Sluggish Expose with new MBP

[thenewguy]

I have my MBP plugged into a 20.1" ext. monitor running at 1600x1200.

When both monitors are active and I use expose to tile all open windows it is slightly jerky, as if it can't quite render the operation. But this is a new C2D MBP with 2.33ghz, 2gb RAM and 256mb X1600.

When I close the MBP and run just the ext. monitor it is better but still slightly jerky. On just the MBP screen it is fine.

I wasn't expecting this - anyone else have similar problems?

I don't know if it is related, but I think I have a lemon. This new MBP definitely whines when it is awoken from sleep. I'll be calling apple on monday...

 

[pianoman]

i have absolutely no idea if this will work, but whenever i have a problem i repair disk persmissions (via disk utility). if that doesn't work, i restart. the few problems i've had with OSX have always been fixed by doing one of those things.

good luck. if you feel you got a lemon, definitely give Apple a call. nobody deserves to have a machine that's not capable of doing what it promises to deliver.

 

[deathjux]

I have my MBP plugged into a 20.1" ext. monitor running at 1600x1200.

When both monitors are active and I use expose to tile all open windows it is slightly jerky, as if it can't quite render the operation. But this is a new C2D MBP with 2.33ghz, 2gb RAM and 256mb X1600.

When I close the MBP and run just the ext. monitor it is better but still slightly jerky. On just the MBP screen it is fine.

I wasn't expecting this - anyone else have similar problems?

I don't know if it is related, but I think I have a lemon. This new MBP definitely whines when it is awoken from sleep. I'll be calling apple on monday...

So you're running two screens, one at 1440 X 900 and one at 1600 X 1200, off the MBP, engaging an "all screen" exposé command with an undisclosed number of windows/programs open, and you think you have a lemon because it's "slightly jerky"?

If you provide some more information (processor load from whatever stuff you're doing at the time, number of windows/programs open, etc) we could probably help you better figure out whether it's merely your perception or an actual problem, because thus far it sounds like normal operation to me.

 

[thenewguy]

So you're running two screens, one at 1440 X 900 and one at 1600 X 1200, off the MBP, engaging an "all screen" exposé command with an undisclosed number of windows/programs open, and you think you have a lemon because it's "slightly jerky"?

If you provide some more information (processor load from whatever stuff you're doing at the time, number of windows/programs open, etc) we could probably help you better figure out whether it's merely your perception or an actual problem, because thus far it sounds like normal operation to me.

I know I have a lemon regardless of the Expose issue because of the whine which everyone thought was fixed with this iteration.

The expose was just a surprise. I did have alot of windows - maybe 10-15 open. It just surprised me that the MBP with the highest graphcis card couldn't handle that.

 

[daneoni]

I have no such issue and i run my MBP with my Dell 2007WFP everyday in dual screen mode.....sometimes just the Dell screen.

The machine just works wonderfully and hardly sneezes....whatever i throw at it.

 

[hotboiled]

When both monitors are active and I use expose to tile all open windows it is slightly jerky

i hope this isnt true ...
damn - i want to play games on a 30" with a MBP

 

[mleary]

i hope this isnt true ...
damn - i want to play games on a 30" with a MBP

There's no way you will be able to play games on a 30" at native resolution, that is a lot to ask from even high end desktop GPU's.

 

[hotboiled]

There's no way you will be able to play games on a 30" at native resolution

yes i know that

the 24" imac plays HL2 full reso with +- the same card (256 MB GDDR3 SDRAM)
so i'm hoping the MBP wil do fine on a 30" with the same reso as the 24"



thenewguy is your power plugged in and the powersetting to max ?

 

[thenewguy]

yes i know that

the 24" imac plays HL2 full reso with +- the same card (256 MB GDDR3 SDRAM)
so i'm hoping the MBP wil do fine on a 30" with the same reso as the 24"



thenewguy is your power plugged in and the powersetting to max ?

yes and yes.

 

[hotboiled]

then there is somting wrong ...

i just tested 80 finder windows, skype,adium, sonos app, mail and safari on a g4/400 with a ati rage ... and no problems

 

[kerisimasi]

same problem with expose

hey newguy - I have the same sluggish/jerky expose with my c2d mbp - however, it works fine when it is connected to AC power. I tried reinstalling os X and nothing - still choppy and felt "slow". I am not sure if this is a "lemon" also - all i know is that I upgraded from a macbook and this new mbp seems slower at times. maybe I should talk to apple. any suggestions.

