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Flash on a Mac?

F

Fugue

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 14, 2011
290
1
I see many threads populating this forum about how flash is extremely CPU intensive and almost unusable on a Mac. Is this true or are these issues rare and user related? I plan on buying a MBP and I would like to know the general consensus on flash.

Also, which browser is generally the fastest, most reliable browser? On PC for instance, Chrome is unsurpassed in speed. Firefox used to be the browser of choice but it has since been dethroned. Safari on a PC is terrible.
 
It is CPU intensive, but whoever said it is unusable was exaggerating. It works perfectly fine (unless you're using a pre-2004 mac). Not sure about the fastest, but my preference is FF. Chrome just tends to be too barebones for me, and Safari won't save my tabs for next time, which I love that FF does. FF4 is pretty darn fast, and it looks sweet, so that's what I use.
 
Flash is useable. It's not my favorite thing in the world, and if you're using a laptop you'll probably here the fans start to get louder when using it, but I've never had any issues with it breaking the machine or anything.

As far as browers go, it's definitely a matter of taste. Safari for Mac is much better than the PC version. But if you prefer Chrome or Firefox, they work just fine.
 
Flash actually doesn't run bad at all on my new 13", the fans never go up or anything and right now I'm playing a youtube vid and it's only 50c not bad at all. This is a huge difference from a couple years ago when I had a white Macbook and flash used to make the fans go all the way up right away. So flash has definitely gotten A LOT better on Mac OS X recently.
 
Flash works almost as good as in Windows. The only thing that is missing is GPU acceleration if you use the iGPU. That is a driver problem. HTML5 apps with similar functionality showed in many test as much GPU utilization as Flash. Thus Flash isn't really that bad. The only thing that sucks is that it takes quite a few CPU cycles even when basically sitting idle.

As for Browsers. I agreed Safari on Windows sucks and the Mac Version is not much better. It is the only browser where you don't need to force the iGPU though.
I always favored Opera not so much for the speed although according to benches it ranks top or very close. Chrome I use occasionally. FF is a bit slower and it gets even slower with many Addons. Opera offers lots of functionality with out slowing down because of many Addons in FF/Chrome.
Chrome is quick fast, slim but it lacks features and customization options.
 
dusk007 said:
Flash works almost as good as in Windows. The only thing that is missing is GPU acceleration if you use the iGPU. That is a driver problem. HTML5 apps with similar functionality showed in many test as much GPU utilization as Flash. Thus Flash isn't really that bad. The only thing that sucks is that it takes quite a few CPU cycles even when basically sitting idle.

As for Browsers. I agreed Safari on Windows sucks and the Mac Version is not much better. It is the only browser where you don't need to force the iGPU though.
I always favored Opera not so much for the speed although according to benches it ranks top or very close. Chrome I use occasionally. FF is a bit slower and it gets even slower with many Addons. Opera offers lots of functionality with out slowing down because of many Addons in FF/Chrome.
Chrome is quick fast, slim but it lacks features and customization options.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I was always under the impression that safari worked best on a Mac but it appears it does not. I'm concerned about using chrome because it comes with flash preinstalled.
 
Fugue said:
I see many threads populating this forum about how flash is extremely CPU intensive and almost unusable on a Mac. Is this true or are these issues rare and user related? I plan on buying a MBP and I would like to know the general consensus on flash.
Click to expand...

In the last 6 months or so I've had a lot of major crashes with my 2007 MBP, and in some (but certainly not all) cases it was while running some kind of Flash media in Safari. I had the MBP tested for GPU issues, and no problems there, so I'm still left wondering if it was due to recent OS X updates, Flash, or some combination of issues.

I now have my brand new MBP, and one of the first things I notice is how it doesn't come with the Flash player installed. And I'm actually pretty hesitant about installing it. For one thing, there are no more annoying Flash ads on MacRumors that fill up half the screen when I accidentally hover over them! Sweet relief. I've set YouTube to use HTML 5 where possible, and that works a treat.

Also, which browser is generally the fastest, most reliable browser? On PC for instance, Chrome is unsurpassed in speed. Firefox used to be the browser of choice but it has since been dethroned. Safari on a PC is terrible.
Click to expand...

I have all the major browsers installed, either on Mac or PC, for development and testing purposes, but for my own personal browsing I use Safari on the Mac. The Opera UI is way too cluttered for my liking. Firefox and Chrome are both okay… although Chrome has some font related bugs that put me off using it. Other than that, it's just a personal preference thing I guess. Why not just test each one for a few days and see which you like best?
 
