a 15“ 2010 MBP to a 15“ / 2.2 ghz / 512 GB SSD / 16GB / 560X MBP.

I will primarily use it for work, but I might play the occasional game on it. I do not share the notion that "Macs are not for gaming“ that some forum members seem to hold here. According to the preliminary review on Notebookcheck, the 560X seems to be almost on par with the GTX 1050, which makes it quite a decent GPU in my opinion.

However, based upon what I have read here and elsewhere, even after the software update, it still suffers from both CPU and GPU throttling issues under Windows. This let me to hold off on my purchase so far. I did some research and came across a YouTube video, in which the reviewer limits the CPU to 35W (or 20W?) (at 3:15), which appears to solve the GPU throttling issues, while maintaining a CPU speed above the base rate:

(

)

Now my questions are:

(1) Have the CPU/GPU throttling issues under Bootcamp already been addressed in the meantime by any chance?

(2) Do you think the above fix provides for a reliable solution? The reviewer tests it with a few games in the video, but I wonder if the MBP would be able to maintain the GPU at full speed (1004 mhz) and the CPU at its base rate (2.2 ghz) under a prolonged stress test? Has anyone tested this so far?

(3) Do you think Apple will eventually address the Bootcamp issues? Generally, I believe that Apple products should work „out-of-the-box“, without the customer having to engage in manual tweaking to make them perform (maybe I am a bit old-fashioned though). I find it puzzling that Apple has not addressed the throttling issues under Bootcamp so far, as this would certainly diminish the user experience for at least a part of its customer base.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[maflynn]

(1) Have the CPU/GPU throttling issues under Bootcamp already been addressed in the meantime by any chance?

No, apple's fix is for macOS only.

(2) Do you think the above fix provides for a reliable solution?

Given that XTU is free, its easy for you to confirm. I use an app in macOs to limit the wattage and I can confirm that adjusting the maximum wattage, does in fact lower the heat so I'd say that will work fine for windows as well.

 

[CreeptoLoser]

Another Windows gaming thread.

Not even one Mojave running pro apps thread.

Facepalm.

 

[Nguberu]

No, apple's fix is for macOS only.


Given that XTU is free, its easy for you to confirm. I use an app in macOs to limit the wattage and I can confirm that adjusting the maximum wattage, does in fact lower the heat so I'd say that will work fine for windows as well.

Thanks a lot for the response. That is course an option, but it is also a bit of a hassle for me to purchase a MBP just to run these tests and then return it, if it does not perform as expected. I just thought someone might have tested a bit more extensively already whether it is possible to avoid GPU throttling while maintaining at least the base rate CPU speed on Bootcamp, even under prolonged stress. Anyhow, I might just give it a try myself eventually. Thanks again.

 

[maflynn]

Anyhow, I might just give it a try myself eventually. Thanks again.

Personally, if you're going to be running windows, you may be better off with a PC. I think you get more computer for less money and if there is no need for macOS, then why not save yourself some money. Just a thought.

 

[Nguberu]

Personally, if you're going to be running windows, you may be better off with a PC. I think you get more computer for less money and if there is no need for macOS, then why not save yourself some money. Just a thought.

I prefer to use macOS for my daily work and I am not really willing to transition back to Windows after having used macOS for over eight years. However, I might boot into Windows once a month or so, exclusively for gaming. This does not justify the purchase of a PC for me and I also don't mind using lower detail settings. However, it would certainly bother me if it would suffer from persistent GPU throttling issues under Windows under prolonged use that cannot be resolved. That's why I opened this thread here to gather some additional insights on this issue, before making a purchase.

 

[GerritB]

I prefer to use macOS for my daily work and I am not really willing to transition back to Windows after having used macOS for over eight years. However, I might boot into Windows once a month or so, exclusively for gaming. This does not justify the purchase of a PC for me and I also don't mind using lower detail settings. However, it would certainly bother me if it would suffer from persistent GPU throttling issues under Windows under prolonged use that cannot be resolved. That's why I opened this thread here to gather some additional insights on this issue, before making a purchase.

I have tested gaming under Bootcamp running Fortnite. While not the most intensive game it initially started throttling the CPU quickly. I solved this with XTU, lowering the multipliers to 24 (leaving a max of 2.400Mhz) on the CPU and lowering allowed Watts to values around or below 20 for the Boost.

This seemed to stop the CPU throttling, however for some reason the GPU started throttling even though temperatures didn't exceed 65 degrees Celsius. Therefore to me this seemed to be a drivers issue, which is why I downloaded the drivers from Bootcampdrivers.com.

This stopped the throttling on the GPU; the problem however is that you loose any insights into the temperature of the GPU, as the drivers do not fully support the 2018 model yet. Somebody on this forum said that on the 7th of August there's a new version of the Bootcampdrivers.com driver's coming, so those might help.

The current result is however that a game like Fortnite is perfectly playable at around 1800x1150 with a combination of medium, high and low settings at 50-60 fps.

It would be great if Apple comes with an update fixing the throttling issues on Bootcamp, but my guess is that they're having some other priorities right now with the T2 and sound issues.

Facepalm.

Honestly, you really need to realize that not everybody buys these machine's for the reason's you are using it. I get that you're just trolling, but that you don't like these topics doesn't mean people's questions are not relevant, and/or that they don't deserve help, and/or that their issues don't exist/are not important. If you really want to start a topic and talk about a Pro application on your Macbook Pro using Mojave that's still in beta, please do.

 

[Nguberu]

I have tested gaming under Bootcamp running Fortnite. While not the most intensive game it initially started throttling the CPU quickly. I solved this with XTU, lowering the multipliers to 24 (leaving a max of 2.400Mhz) on the CPU and lowering allowed Watts to values around or be low 20 for the Boost.

