750m Throttling, Retina MacBook Pro Late 2013

[iStrikeRx]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have an update or two.

Basically, any recent game, even with all the anti-throttle measures implemented, will run like crap regardless after a few minutes.

In particular, I still have issues with FF14, CoD Ghosts, Battlefield 3, and various other games that are heavily demanding on the GPU and CPU. Even with the CPU throttled, the power demands when both the GPU and CPU are being stressed becomes too much for the system to handle, and the GPU freq constantly drops between 1066mhz and 8XXmhz. I would be fine with it if it stayed at the lower frequency when needed. But it doesnt. It constantly spikes up and down every second, causing everything to become a stuttering mess.

I've even tried underclocking the GPU. It destroyed my frame rates, and STILL caused a ton of stuttering.

Updating to the latest drivers hasn't changed anything either. It's definitely not a thermal issue, as the CPU maxed out around 78c, and the GPU around 83c.

If I had the opportunity to recoup even 70% of what I paid for the machine, I'd take it. I know this isn't a gaming machine, it was never intended to be. It's a desktop replacement, and clearly has the power to succeed in that regard. The limit imposed by the 85W PSU Apple supply has pretty much rendered the machine useless for gaming. If I keep it, it's going to be for work only, which is no good for me, as for a £2k laptop I expect to be able to do everything I want to on it to a satisfactory standard.

It's not like I'm asking for everything to run on uber settings with supersampling and TXAA/16xMSAA. I just want things playable

 

[MexiDawg]

Hmm...I may be onto something.

Doing further testing...

will report back.

 

[ha1o2surfer]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have an update or two.

Basically, any recent game, even with all the anti-throttle measures implemented, will run like crap regardless after a few minutes.

In particular, I still have issues with FF14, CoD Ghosts, Battlefield 3, and various other games that are heavily demanding on the GPU and CPU. Even with the CPU throttled, the power demands when both the GPU and CPU are being stressed becomes too much for the system to handle, and the GPU freq constantly drops between 1066mhz and 8XXmhz. I would be fine with it if it stayed at the lower frequency when needed. But it doesnt. It constantly spikes up and down every second, causing everything to become a stuttering mess.

I've even tried underclocking the GPU. It destroyed my frame rates, and STILL caused a ton of stuttering.

Updating to the latest drivers hasn't changed anything either. It's definitely not a thermal issue, as the CPU maxed out around 78c, and the GPU around 83c.

If I had the opportunity to recoup even 70% of what I paid for the machine, I'd take it. I know this isn't a gaming machine, it was never intended to be. It's a desktop replacement, and clearly has the power to succeed in that regard. The limit imposed by the 85W PSU Apple supply has pretty much rendered the machine useless for gaming. If I keep it, it's going to be for work only, which is no good for me, as for a £2k laptop I expect to be able to do everything I want to on it to a satisfactory standard.

It's not like I'm asking for everything to run on uber settings with supersampling and TXAA/16xMSAA. I just want things playable

Well it can be a thermal issue but you're right clearly it's not. The CPU/GPU isn't drawing enough power to saturate the heatsink. Have you maybe tried connecting an external monitor to your laptop? That should save at least 5 watts that now can be consumed via the GPU and CPU.

EDIT: Just to put it in perspective, I'm not sure if you will ever get full CPU and GPU clocks when they are experiencing full load in any macbook... My laptop with similar hardware, 3840QM (45 watts or 10 watts less if you have a 3612QM) and a GT 650m (also 45 watts) Draws 110watts from the wall when playing bioshock infinite and 140+ when using furmark and prime95. (1080p at medium settings)

 

[striker33]

Well it can be a thermal issue but you're right clearly it's not. The CPU/GPU isn't drawing enough power to saturate the heatsink. Have you maybe tried connecting an external monitor to your laptop? That should save at least 5 watts that now can be consumed via the GPU and CPU.

EDIT: Just to put it in perspective, I'm not sure if you will ever get full CPU and GPU clocks when they are experiencing full load in any macbook... My laptop with similar hardware, 3840QM (45 watts or 10 watts less if you have a 3612QM) and a GT 650m (also 45 watts) Draws 110watts from the wall when playing bioshock infinite and 140+ when using furmark and prime95. (1080p at medium settings)

I always have an external monitor connected. I basically use it as a desktop whenever I'm home, whilst in clamshell mode. All the temps I've given have also been while in clamshell mode, so its definitely not a heat issue.

