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New MBP Gaming Issues
- Thread starter aaeyers
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Temp Update
After installing 10.5.6.. Nothing but Time machine running and typing here right now, with the 9600GT enabled.. I am getting an average of 75 degrees C. This seems pretty high to me, seeing as I am not doing very much. Thank got they have good warranties.
After installing 10.5.6.. Nothing but Time machine running and typing here right now, with the 9600GT enabled.. I am getting an average of 75 degrees C. This seems pretty high to me, seeing as I am not doing very much. Thank got they have good warranties.
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The 9600m is considered a mid range video card for gaming. That's what makes
all the difference in the world (for games). It's a good card, but it is a very thin laptop so turn the other settings up and AA off. AA gives a big performance hit.
DYER said:
The 9600m is considered a mid range video card for gaming. That's what makes
all the difference in the world (for games). It's a good card, but it is a very thin laptop so turn the other settings up and AA off. AA gives a big performance hit.
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Have you tried any of the suggestions in this thread?
I've got 2 things that should help:
1.) get newest video drivers and modified inf from laptopvideo2go.com
2.) smc fan control set to 6000 rpm BEFORE you begin gaming. Set speeds then restart into windows and the fans will stay the same.
the advisor said:I definitely think this is a heat related issue. I have a 2.53 Uni body MBP with the 512 nVidia upgrade, with (legit) XP Pro SP3. I run it closed connected to a Dell WFP. After some unspecified amount of time it just locks up. This happens most commonly in Fallout 3. I used to play with everything cranked up, but due to this problem I lowered some setting. This seems to make it last longer, however it still inevitably will lock. I don't get a black screen, but rather the image freezes and I have to hard restart to get out of it. If I launch back to OS, I am seeing temperatures 80+ degrees C.
I have yet to upgrade the video drivers, but I am not sure that it will help, as the fans are screaming the whole time I am playing. I have also tried to run it open with no noticeable increase in duration. I searched around and saw that some of the video cards are failing and causing light spotting on the internal display, but I have no signs of that either.
I am not sure how true this is, but I read somewhere that nVidia is denying the issue, stating that the failures and poor performance are due to apples lack of cooling capabilities. Someone even said that they saw signs of the solder melting on the graphics card. 143.
Have you tried any of the suggestions in this thread?
I've got 2 things that should help:
1.) get newest video drivers and modified inf from laptopvideo2go.com
2.) smc fan control set to 6000 rpm BEFORE you begin gaming. Set speeds then restart into windows and the fans will stay the same.
I see what you mean, I tried AA on both 2x and 4x and to be honest didn't notice it being all that much better...then I started noticing artifacts (big blurry squares) and when I completed the level the game crashed....then it kept crashing over & over....and wouldn't even start anymore...crash.
I had to restart the comp and then restart the mission....with AA off and then it was fine again. Sheesh. For a game thats abo a year old you'd think the top of the line MBP w/ the best GPU they offer would be able to handle anything the game could throw at it incl AA.
What settings do you recommend turning up then?
The 9600 is not a top of the line card. Don't expect it to play even 2-3 year old games at full settings. Hell, it even gets a black screen of death playing WoW which is over 4 years old.
I really don't think the problem is the power of the GPU. The black screen of death seems to occur when the GPU temps get too high, at least in my case. After setting up the fans to about 4500 rpm I haven't had any problems whatsoever.
It doesn't matters if the 9600 isn't a top video card - it shouldn't produce BSOD!
Interesting...
Good advice thank you. I did the 10.5.6 update last night, tonight I plan to install the new drivers for the windows side. Also, I did not know that if you set SMC and then reboot it will stay like that in windows. Very interesting and good to know. I still think that this might be a heat related issue resulting from the lower circulation of the unibody... I could play wow on my powerbook G4 with less issues, at a reasonably lower temp.
Does anyone have a schematic on how the new MBPs circulates air? I was thinking about trying to assemble a manifold that directs the air of a 60mm desktop fan directly into the intake of the machine. The fact that the new machines have more powerful GPUs in combination with a much more air-restrictive housing can only lead to problems.
