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iCore24

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 6, 2013
388
52
Michigan
When I switch my desktops using 4 finger swipe, open Applications folder on a dock, use mission control or any animation, it lags a lot.

Also I am having a flicker effect when I log in usually. I got it repaired last year but it seems it came back. Kind of pissed I spent 2k for a laptop that is pretty low performance and laggy...
 

Neodym

macrumors 68020
Jul 5, 2002
2,429
1,065
While I had it, it was buttery smooth.

Did you repair permissions and reset PRAM? Or perhaps your system was migrated from older installations and carries some bulk that negatively affects performance?
 

iCore24

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 6, 2013
388
52
Michigan
I always reformat when installing a new os. I tried everything. It might be defected since I am getting screen flickers occasionally.
 

sarthak

macrumors 6502
Nov 19, 2012
467
6
There is a flicker effect on the login image if you have FireVault enabled. This is due to "compatible graphics" before OS X is fully booted as well as in Recovery Mode.

If you're running Yosemite, you may notice UI lag which is an on-going issue. You can try System Preferences -> Accessibility -> Display -> Tick "Increase Contrast".

Though it does not look pleasant, it seems to fix a bug in WindowServer that causes major UI lag on Macs with a Retina display.
 

iCore24

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 6, 2013
388
52
Michigan
There is a flicker effect on the login image if you have FireVault enabled. This is due to "compatible graphics" before OS X is fully booted as well as in Recovery Mode.

If you're running Yosemite, you may notice UI lag which is an on-going issue. You can try System Preferences -> Accessibility -> Display -> Tick "Increase Contrast".

Though it does not look pleasant, it seems to fix a bug in WindowServer that causes major UI lag on Macs with a Retina display.

The lag seems to decrease a lot when enabling "Reduce transparency" but it does look horrible and will not leave it on. My flickering happens when in normal usage and logged in. Im taking it in to the genius bar, apple support told me to ask for a manager and show them my repaired documents when they tried to fix it 2 years ago. I hope they fix it even though I'm out of warranty.
 

nerowolfe

macrumors member
Oct 23, 2014
90
1
A shot in the dark. Give disabling the dashboard via "Mission Control" in "System Preferences" a try.
 

kittencounter

macrumors member
Mar 22, 2013
93
0
Don't bother trying stuffs. It won't be completely smooth. Things like switching of transparency, running at "best for retina" help out but it will still lag sometimes. It depends on what applications are running on which space and on what scaling you are using. Switching to that space can jitter a bit while switching to others won't. Mostly 3rd party apps can cause this problem (Chrome, Adobe stuffs..). It's not because your rMBP doesn't have enough graphics power. I know newer models also have this problem.
 

nerowolfe

macrumors member
Oct 23, 2014
90
1
I'd say it's worth investigating. I've been running Yosemite on my 2012 15" rMBP since its release and it's been running smoothly so far. And I'm far from a light user.

I'd give forcing the dGPU on via gfxcardstatus a try if the mbp in question has one, run Activity Monitor and see which apps if any hog cpu and memory usage and try force quitting or resetting them; culprit might be just a running app or process.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,419
43,307
I'm happy with my rMBP, though I'm probably not pushing it hard. LR, PS, Windows. No games.
 

iCore24

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 6, 2013
388
52
Michigan
I did some more "investigating", it seems Safari is taking all my cpu power! I load a new page and keep going in mission controls and took a screen shot.
 

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poematik13

macrumors 65816
Jun 5, 2014
1,211
1,350
I know newer models also have this problem.

No they dont. The 2012 retinas, like all 1st gen apple products, should be avoided. The internals are just not up to par to drive a nearly 3k-res screen fluidly.

My late 2013 2.6ghz / 1tb / 16gb /750m 2gb runs perfect though
 

Modernape

macrumors regular
Jun 21, 2010
232
42
2012 13" rMBP here, running Mavericks and it's all very smooth, so maybe Yosemite is the problem?
 

sarthak

macrumors 6502
Nov 19, 2012
467
6
No they dont. The 2012 retinas, like all 1st gen apple products, should be avoided. The internals are just not up to par to drive a nearly 3k-res screen fluidly.

My late 2013 2.6ghz / 1tb / 16gb /750m 2gb runs perfect though

I've used the Mid-2012 and Late 2013 (typing from it) and the HD4000 is sufficient to drive the screen. The Iris Pro does offer a smoother experience but, it's largely an issue in Yosemite.

If you don't have the dGPU version or are using iGPU then there is substantial performance degradation due to an issue in WindowServer.

I too started recently noticing screen flickers when running intensive apps like Photoshop (this is on the Late 2013 model).
 

prism

macrumors 65816
Dec 6, 2006
1,060
389
2012 13" rMBP here, running Mavericks and it's all very smooth, so maybe Yosemite is the problem?

^This!!!

----------

No they dont. The 2012 retinas, like all 1st gen apple products, should be avoided. The internals are just not up to par to drive a nearly 3k-res screen fluidly.

My late 2013 2.6ghz / 1tb / 16gb /750m 2gb runs perfect though

Yes they do, I just played around with a 5k imac at the Apple Store and switching between spaces was just as jittery as on my 2013 13" rMBP.
 
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