Hi-Res 15" i7... Video Lag?

[lordofuo]

I currently own a mid 2010 13" MBP. I love it.

I talked a friend, who I hope does not find this thread, into buying a 15" i7 MBP, and he decided on the High resolution screen.

It's a great machine, but i've noticed that simple tasks such as using expose and maneuvering around the dock cause it to lag video-wise, but only sometimes.

My 13" is able to do these things smoothly, no matter what.

Is this normal?

Perhaps it has something to do with his integrated GPU (the battery-saving one) having to work too hard to handle his high-resolution?

Alex

 

[matryska]

I currently own a mid 2010 13" MBP. I love it.

Perhaps it has something to do with his integrated GPU (the battery-saving one) having to work too hard to handle his high-resolution?

I think you're right, the last time I saw poor general desktop video performance (lag/choppiness) was on the MacBook and MacBook Air with the Intel integrated graphics.

 

[shadygrove]

My i7 my hang a little when Flash video is involved (at heat up to 80 degree C) but my computer boots in less than 20 seconds and don't miss a beat. I can open any and all the apps I want and I would never even know another app was open going by the CPU usage. My i7 is the fastest machine I have ever used...so I can't say that I agree with the OP (generally speaking at least).

 

[lordofuo]

My i7 my hang a little when Flash video is involved (at heat up to 80 degree C) but my computer boots in less than 20 seconds and don't miss a beat. I can open any and all the apps I want and I would never even know another app was open going by the CPU usage. My i7 is the fastest machine I have ever used...so I can't say that I agree with the OP (generally speaking at least).

I wasn't putting down the machine, I was simply saying that I noticed some lagging on desktop performance. I know that his i7 MBP would blow my C2D away when it comes to raw power. (Even though he just uses it for notes. I'm the one that uses graphic intensive software! But I have a PC for that. )

I think it's just the Intel Integrated graphics being slightly weak for 1680x1050. (I think that's the resolution..)

Alex

 

[Vanarak19]

I wasn't putting down the machine, I was simply saying that I noticed some lagging on desktop performance. I know that his i7 MBP would blow my C2D away when it comes to raw power. (Even though he just uses it for notes. I'm the one that uses graphic intensive software! But I have a PC for that. )

I think it's just the Intel Integrated graphics being slightly weak for 1680x1050. (I think that's the resolution..)

Alex

Its not that its weak its just the drivers are very poor, which should all be fixed in 10.6.4. Its all over the net, and I cant wait.

I hate how it just "stalls" when you full screen flash, but can deal with it cause its a nice machine.

 

[MBHockey]

I don't notice any slowdown in UI graphics elements (dashboard/expose/spaces) when on the Intel card. Stacks can be a bit choppy it seems though.

The stall in going to full-screen is because it is switching on-the-fly from the integrated card to the discrete. If you want to eliminate that you can just turn off automatic graphics switching (if you're plugged in a lot this is a pretty good solution.)