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MacBook Pro Retina low fps on GTA IV

ozbilge10

ozbilge10

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 1, 2013
59
4
specs
2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz
8GB 1600MHz memory
256GB flash storage1
Intel HD Graphics 4000
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BjIQAiaOSg

I'm not getting fps like on this video. I'm getting 20fps average at high settings, 1680x1050 resolution. I can't understand why. What should i do about it ? I already did smc reset. Battlefield 3 is playable, but it is not. This is my gta iv test video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMjXDztgTTw&feature=youtu.be
I play it via bootcamp(windows).

GTA IV 1.0.7
GeForce driver 314.07
 
Last edited:
Did you reset the SMC only once? Try it more times in a row. To be sure you did it right, try not to have the battery fully charged. The orange light will turn green for a few seconds. Even if it does, do it 3/4 times in a row. Try afterwards.
 
ozbilge10 said:
specs
2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz
8GB 1600MHz memory
256GB flash storage1
Intel HD Graphics 4000
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BjIQAiaOSg

I'm not getting fps like on this video. I'm getting 20fps average at high settings, 1680x1050 resolution. I can't understand why. What should i do about it ? I already did smc reset. Battlefield 3 is playable, but it is not.

GTA IV 1.0.7
Click to expand...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1387536/
 
dastinger said:
Did you reset the SMC only once? Try it more times in a row. To be sure you did it right, try not to have the battery fully charged. The orange light will turn green for a few seconds. Even if it does, do it 3/4 times in a row. Try afterwards.
Click to expand...

This is not recommended by Apple, PRAM reset you can do as many times as you like, not for SMC.
 
ozbilge10 said:
specs
2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz
8GB 1600MHz memory
256GB flash storage1
Intel HD Graphics 4000
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BjIQAiaOSg

I'm not getting fps like on this video. I'm getting 20fps average at high settings, 1680x1050 resolution. I can't understand why. What should i do about it ? I already did smc reset. Battlefield 3 is playable, but it is not.

GTA IV 1.0.7
Click to expand...

Are you running on a virtual machine or through Bootcamp?

Also, your settings might not be the same as in the video.
 
Out of curiosity I tested this myself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP5n9KYcKBw

I'm getting similar frame rates as the original video, using the identical settings he is using (although he changes them up a couple of times, I'm mirroring the settings he used at the beginning of the video). I'm using 314.07 drivers, no overclocking. The CPU is also throttled down to max 95% and core parking is disabled.

The weird thing is that I was getting low to mid 20 fps even after I reset the SMC and rebooted. I actually had to quit the game and relaunch it before the frames stabilized to what you see in the video. It's a little odd.
 
justperry said:
This is not recommended by Apple, PRAM reset you can do as many times as you like, not for SMC.
Click to expand...

Then maybe Apple could finally get their act together and fix the SMC bug in the first place? I am forced to do the SMC reset at least two times per week.
 
justperry said:
Why,which bug?
No problems here.
Click to expand...

You must have been sleeping these past few month ;) There is a known issue with the rMBP which causes the SMC controller to misbehave, resulting in reduced severely performance. This can be temporarily fixed with an SMC reset. The issue was introduced by the rMBP firmware update months ago and has not been fixed by Apple yet. Actually, every second post here regarding problems with games or general performance can be pin-pointed down to the SMC bug.
 
leman said:
You must have been sleeping these past few month ;) There is a known issue with the rMBP which causes the SMC controller to misbehave, resulting in reduced severely performance. This can be temporarily fixed with an SMC reset. The issue was introduced by the rMBP firmware update months ago and has not been fixed by Apple yet. Actually, every second post here regarding problems with games or general performance can be pin-pointed down to the SMC bug.
Click to expand...

I guess I must have been asleep.:eek:
Too many F...Ups by Apple last few years, Lion sucked, ML isn't much better, HW problems and so on.
 
justperry said:
I guess I must have been asleep.:eek:
Too many F...Ups by Apple last few years, Lion sucked, ML isn't much better, HW problems and so on.
Click to expand...
Exactly. I laughed when I read your post because Apple advises you not to do something you must do in order for your MBP to work properly. And, in 6 months (SIX months), no word from Apple regarding this.

Btw, I'm not doubting what you said but could you point me to where it says that Apple advises you not to reset the SMC too many times? I wrote a long email some days ago regarding this but didn't send it yet. That would be a nice addition to the rant.

Thank you
 
dastinger said:
Exactly. I laughed when I read your post because Apple advises you not to do something you must do in order for your MBP to work properly. And, in 6 months (SIX months), no word from Apple regarding this.

Btw, I'm not doubting what you said but could you point me to where it says that Apple advises you not to reset the SMC too many times? I wrote a long email some days ago regarding this but didn't send it yet. That would be a nice addition to the rant.

Thank you
Click to expand...

It's not exactly what they say (Should not be done too many times) but it's similar:

Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

Note: It is possible that the SMC could encounter an issue that may cause unusual system behavior typically related to the symptoms described below. In some cases, resetting the SMC may be the only correct method to resolve the issue, however, an SMC reset should only be attempted after all other standard troubleshooting has been performed.
Click to expand...
 
ozbilge10 said:
This is my gta iv test video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMjXDztgTTw&feature=youtu.be
I play it via bootcamp(windows).
Click to expand...

Some of the things you can do to troubleshoot:

  • SMC reset (make sure you're doing it correctly)
  • Use the latest drivers from Nvidia (latest official are 314.07)
  • Make sure your CPU is not being throttled by heat (monitor temps)

Regarding temps, beware your CPU being throttled down due to heat, especially with the latest EFI seemingly being over-agressive with this action. The biggest culprit for this (for me at least) was Skyrim. I was micro-stuttering all over the place but once I reduced max processor state my frame rate issues were resolved. I'm guessing the same principle would apply to any other game like GTA. I'm not really sure if this is helping either, but to maximize CPU performance I also disabled core parking. It seems to help.

All in all these videos aren't really fair because the author doesn't say a thing about what his settings are and what he's done in the background. Furthermore the latest EFI update may have screwed around with things on the Windows side so stock vs. stock if you're patched your frame rates might naturally be worse than the video (that was likely pre-patch).

There are too many variables to be heavily concerned about something like this but if it really does bother you then maybe you should try tweaking your performance a bit.

Ultra AleM said:
Is Mac OS 10.8.3 fixing this SMC bug?
Click to expand...

No, a software update won't fix it. It has to be another update to the BIOS/EFI.
 
I already did smc reset. Please, do not say it again. Should i reinstall game ? or pram reset
 
StefanYFC said:
Mine is still performing poorly as well. I just.. kind of deal with the low FPS until I can't stand it anymore. Its like playing in slow motion.
Click to expand...

How many fps are you getting ? Mine is still awful:( should I go to genius bar or should I reinstall windows ? I am sure about pc uses gt650m. nvidia driver's version is 314.07(latest)
 
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