MBP and filevault

[Cuniac]

So, how taxing is filevault on a MBP. I'm thinking of getting the 15, and I know it asks you if you want to set it up when you first turn it on. Is it super taxing? Does it affect application performance?

 

[T5BRICK]

It really isn't noticeable in normal usage. I enabled it when I setup my new rMBP and it seems fast to me.

 

[HopefulHumanist]

It really isn't noticeable in normal usage. I enabled it when I setup my new rMBP and it seems fast to me.

Yup, same here. Had it on my old 2008 MBP too, even with a home-made Fusion drive.

 

[newellj]

It really isn't noticeable in normal usage. I enabled it when I setup my new rMBP and it seems fast to me.

Agreed. Suggest EFI password + FileVault + Find My Mac if you carry the laptop around.

 

[yjchua95]

So, how taxing is filevault on a MBP. I'm thinking of getting the 15, and I know it asks you if you want to set it up when you first turn it on. Is it super taxing? Does it affect application performance?

Doesn't tax it much. On my late-2013 13" rMBP, speeds were:

1. 750MB/s read, 720MB/s write w/o FV.
2. 730MB/s read, 690MB/s write w/ FV.

So not too much.

 

[newellj]

Doesn't tax it much. On my late-2013 13" rMBP, speeds were:

1. 750MB/s read, 720MB/s write w/o FV.
2. 730MB/s read, 690MB/s write w/ FV.

So not too much.

YTM. Excellent metrics on this. That is truly negligible. Thanks for that.

 

[Weaselboy]

http://osxdaily.com/2011/08/10/filevault-2-benchmarks-disk-encryption-faster-mac-os-x-lion/

There are some tests at this link where you can see a small performance drop in benchmarks, but on newer Macs (i5 and up) I have never been able to tell a difference in day to day usage.

It is very transparent once enabled and there really is no reason not to use it you want to secure your data.

 

[Cuniac]

I suppose my main question is, If I decide to load Diablo 3 up. Am I going to see an FPS drop with this on.

 

[Weaselboy]

I suppose my main question is, If I decide to load Diablo 3 up. Am I going to see an FPS drop with this on.

No... it won't impact FPS at all. You might notice a very very slight difference in load times.

 

[Mr.C]

Agreed. Suggest EFI password + FileVault + Find My Mac if you carry the laptop around.

How do I set those three up. Can you do it after the fact as I've already setup and started using my new 2015 13" MacBook Pro.

 

[yjchua95]

How do I set those three up. Can you do it after the fact as I've already setup and started using my new 2015 13" MacBook Pro.

Yes you can.

For Find my Mac, go to System Prefs → iCloud and scroll to the bottom to activate it.

For EFI password, boot into Recovery and once in Recovery, click on Utilities in the top menu bar and select firmware password utility.

For FileVault, go to System Prefs → Security and enable FileVault.

 

[Mr.C]

Yes you can.

For Find my Mac, go to System Prefs → iCloud and scroll to the bottom to activate it.

For EFI password, boot into Recovery and once in Recovery, click on Utilities in the top menu bar and select firmware password utility.

For FileVault, go to System Prefs → Security and enable FileVault.

Thank you.

 

[Cuniac]

Will this impact my ability to dual boot into windows?

 

[T5BRICK]

Will this impact my ability to dual boot into windows?

Nope. I'm running BootCamp with a 100GB partition for Windows 10

 

[newellj]

Yes you can.

For Find my Mac, go to System Prefs → iCloud and scroll to the bottom to activate it.

For EFI password, boot into Recovery and once in Recovery, click on Utilities in the top menu bar and select firmware password utility.

For FileVault, go to System Prefs → Security and enable FileVault.

Good man, well done.

 

[Nermal]

No... it won't impact FPS at all. You might notice a very very slight difference in load times.

But with that said, note that Filevault is not supported with Diablo.

 

[Cuniac]

But with that said, note that Filevault is not supported with Diablo.

Does this mean that If I had it on it would give me an error if I tried to start it?

 

[T5BRICK]

Does this mean that If I had it on it would give me an error if I tried to start it?

I'm able to run Diablo 3 without any issues that I've noticed.

 

[Montymitch]

I had to perform a clean install on my week old rMBP because of the dreaded 'filevault encryption paused' error. Not worth it IMO.

 

[T5BRICK]

I had to perform a clean install on my week old rMBP because of the dreaded 'filevault encryption paused' error. Not worth it IMO.

This isn't a common problem, so I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[treichert]

But with that said, note that Filevault is not supported with Diablo.

That's stupid. There's absolutely no difference to apps with filevault turned on.

 

[Skika]

The I/O performance penalty for using Filevault 2 was found to be in the order of 20 – 30%

- from wikipedia

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

- from wikipedia

Any thoughts on this?

Yeah, it is very old information, from 2013.

 

[Skika]

Yeah, it is very old information, from 2013.

So it doesn't apply today?

 

[maflynn]

So it doesn't apply today?

Based on what've read 20-30% performance hit does not appear to be accurate. I have FV enabled and there's a small barely noticeable difference. Or there was when I first turned it on. Now I don't notice anything as I've gotten used to the performance. I don't have the links but I've read some articles where the overhead is in the order of 5 percent (or in that neighborhood).