This seemed to stop the CPU throttling, however for some reason the GPU started throttling even though temperatures didn't exceed 65 degrees Celsius. Therefore to me this seemed to be a drivers issue, which is why I downloaded the drivers from Bootcampdrivers.com.

This stopped the throttling on the GPU; the problem however is that you loose any insights into the temperature of the GPU, as the drivers do not fully support the 2018 model yet. Somebody on this forum said that on the 7th of August there's a new version of the Bootcampdrivers.com driver's coming, so those might help.

The current result is however that a game like Fortnite is perfectly playable at around 1800x1150 with a combination of medium, high and low settings at 50-60 fps.

Thanks a lot, these insights are very interesting and it is also helpful to know that separate drivers are required to resolve this issue. Are you using the 555X or 560X though? I was thinking the 560X might run a bit hotter than the 555X (not sure if this is actually case, since they probably have the same TDP rating), so that it might be worse affected by GPU throttling issues.

 

[CreeptoLoser]

I gotta
Honestly, you really need to realize that not everybody buys these machine's for the reason's you are using it. I get that you're just trolling, but that you don't like these topics doesn't mean people's questions are not relevant, and/or that they don't deserve help, and/or that their issues don't exist/are not important. If you really want to start a topic and talk about a Pro application on your Macbook Pro using Mojave that's still in beta, please do.

I am perfectly right to point out the issue of people complaining they can’t game the hell out of a thin and light laptop. This isn’t a specialist gaming sub forum or a Windows sub forum, yet we see more threads about those than we do about actually using the laptop as intended with the next gen OS that will be optimised for it.

It’s bizarre that I will spend the weekend posting real world results and Mojave experiences because nobody else can be bothered to after days and days.

 

[GerritB]

Thanks a lot, these insights are very interesting and it is also helpful to know that separate drivers are required to resolve this issue. Are you using the 555X or 560X though? I was thinking the 560X might run a bit hotter than the 555X (not sure if this is actually case, since they probably have the same TDP rating), so that it might be worse affected by GPU throttling issues.

I have the 2.9 and 560X, so both of those are probably hotter than the other available chips. However the temperatures were perfectly fine after throttling the CPU (65 degrees Celsius), still it found a reason to throttle from 1000Mhz, down to 208Mhz.

I am perfectly right to point out the issue of people complaining they can’t game the hell out of a thin and light laptop. This isn’t a specialist gaming sub forum or a Windows sub forum, yet we see more threads about those than we do about actually using the laptop as intended with the next gen OS that will be optimised for it.

But it is a Macbook Pro forum and one feature that these Macbooks provide is Bootcamp to side-load Windows. Sure you can use something like Parallels, but for some things you just need more reliable performance and Bootcamp is there to provide that, or at least it has been the last decade.

Like the OP, I plan to very occasionally play games on this machine; not at all enough to buy a gaming system, certainly not enough to buy a separate Windows machine or buy a Windows machine instead of an OSX machine, but just once or twice a month. Therefore it would be great to get performance on Bootcamp to be the best it can be given the machine's specs, why wouldn't you want that? And why shouldn't the people that are in the same situation be allowed to ask these questions. Bootcamp currently have some issues not related to the components of the Macbook, but due to drivers.

If his question was 'Omg, why doesn't my Macbook perform the same as my gaming tower with 1080ti' then you might have a point, but it was not.

Also, personally I haven't installed Mojave since it's still in beta. Like many who use their machine's professionally, I've learned a long time ago to not use a beta OS as your main working machine. It's in beta for a reason. There's a separate Mojave forum on the website if you're looking for more Mojave themed topics.

 

[Nguberu]

I have the 2.9 and 560X, so both of those are probably hotter than the other available chips. However the temperatures were perfectly fine after throttling the CPU (65 degrees Celsius), still it found a reason to throttle from 1000Mhz, down to 208Mhz.

Okay, that is good to know. Then I guess it should be fine to order the 2.2ghz MBP with the 560X. I am still hopeful Apple itself would also address these performance issues eventually though.

 

[CreeptoLoser]

Also, personally I haven't installed Mojave since it's still in beta. Like many who use their machine's professionally, I've learned a long time ago to not use a beta OS as your main working machine. It's in beta for a reason.

That's why beta users boot from a test volume. Your answer was terribly inappropriate because most beta testers are professionals. The whole idea of 'public beta' is relatively new.

I guess I'll have to do the professional thing and this weekend I'll give a full run down of Mojave on MBP 2018, including sound driver checks. I'll also post real world actions and files so people can share their results instead of being lied to by forum trolls and clickbait hunters.

 

[Newtons Apple]

It’s bizarre that I will spend the weekend posting real world results and Mojave experiences because nobody else can be bothered to after days and days.

Most likely a lack of interest.

I got way better things to do on a weekend, like go offshore fishing in my Luhrs.

Enjoy!

 

[Thysanoptera]

I solved this with XTU, lowering the multipliers to 24 (leaving a max of 2.400Mhz) on the CPU and lowering allowed Watts to values around or below 20 for the Boost.

Using XTU? I can only change the power limits, clock limits are grayed out, inaccessible. But I have 2.2. Did you load any drivers outside of what boot camp installed? Like Intel Management Engine or something?

 

[theISHkid]

Dumb question but has anyone checked to see if Windows has an update for the Mac? If it was a software update for Mac, maybe Apple is working with Microsoft to get them to issue an update. I just can't think of another reason why they are taking so long to fix boot camp. I for one am holding off purchasing until the fix comes.

 

[maflynn]

Windows has an update for the Mac?

Microsoft isn't going to update windows for the Mac. Its Apple's responsibility to provide the drivers and so its within their abilities to provide something. I don't think Apple is in any hurry, they seem to drag their feet in terms of updating bootcamp drivers.