It's all very confusing. I know I'll never get the max out of both at once, but I always get the max out of the GPU for a few minutes before it throttles.

----------

Hmm...I may be onto something.

Doing further testing...

will report back.

Very interested to hear what you have. I really don't want to sell this thing.

 

[Crzyrio]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have an update or two.

Basically, any recent game, even with all the anti-throttle measures implemented, will run like crap regardless after a few minutes.

In particular, I still have issues with FF14, CoD Ghosts, Battlefield 3, and various other games that are heavily demanding on the GPU and CPU. Even with the CPU throttled, the power demands when both the GPU and CPU are being stressed becomes too much for the system to handle, and the GPU freq constantly drops between 1066mhz and 8XXmhz. I would be fine with it if it stayed at the lower frequency when needed. But it doesnt. It constantly spikes up and down every second, causing everything to become a stuttering mess.

I've even tried underclocking the GPU. It destroyed my frame rates, and STILL caused a ton of stuttering.

Updating to the latest drivers hasn't changed anything either. It's definitely not a thermal issue, as the CPU maxed out around 78c, and the GPU around 83c.

If I had the opportunity to recoup even 70% of what I paid for the machine, I'd take it. I know this isn't a gaming machine, it was never intended to be. It's a desktop replacement, and clearly has the power to succeed in that regard. The limit imposed by the 85W PSU Apple supply has pretty much rendered the machine useless for gaming. If I keep it, it's going to be for work only, which is no good for me, as for a £2k laptop I expect to be able to do everything I want to on it to a satisfactory standard.

It's not like I'm asking for everything to run on uber settings with supersampling and TXAA/16xMSAA. I just want things playable

What driver version are you using? is it .28?

Those drivers perform horribly. Nividia has released updated drivers for the 750m but not for our Device ID

There are a couple guides as to how to install the new drivers on the rMBP and it makes a HUGE difference. I will try and find the guide and post it.

My Need For Speed Rivals went from 7-10 fps to 25-30fps. Same things happened to Battlefield, It jumped from 10-15fps to 45fps.

EDIT: Try This for Windows 8.1. If on windows 7 just skip the driver singing step

http://sleepdontexist.com/2013/11/0...idia-drivers-on-late-2013-retina-macbook-pro/ <--- This is the guide I used, scroll down to one of the comments with the instructions

1. Extract the 331.65 drivers (make sure its a fresh copy if you’ve modified it previously).
2. Under C:\NVIDIA\DisplayDriver\331.65\Win8_WinVista_Win7_64\International open ListDevices.txt and find the “nvao.inf:” section.
3. Locate the last 750M in this section and add a new line after it of:
DEV_0FE9&SUBSYS_0130106B “NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M ”
4. Take note of the 750M above the line you just inserted. You will want to copy the DEV & SUBSYS part. It should be “DEV_0FE9&SUBSYS_011E106B”.
5. Open Display.Driver\nvaon.inf
6. Find all references to the 750M that we took note of in step 4. eg. Search for: DEV_0FE9&SUBSYS_011E106B
7. Insert the following line after the first occurance:
%NVIDIA_DEV.0FE9.0130.106B% = Section100, PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0FE9&SUBSYS_0130106B
8. Insert the following line after the second occurance:
%NVIDIA_DEV.0FE9.0130.106B% = Section101, PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0FE9&SUBSYS_0130106B
9. Insert the following line after the third occurance:
%NVIDIA_DEV.0FE9.0130.106B% = Section102, PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0FE9&SUBSYS_0130106B
NOTE: Basically, these are just copies of the lines you searched for but modified for our DEV & SUBSYS ids.
10. Follow the link Drakfot posted above to disable driver signing: http://www.fotoclubinc.com/blog/how...on-of-windows-7-printer-drivers-on-windows-8/
11. When you have restarted WITH driver signing disabled, run Setup.exe in C:\NVIDIA\DisplayDriver\331.65\Win8_WinVista_Win7_64\International
12. The setup will confirm that your hardware is fully compatible and allow you to install all parts. Hurray!
Hopefully Nvidia adds our Device ID in their next release, but this will solve it for now. Thanks again for your guide Drakfot to point us in the right direction.

If you haven't already done that, it will solve most of your problems guaranteed! Your rMBP is more than capable, just need to get those drivers. I have had it since release and no negative effects of doing this

 

[striker33]

What driver version are you using? is it .28?

Those drivers perform horribly. Nividia has released updated drivers for the 750m but not for our Device ID

There are a couple guides as to how to install the new drivers on the rMBP and it makes a HUGE difference. I will try and find the guide and post it.

