Laggy Graphics In OS X

[MICHAELSD]

I've noticed that videos (particularly anything HD) seem to lag in OS X 10.5.6, but they don't in Windows using either the 9400M or the 9600M GT. With the specs that the MacBook Pro has, videos shouldn't be lagging at all, so I'm starting to think that it's OS X. What do you guys think?

 

[raymondu999]

Were you running on the 9400 or 9600 with the lagginess? I've managed 720p and some 1080p on my machine, with 9600 enabled. Never tested before with 9400. And how, pray tell, did you manage to get 9400 running in Windows?

 

[MICHAELSD]

I've tried using both the 9400M GT and the 9600M GT and it lags with both in flash videos and QuickTime videos.

 

[raymondu999]

I see. There was a thread sometime a go about this same issue of 10.5.6 if not mistaken it's titled "9600 is worthless" or something like that. On the Windows side you only use 9600, there's no way to activate 9400

 

[MICHAELSD]

On the Windows side you only use 9600, there's no way to activate 9400

I know, I think I might've worded my post a little confusingly.

 

[Sayer]

If you are on battery power only then the MacBook will go into a lower power mode that is basically lowering the clockrate of the CPU and GPU(s). So yeah it may lag a bit, and Windows is terrible at power management, esp. on Apple hardware so it won't clock down as much as OS X will.

There are also "nap" modes in some Macs that lower clockrate while nothing is going on e.g. mouse or keyboard input hasn't occurred in a few seconds. I write software and some QA testers actually had an apparent "freeze" or hang on the app because they would just let it run for a few minutes. As soon as you moved the mouse (this was on a laptop) the app would continue.

It's just how Macs are. Visit the Energy Saver control panel in the System Preferences and see if you can change things.