Jerkiness/sluggish feel when using dual displays on 2010 MBP 13 inch

[Whoopysnorp]

I picked up one of the new Macbook Pro 13" models (the 2.4 ghz) a few weeks ago and I am overall quite happy with it so far. It's my first Mac, although I've been using them at work for years now. However, I am noticing that when I use it at home with an external monitor configured as a second display (i.e. not mirroring), the overall performance seems a little stuttery. For example, if I drag a web browser window across the desktop, it doesn't track smoothly, and if I watch a movie in VLC set for full-screen on the external monitor, I get little skips in the playback every once in a while. The jerky response seems to hold true across both displays. I haven't experimented with this very much, but this morning I tried using it with the external display only (i.e. with the notebook closed), and everything seemed to improve. Using the computer without an external display, everything seems fine as well. Does anybody else have this experience? I'm hoping there is a driver or firmware update forthcoming to improve performance, as it seems like the 320M should be able to deal with a dual-monitor situation smoothly.

 

[hypermog]

Have you tried it in Boot Camp?

 

[Whoopysnorp]

No, I haven't set Windows up on it. I wasn't planning on it, but I guess maybe that would be a good test. I have a copy of XP I could put on it.

 

[Whoopysnorp]

Well, looking at it again, I think I was imagining any perceived improvement when running with the lid closed. One way I can really see the issue is by opening the Applications grid and watching the animation as the balloon expands. The initial open has a choppy appearance. If I do it a few times in succession, I can see the animation get smoother with each open. This seems to act the same whether the lid is closed or open. This doesn't seem like the way a machine of this caliber should behave does it? Especially after the ballyhoo over the quality of the 320M integrated graphics over the Intel solution required with the Core i5/i7 chips.

 

[andrew086]

I'm not a gfx genius - but could it be that the 320m can't handle the two displays?

What are the screen sizes?

 

[Whoopysnorp]

The maximums: 1280x800 on the built-in display and 1920x1080 on the external display. However, it doesn't seem to make a difference whether the built-in display is on or off (which I know is contrary to what I said initially).

 

[bobm]

Works for me

New 2010 2.66 13" running with the DVI interface at 1080p (to a Samsung 21.5" monitor) and if I use the analog input (vga) I get 1600x??? (I forget the other parameter and don't have the adapter with me today).

No issues, everything seems fine.

What resolution is the 2nd monitor set to? Perhaps you should try a couple different sizes and see if it changes.