My Need For Speed Rivals went from 7-10 fps to 25-30fps. Same things happened to Battlefield, It jumped from 10-15fps to 45fps.

EDIT: Try This for Windows 8.1. If on windows 7 just skip the driver singing step

http://sleepdontexist.com/2013/11/0...idia-drivers-on-late-2013-retina-macbook-pro/ <--- This is the guide I used, scroll down to one of the comments with the instructions



If you haven't already done that, it will solve most of your problems guaranteed! Your rMBP is more than capable, just need to get those drivers. I have had it since release and no negative effects of doing this

I'll give that a go now thanks!

I've been using the drivers off the website ever since I installed windows 8.1. I used the workaround that turned off the signed driver requirement or whatever it was that actually allowed me to use Nvidias without going through the whole .inf editing route.

----------

Oh and I've always had the latest drivers. The most recent one being 334.89, although I havent checked for new ones in over a week now.

Strangely enough, I can't update any of these drivers through geforce experience, as it will always say the drivers are up to date, regardless of newer ones being available. All have to be downloaded directly from the website.

 

[striker33]

What driver version are you using? is it .28?

Those drivers perform horribly. Nividia has released updated drivers for the 750m but not for our Device ID

There are a couple guides as to how to install the new drivers on the rMBP and it makes a HUGE difference. I will try and find the guide and post it.

My Need For Speed Rivals went from 7-10 fps to 25-30fps. Same things happened to Battlefield, It jumped from 10-15fps to 45fps.

EDIT: Try This for Windows 8.1. If on windows 7 just skip the driver singing step

http://sleepdontexist.com/2013/11/0...idia-drivers-on-late-2013-retina-macbook-pro/ <--- This is the guide I used, scroll down to one of the comments with the instructions



If you haven't already done that, it will solve most of your problems guaranteed! Your rMBP is more than capable, just need to get those drivers. I have had it since release and no negative effects of doing this

No luck with any of that unfortunately. The article you linked is a good few months out of date as the all the drivers released this year now recognise the macbook pro retina without the need to use all the workarounds.

 

[Freyqq]

with a $20 cooling pad, I dont get any throttling on my 750M. However, the battery drains a bit as I game...but never drops it to 0.

 

[striker33]

with a $20 cooling pad, I dont get any throttling on my 750M. However, the battery drains a bit as I game...but never drops it to 0.

A cooling pad isnt really necessary though unless you live in a very hot/humid environment. I live in the north of england which usually averages something like 15c in the summer.

 

[Crzyrio]

No luck with any of that unfortunately. The article you linked is a good few months out of date as the all the drivers released this year now recognise the macbook pro retina without the need to use all the workarounds.

hmm, fair enough. What driver version are you currently on?

I am currently on 331.65. Will update to the latest 334.89, and install BF3. Will let ya know how it goes.

 

[striker33]

hmm, fair enough. What driver version are you currently on?

I am currently on 331.65. Will update to the latest 334.89, and install BF3. Will let ya know how it goes.

I'm on 334.89.

I'm tempted to try a reinstall though, as my drivers say they were installed a full 10 days before the current ones on the website were updated. Maybe a minor revision since?

Either way, I had all these troubles since the machine released, and on every other driver version. So it wont make any difference sadly.

 

[striker33]

Changed things up a bit. Completely disabled any overclock on EVGA Precision X. Removed C1E checkbox from throttlestop incase that was interfering with things. Then forced Nvidia Inspector to P1, unlocked min/max, and set my clocks from there.

Not sure what this did, as aside from unckecing C1E, it still achieves the same thing.

However, previously BF3 would be playable for a few minutes before throttling hit. However, I've just been on a 64 player game on Operation Firestorm, averaging around 45-50fps on the nvidia experience settings @1920x1200, for around 30 minutes or so. Not once did it throttle, which is a first when it comes to BF3 for me.

Similarly, I tried FF14 and had no throttling no matter what. I even cranked up the settings so that it crippled the GPU, but no throttling.

Lastly, I bumped Tomb Raider to ultimate settings and ultra shadows. Obviously it was unplayable, but stressed the GPU as much as possible, and generated the most heat.

Like I say, I have no idea what difference it makes setting GPU clocks etc by Nvidia Inspector, but it seems to have worked. Before people go crazy and say Nvidia Insp was one of the main tools I should have used first, a lot of previous threads also stated windows power management and precision X was enough.