 

[iW00t]

To fix the sluggish expose do this:

1) Invoke expose once first
2) Subsequent expose will be smooth as everything is in VRAM

I am assuming the reason you wanted to do expose is to show it off to your Windows friends but don't want them to realise that macs are slow right? That's the way you do it... for the viewers.

 

[kerisimasi]

thanks anyway

To fix the sluggish expose do this:

1) Invoke expose once first
2) Subsequent expose will be smooth as everything is in VRAM

I am assuming the reason you wanted to do expose is to show it off to your Windows friends but don't want them to realise that macs are slow right? That's the way you do it... for the viewers.

No, I always have a bunch of windows open when on my computer - I actually use the expose function very often - not to impress windows users. Also, subsequent exposes no not run smooth on battery power - it is very choppy all the time, except for when it is plugged into the magsafe AC...where there is 100% obvious improvement in the movements of the windows. By the way, I am using a MBP C2D 2.13 2gb RAM.

Is this a hardware issue? I already tried reinstalling OS X, so I am assuming it is not a software issue. It bothers me because I had a macbook with no dedicated graphics and I could have 20 windows opn and the expose was never sluggish - now on a higher end machine with decent graphics card, quite SHOTTY expose on battery power. Thanks for trying.

 

[jymloke]

No, I always have a bunch of windows open when on my computer - I actually use the expose function very often - not to impress windows users. Also, subsequent exposes no not run smooth on battery power - it is very choppy all the time, except for when it is plugged into the magsafe AC...where there is 100% obvious improvement in the movements of the windows. By the way, I am using a MBP C2D 2.13 2gb RAM.

Is this a hardware issue? I already tried reinstalling OS X, so I am assuming it is not a software issue. It bothers me because I had a macbook with no dedicated graphics and I could have 20 windows opn and the expose was never sluggish - now on a higher end machine with decent graphics card, quite SHOTTY expose on battery power. Thanks for trying.

I have the same problem as well..it's getting really annoying....

 

[sshg123]

New Macbook 2.4Gz Late 2008 SAME ISSUE

Guys,

I have JUSt bought a brand new 2.4GHz Aluminum Macbook with The Nvidia 9400M in it. I have the EXACT same issue here. Perfect, flawless performance on AC power. Sluggish and choppy graphics on Battery Power. Unless, i put on the visualizer in itunes...everything like expose and stacks is smooth again on battery power. As soon as the visualizer is off...back to choppy.

Here is a link to my discussion on the apple forums:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8400829#8400829

Please contribute any information you may have. Thanks!

 

[chosenwolf]

Guys,

I have JUSt bought a brand new 2.4GHz Aluminum Macbook with The Nvidia 9400M in it. I have the EXACT same issue here. Perfect, flawless performance on AC power. Sluggish and choppy graphics on Battery Power. Unless, i put on the visualizer in itunes...everything like expose and stacks is smooth again on battery power. As soon as the visualizer is off...back to choppy.

Here is a link to my discussion on the apple forums:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8400829#8400829

Please contribute any information you may have. Thanks!

I have the same exact issue/symptoms to the wire. For me, it has been going for a few years with no solution. I did make a post a while back about how scrolling through coverflow in iTunes for a few seconds makes the frame rate identical to A/C power when on battery. But then again, this only solves the issue for about 30 seconds and then it lags again.

If you ever find a true solution, please let me know.

 

[Macula]

Response from Apple

Hey everyone, I have been very bothered by this issue since Day 1 of upgrading to 10.6, so I filed a bug report with Apple (bugreporter.apple.com). Here is the response I got today:

Hello [XXXXX],

This is a follow up to Bug ID# 7260858. After further investigation it has been determined that this is a known issue, which is currently being investigated by engineering. This issue has been filed in our bug database under the original Bug ID# 7226896. The original bug number being used to track this duplicate issue can be found in the State column, in this format: Duplicate/OrigBug#.

To request the status of the original bug, please update your report directly via the Apple Bug Reporter <http://bugreporter.apple.com>. Thank you for submitting this bug report. We truly appreciate your assistance in helping us discover and isolate bugs.

Best Regards,

Yvonne Villla
Apple Developer Connection
Worldwide Developer Relations