I have some flash issues...I am addicted to Frontierville on facebook and I get beach balls all the time.
 
kalsta said:
The Opera UI is way too cluttered for my liking.
Click to expand...
I have no idea what the current default UI in Opera looks like but the whole point to Opera is that it is extremely simple and fast to customize it.
option+shift+F12 for appearance. You can move panels around, uncheck them. Add buttons (with limitless functionality) remove them. All this changes and skins included never require a restart like in FF.

My UI only sports the tabs in mini preview on the left and an adress bar with nothing but the adress bar + 3 buttons (fit to screen, proxy on/off, on demand plug-in which is like click to flash but a built in Opera function)
That is about as minimalistic as it gets. But there is still everything I need only one click away.
 
Flash works very well with MBP and Safari. Never had an issue. The CPU jumps to high levels, But again..It works very well.
 
Consider: the amount of Flash CPU usage is also impacted by the browser you're using.

Opera - least CPU usage when using flash relative to other browsers

Firefox - Noticeably more than Opera. High temps for large streaming videos.

Safari - On par with Firefox. High temps for large streaming videos.

Chrome - Most CPU usage. Highest temps for large streaming videos.

If you want to watch a high-resolution flash video, Opera will save the most energy for whatever reason.
 
Flash added GPU support on modern macs. That means instead of 100% CPU usage, it offloads some of the processing to the GPU.

Modern Mac + flash blocker works alright.
 
Consultant said:
Flash added GPU support on modern macs. That means instead of 100% CPU usage, it offloads some of the processing to the GPU.
Click to expand...

1080 vid on youtube and istatpro was showing CPU @ 8% ;) Had CS5 & Aperture 3 open at the same time as well (although they were both idle) :D CPU temp was at 70c :( though although fans were at min.

Seems the new flash version does more than shift some of the workload to the GPU seems the GPU takes most of the strain.
 
That's good news!

What about Silverlight? I watch a lot of Netflix (sometimes 6+ hours at a time). Will it make the fans spin at max speed and make the MBP heat up or is it using the GPU as well?

I appreciate the responses!
 
I watch A LOT of Netflix and my computer consistently hovers around 150º-190º when watching Netflix, and surfing. I think my computer runs a little hot but Netflix runs great. Just don't let it sit on a soft surface because that could cause some heat issues.
Overall, streaming video is a processor intensive process. Any new Mac can handle it, the issue becomes how hot you're comfortable with. If you don't want a hot computer than definitely stay away from an i7!
Hope this helps.
 
jkuz said:
I watch A LOT of Netflix and my computer consistently hovers around 150º-190º when watching Netflix, and surfing. I think my computer runs a little hot but Netflix runs great. Just don't let it sit on a soft surface because that could cause some heat issues.
Overall, streaming video is a processor intensive process. Any new Mac can handle it, the issue becomes how hot you're comfortable with. If you don't want a hot computer than definitely stay away from an i7!
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Could you comment on how loud the fans get during a typical Netflix session?
 
alust2013 said:
It is CPU intensive, but whoever said it is unusable was exaggerating. It works perfectly fine (unless you're using a pre-2004 mac). Not sure about the fastest, but my preference is FF. Chrome just tends to be too barebones for me, and Safari won't save my tabs for next time, which I love that FF does. FF4 is pretty darn fast, and it looks sweet, so that's what I use.
Click to expand...

I personally prefer chrome as I often have many tabs open and in Chrome when you are closing tabs they don't get bigger as you get less. What I mean is if i had 20 tabs they would all be very small, as i close them they will all stay the same size allowing my to click on them easily until i take my mouse off them. Whereas in FF they get bigger as you click so you constantly have to rearrange your mouse.
 
I constantly get flash issues and crashes unless I use a flash blocker. I also use Chrome as I have found that to be the best alternative so far, but I will go back to Safari when Lion is released as that version is supposed to be built on the same tech as Chrome so should be as fast etc.

I like having multiple tabs open all the time and you tube tabs too, my machine crashes constantly with that with no flash blocked. I used to think it was a Safari issue, although it's the worst, I get the same issues with FF and Chrome.
Can't get on with Opera though??
 
dusk007 said:
I have no idea what the current default UI in Opera looks like but the whole point to Opera is that it is extremely simple and fast to customize it. …
Click to expand...

That's fine. I fiddled with things a little bit, but it just wasn't for me. But to each his own. I suggested the OP should trial them all and pick whichever one he likes best, since they're all free.
 
Does Safari have extensions like Google Chrome for instance?
 
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