If this has truly fixed the issues, then I may keep the macbook afterall. I'm still at odds though, as all of these tools required on each startup is more than a little annoying.

But hey, at least for the time being I can play some PC games in my downtime. Who knows, with Titanfall round the corner, it could be a sign.

----------

Also in regards to nvidia inspector, I didnt bother with creating settings files or .bat files etc for it. I just used the GUI settings.

 

[ridethebarfpony]

Hey there,

Did that last post end up working the longer term? What clock settings did you end up using? Are you basically just using nvidiaInspector and nothing else? Do you have any funky Windows power settings?

Thanks!

 

[striker33]

Hey there,

Did that last post end up working the longer term? What clock settings did you end up using? Are you basically just using nvidiaInspector and nothing else? Do you have any funky Windows power settings?

Thanks!

It has so far yes. No problems whatsoever now.

I'm using NvidiaInspector AND ThrottleStop.

Nvidia Inspector is using setting 1 but with the clocks unlocked, and change to +135MHz for clock speed, and -500MHz or so for the memory speed.

ThrottleStop is setup as multiplier x15, and C1E unchecked.

Windows power is set to balanced.

 

[ridethebarfpony]

Cool, thanks.

I've actually been doing OK just gaming on Windows 8.1 without any tricks; the issue I was having actually appears to be one with a specific game (DmC seems to have a weird Nvidia issue/memory leak that asserts itself after a while of playing).

Tomb Raider / Borderlands seem to be doing OK. I've got Borderlands pretty well maxed out and Tomb Raider set using the GeForce experience (I installed the latest Nvidia non-beta drivers, they went in without any INF hacking, apparently the video card is recognized now).

Nice to know what worked for you, if I have issues (or ever start playing big boy games), I'll definitely use them. Thanks again.

 

[ha1o2surfer]

Changed things up a bit. Completely disabled any overclock on EVGA Precision X. Removed C1E checkbox from throttlestop incase that was interfering with things. Then forced Nvidia Inspector to P1, unlocked min/max, and set my clocks from there.

Not sure what this did, as aside from unckecing C1E, it still achieves the same thing.

However, previously BF3 would be playable for a few minutes before throttling hit. However, I've just been on a 64 player game on Operation Firestorm, averaging around 45-50fps on the nvidia experience settings @1920x1200, for around 30 minutes or so. Not once did it throttle, which is a first when it comes to BF3 for me.

Similarly, I tried FF14 and had no throttling no matter what. I even cranked up the settings so that it crippled the GPU, but no throttling.

Lastly, I bumped Tomb Raider to ultimate settings and ultra shadows. Obviously it was unplayable, but stressed the GPU as much as possible, and generated the most heat.

Like I say, I have no idea what difference it makes setting GPU clocks etc by Nvidia Inspector, but it seems to have worked. Before people go crazy and say Nvidia Insp was one of the main tools I should have used first, a lot of previous threads also stated windows power management and precision X was enough.

If this has truly fixed the issues, then I may keep the macbook afterall. I'm still at odds though, as all of these tools required on each startup is more than a little annoying.

But hey, at least for the time being I can play some PC games in my downtime. Who knows, with Titanfall round the corner, it could be a sign.

----------

Also in regards to nvidia inspector, I didnt bother with creating settings files or .bat files etc for it. I just used the GUI settings.

Still kinda of stinks because you are just manually throttling the CPU more than half of it's performance. I guess you did solve the auto throttle issue by throttling it earlier on. I'd want to get full performance out of the machine but that is actually impossible. I remember people saying they can get the 650/750m into GTX 660M speeds which would be tough.

 

[gbuzogany]

I have good news my friends!

I got the same problem and tested pretty much what everybody suggested, and it didn't work... the GPU still throttled a lot (rMBP mid-2012, 650m).

BUT, I installed the OSX 10.10 beta, and apparently it changed a few things in the SMC/EFI. It doesn't throttle anymore! The GPU gets to 88C while gaming and no signal of throttling!
I still need to test more, but on furmark it didn't throttle at all (tested just until it got to 88C). GRID 2 and BF4 (single player campaign) worked really well too (it didn't before).

Some update happened on the SMC or EFI and apparently it solved it for me.

Update: After more extensive testing, I can say for sure that the throttling problem is STILL bad (*****).

 

[fatlardo]

I have good news my friends!

I got the same problem and tested pretty much what everybody suggested, and it didn't work... the GPU still throttled a lot (rMBP mid-2012, 650m).