Good advice thank you. I did the 10.5.6 update last night, tonight I plan to install the new drivers for the windows side. Also, I did not know that if you set SMC and then reboot it will stay like that in windows. Very interesting and good to know. I still think that this might be a heat related issue resulting from the lower circulation of the unibody... I could play wow on my powerbook G4 with less issues, at a reasonably lower temp.
Does anyone have a schematic on how the new MBPs circulates air? I was thinking about trying to assemble a manifold that directs the air of a 60mm desktop fan directly into the intake of the machine. The fact that the new machines have more powerful GPUs in combination with a much more air-restrictive housing can only lead to problems.
Absolutely, I agree. Didn't mean to imply that the BSOD is Caused by it not being top of the line. I was just saying that even old games are enough to cause the defect.
Even without the BSOD issues, we won't be running new games at high settings. I hope people don't buy this machine expecting a desktop replacement for games.
I recommend trying to play at native resolution (1440x900) and set everything from there. What game are you trying to play? I'm able to play far cry 2 (1440x900, all settings high, no AA -- AVG 20 - 30 FPS), left 4 dead (1440x900, everything high, no AA -- AVG 30 FPS), Orange Box (1440x900, everything high, 2x AA, 2x AF -- smooth, can't remember the FPS)
I like turning the fans up to 6000 before I reboot to windows. By the time windows is booted, I start the game and the keyboard gets warm instead of hot. Everything has run great for me since I've done this.
Always try to get the higher resolution and then turn the settings down. I like it like that at least, but everyone's different. Take a look at something in the game that has a lot of detail to it and adjust the settings to compare the object you are looking at.
I agree it isn't a top of the line card, but I can play new games at "full settings" with no AA or AF. I guess technically that isn't considered full, but AA and AF didn't always exist, and I got by without them for years. It's ok to have that if your machine can handle it, but I would take higher resolution / settings over AA or AF any day.
Yeah, try it out. It helped me out...
They do get hot, which isn't surprising since it's so thin. Heat is the biggest enemy to a computer, so do what you can to keep it cool (like turning the fans up before you start playing). Just turn them to 6000 before restarting to windows, then when you come back to osx set them back to the default 2000. It's an easy program to use, you just right click on it to set it in the menubar at the top.
Me too. I don't care about AA at all. Even when I'm playing an older game where I have the spare power, I don't really care-I mean we're already dealing with HD resolutions where IMO it's not super important. I like more detail, higher resolutions, better special effects and textures before I like AA.
But obviously having more power is always good!
But obviously having more power is always good!
I've always got the setting on 1440x900 and don't run Windows.
So the game I am playing is CoD4 and of course I run the 9600.
To be honest I didn't even adjust the settings until I heard abo AA and decided to try it....which screwed everything up. I'll see what their default settings are and try bumping them up a bit w/ AA off.
How can you tell how many FPS you're getting?
Valve Games (Orange box, left 4 dead) - press ~ then type net_graph 1 (2 or 3 work also)
you can position it at the bottom with net_graphpos 1, 2, or 3
I use net_graph 1 then net_graphpos 2
You might have to enable the console which is located under advanced keyboard settings.
Far cry 2 - I think the same thing press ~ then type showfps 1
Oh, I've never played on the mac side. The bad thing is you can't get better drivers for leopard (I don't think?) which might help.
My experience is exactly the same. After setting the fans at 4500 rpm, no problems for me anymore!!!
Agreed, I got my first BSOD because I had the laptop on a blanket and I didn't set the fanspeed like I usually do.
Stupidly enough, the fans NEVER got faster than the 2,000 minimum that I have it set on by default. Sounds like an update should happen as this is correctable by Apple. I shouldn't have to do this myself.
Stupidly enough, the fans NEVER got faster than the 2,000 minimum that I have it set on by default. Sounds like an update should happen as this is correctable by Apple. I shouldn't have to do this myself.
You can try reinstalling the game. If the problem persists, give Apple a call. That kind of issues should not happen with a 3000+ USD machine. I have the previous generation MBP and Age of Empires III runs great and smooth, it should be a problem with your graphics card. Also check that you have the latest firmware updates and that you Mac is in a steady base (Desktop instead of lap) Hope you get your problem fixed!
Odd that Apple didn't put them through on "software update" since they're part of the system...or would they have been included on 10.5.6?
There should be a special forum for those who fork up their macs with windows.