2019 15" MBP sluggish performance issues

[mattmower]

Well, the end result is that something is suffocating your system, and that could be happening on two levels: physically or “mentally” - meaning, on OS level. So, physically there are a few options that all have to do with interfering with heat pipes that take the heat away from the processor. I’m not sure if a swelling battery could do that as it sits in the opposite part of the box - but I’d check. On OS level there are many more options, all depend on the user’s input, such as apps that were installed and mods that were made. For example, I can confirm that Zoom doesn’t seem to have any visible suffocating effect on my 2019 15MBP - and hardly anything does. On my oldish 2012 MBA zoom sometimes does cause the fans to audibly spin - but I can still operate it without any hiccups, with lots of docs and tabs open, it’s on the same OS. Hope this helps

I'm not sure how else to write this. I am not claiming anything about MBP's in general but for this machine right in front of me it's cooling is not working properly. Something other than the CPU (potentially the VRM, it's been a culprit in the past) is overheating and throttling the CPU.

Since I've turned off Turbo Boost and augmented the cooling system I've been able to keep the CPU at or near the base frequency under load and I'm seeing the CPU die temp actually get up into the 80's because it's being allowed to work properly.

My friend who has a 16" with the same symptoms has, likewise, been able to keep his machine working at a reasonable level through the same method. Since we did this neither of us have seen the CPU throttled down to 800MHz and rarely even to 1.5GHz.

The specific workload, be it Zoom or anything else, only seems to matter in so far as it loads the system and pushes the temperature up to the point where CPU throttling occurs. Probably it's exacberated now as we are heading into summer and ambient temperature levels are higher.

The original difficulty in diagnosing this was because neither the CPU, nor GPU, die temperatures were hot enough to trigger CPU throttling themselves and none of the monitoring systems (other than the thermal levels command) seems to report anything useful about, e.g., VRM temp.

M.

 

[mattmower]

Doesn't help fix it, but I have the same machine, and Zoom absolutely brings it to a halt. Are you using a second monitor? I find that Zoom performs much better with one.

I'm not sure what you mean by "performs better" with respect to Zoom but I run the MBP open (not in clamshell mode) with a 32" external monitor.

Anecdotally I've seen serious throttling (CPU freq down to 800MHz) most often using Zoom or Minecraft (perhaps unsurprisingly). Although not since I turned off Turbo Boost and augmented the cooling. I'm rarely even seeing it throttled to 1.5GHz now. Runs around 2-2.4GHz fairly consistently even during a Zoom conference.

M

 

[giffut]

This will not improve - sorry to say.

I strongly recommend selling your machine right now and get an M1 based mac, if you want this solved. An entry macbook air m1 is much faster and absolutely silent and handles your workload with ease. All you mention we do, too. We have no fan noise at all, no overheating, and absolutely no battery angst.

Yes, you will suffer a severe financial loss. But the i9 based macbooks can´t ever be cooled sufficiently by any means, including hardware mods. And what good is a mobile machine turned into a degraded desktop and restrained experience.

 

[mattmower]

This will not improve - sorry to say.

I strongly recommend selling your machine right now and get an M1 based mac, if you want this solved. An entry macbook air m1 is much faster and absolutely silent and handles your workload with ease. All you mention we do, too. We have no fan noise at all, no overheating, and absolutely no battery angst.

Yes, you will suffer a severe financial loss. But the i9 based macbooks can´t ever be cooled sufficiently by any means, including hardware mods. And what good is a mobile machine turned into a degraded desktop and restrained experience.

While you are quite correct that Apple aren't going to fix it, it's broadly "fixed" enough — now that I understand the problem — that I can live with it until either the new mini Mac Pro or 28" iMac turn up. I really hope thermals are a more sorted problem for M-series Macs (but I will believe it when I see it given Apple's history here).

 

[bbowser12]

I'm not sure what you mean by "performs better"

In this instance, it was meant as "to increase the good qualities of; improve." I'm sorry if you thought I was talking about an actor playing the part of someone who raises the pot in poker.

Hope that helps.

 

[make_mac_fast_again]

the i9 based macbooks can´t ever be cooled sufficiently by any means, including hardware mods

The VRM thermal pad mod solves this problem for me. Have you tried it?

 

[giffut]

We did, actually. But it improved the thermal envelope only slightly, the fans still kicked in so fast and loud. After we purchased the Macbook Air M1 (8/256), due to homeschooling organizations, we just lost our use case for it. The positive change was quite dramatic.

The VRM thermal pad mod solves this problem for me. Have you tried it?

 

[mattmower]

In this instance, it was meant as "to increase the good qualities of; improve." I'm sorry if you thought I was talking about an actor playing the part of someone who raises the pot in poker.

Hope that helps.

I think you think I was being snarky, I was genuinely curious about how it's improved. Do you mean the video performs better somehow, smoother, uses less CPU etc? Or simply that it's a better experience using a second monitor?

M

 

[mattmower]

The VRM thermal pad mod solves this problem for me. Have you tried it?

My MBP is out of warranty and I'm sizing up thermal pads on Amazon to give this a go next myself. Also to make sure my fans are working properly (they sound like they are but I guess could still be partially blocked).

M

 

[DenisK]

My MBP is out of warranty and I'm sizing up thermal pads on Amazon to give this a go next myself. Also to make sure my fans are working properly (they sound like they are but I guess could still be partially blocked).

M

It could be, that you have a faulty machine. It could be that the battery is causing this, or that the thermal paste has worn out and it needs a refresh to let the heat pipes and fans do the work, could be that excessive dust have caused the fans to slow down (Ive seen a mac with fans jammed with cats' hair - just as an example). I'd strongly urge to make a full backup and take it in to the Geniuses. While they sometimes dismiss important things, more often than not, if not always, I saw them offering genuine and often generous solutions very quickly. I once had an entire iMac replaced for a malfunction that was a) very difficult to diagnose and b) not resulting in any performance blockages, but it was there nevertheless and they took my word for it. The replacement i got exhibited the same issue but to a lesser extent and had a faster and larger hard drive, at zero cost to me. Instead of reinventing the wheel, I would just go to them - they are there to fix things that dont work for their customers. And no, I would not buy anything else now, you have a mac that will work and be adequate for heavy lifting for many years to come. I'd give the universe a chance. Good luck!