BUT, I installed the OSX 10.10 beta, and apparently it changed a few things in the SMC/EFI. It doesn't throttle anymore! The GPU gets to 88C while gaming and no signal of throttling!
I still need to test more, but on furmark it didn't throttle at all (tested just until it got to 88C). GRID 2 and BF4 (single player campaign) worked really well too (it didn't before).

Some update happened on the SMC or EFI and apparently it solved it for me.

Ooooo I hope this works for everyone! Would be nice to have a comp that can games on top of what we normally do.

 

[Hieveryone]

I'm not an expert but what I can say is that I recently did a clean install and that solved my overheating problems.

 

[Ardmanz]

I believe I am experiencing this Wildstar.

The game runs okay for about 10 minutes then slows to a crawl. Keeping an eye on this thread (haven't yet tried everything suggested but will this week).

 

[Just Guest]

Hi guys. Go to bios setup-advanced-turn off (disable) intel speedstep. Now no more GPU throttling. But all temps will increase.

Other method, open precision x program, and increase core clock 10 mhz, and inreased temp limit 95 (prioritize must be down). all temps will increase too.

 

[oqpsk]

I happened to pretty much resolved the auto-throttling issue recently. Just switch to "Manage 3D settings" page in NVIDIA Control Panel and choose "1" in the pull-down list of the "Maximum pre-rendered frames" option and it's done! Now you can freely adjust and fix the frequencies in nvidiainspector with the trick (forcing P-state) many people have already mentioned before.

At least it works for me. Now I can play games at a fixed 925/2000 MHz with the ambient temperature of 27 celsius. No frame jittering, no auto-throttling anymore.

 

[Persian-apple]

Please read it(battery discharge while plugged in!)

Hi guys
Please keep the thread alive
I have a similar problem...
I own mid-2014 top-of-the-line 15inch macbook pro with retina display...
(Straight rebrand of late-2013rmbp with 2.5ghz instead of 2.3ghz CPU and new mother board possibly some fixes cuz it's newsier model)
I have thee model with 750M so it drains battery faster produces more heat and stuff....
Yesterday day I was playing batman arkham origins everything normal and 1080/900 P
I f...in hate my last retina Mac book which was 2012 15 inch with gt650m
Lots of heat goddamn throttling huge lag resetting DMV every time and lots of times it doesn't have an effect etc.
Considering that...
I didn't want to. Buy another piece of (excuse language) shi$...
While I was playing the game macbook had 20percent charge after some hours I noticed the lag I had experienced in my older mbpr which jus drove me crazy
I spent an year to solve my last rmbps problem but finally didn't solve it
I looked at the battery(plugged in) it was 1percent !!!!!
I charged it to 30percent re ran the game and played for 3minutes and frame rate was back to 60!-50
I notice some throttling too so plz help me ...
Not that bad throttling I mean after 10mins I get 3-6 lower fps...
(I feel at least)
I don't want to change any thing and mess my Mac up as I did with. The older Mac but. Any monitoring that won't change any setting would be help ful
Sorry for being too long guys
Thnx for advise

----------

Please give me some links of monitoring programs which you think might help
Plz don't give any links of programs like Mai ab or nvidia inspector or things that change any thing just something to monitor thnx guys

 

[Slimák]

Hi all,

Less than a month own Macbook Pro Retina Mid2014 (probably unique), in which a few days have not noticed any throttling. After the affair exchanges where the previous Macbook overheated and each occurred throttling, it is the first model in which I have not seen any throttling.

The only thing I need to achieve the following settings:
Windows 8.1 Pro x64, nVidia Geforce drivers 340.52
Intel Extreme Tuning Utility: have two profiles (CPU multiplier 20x and 25x)
MSI Afterburner: overlocking core +135 / -500 mem

I play Battlefield 4, GTA IV, Diablo 3, WoT and no thrrotling ever spotted.

 

[ha1o2surfer]

Hi all,

Less than a month own Macbook Pro Retina Mid2014 (probably unique), in which a few days have not noticed any throttling. After the affair exchanges where the previous Macbook overheated and each occurred throttling, it is the first model in which I have not seen any throttling.

The only thing I need to achieve the following settings:
Windows 8.1 Pro x64, nVidia Geforce drivers 340.52
Intel Extreme Tuning Utility: have two profiles (CPU multiplier 20x and 25x)
MSI Afterburner: overlocking core +135 / -500 mem

I play Battlefield 4, GTA IV, Diablo 3, WoT and no thrrotling ever spotted.

well it's throttling just manually throttled by you lol