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New MBPr Seems Slow ... tips?

F

ftrtrk

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 8, 2006
26
0
I've never paid a whole heck of a lot of attention to my CPU speeds, but lately I've been using Compressor a lot, and it seems like my compressions are taking HOURS longer than my old 2008 iMac (Core 2 Duo 2.3GHz) with 3GB RAM

I'm running a new MBPr 2.6GHz quad-core i7 with 16GB Ram now -- and it's running tremendously slower than I had envisioned. Am I just being unrealistic? Is there some way to ensure my CPU is performing at top speeds -- Can anyone point to an overclocking 101 article/thread if that might help my situation?

Thanks for your help!
 
Try resetting the SMC.

With the MBP off and power cord plugged in, press CTRL + ALT + Shift + Power simultaneously and hold them for some seconds and then release. The light at the magsafe connector may turn so keep an eye on it. If it doesn't, do it for 2 or 3 times just to make sure you did it right.. then turn on your Mac and see if you notice a difference. This won't make you lose any info whatsoever.
 
mfram said:
Maybe you are having thermal throttling? Is the computer getting a lot of cooling? Heat will bring down your performance.
Click to expand...

The base and back of the MBP are definitely pushing my comfort zone when I feel the heat.
 
Could you run geekbench on it so we can see a numeric representation of its performance?

It might be worth while running a disk speed test (Blackmagic is free on the app store) since a faulty SSD could cause slow performance too.
 
There is definitely something wrong, performance on the rMBP with 2,6 Ghz i7 CPU with flash storage should be remarkably faster than on your old MBP, independent on what compression method are you using.

Some people have encountered a faulty thermal sensor which drops performance significantly. There might also be a problem with your flash storage. Do the apple hardware test, reset the SMC and do some benchmarks.
 
ftrtrk said:
The base and back of the MBP are definitely pushing my comfort zone when I feel the heat.
Click to expand...
Use iStat Pro (free) or iStat Menus ($16) to get accurate readings of your battery, temps, fan speeds and much more. Don't rely on how hot it feels, as it's quite normal for Macs to be hot to the touch under heavy workloads.
 
An idea: Another MR user reported sluggish performance after encrypting with FV. He has a SanDisk SSD. His write speed was roughly halfed after encryption. This does not affect Samsung SSDs (I have one).
 
bma said:
Could you run geekbench on it so we can see a numeric representation of its performance?

It might be worth while running a disk speed test (Blackmagic is free on the app store) since a faulty SSD could cause slow performance too.
Click to expand...

Screen%20Shot%202013-01-03%20at%201.22.08%20PM.png
 
That's a good 1,000 less than I'd expect to see. I have the exact same machine here and this is the result:

Screen-Shot-2013-01-03-at-21.39.33.png


Tbh, I'd try doing a clean install of OS X. If that doesn't work, a trip to the Genius Bar may be in order - definitely sounds like it's throttling itself.
 
bma said:
That's a good 1,000 less than I'd expect to see. I have the exact same machine here and this is the result:

Tbh, I'd try doing a clean install of OS X. If that doesn't work, a trip to the Genius Bar may be in order - definitely sounds like it's throttling itself.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help. I'm thinking I'll make an appointment.

Here's the disk speed test :
DiskSpeedTest.png
 
Just saying - it's not healthy for the SSD if you keep running disk benchmarks.

Anyway, I bet it's throttling. Apple does a notoriously horrible job with thermal paste in all of their notebooks (I replaced my Mac's months ago). Under extended load, it's not unreasonable to assume that your processor is getting into the 90's and cutting back.

It could also be GPU throttling. Some applications supplement video encoding tasks with the GPU, so any throttling there would be felt in the time it takes to complete a long term task.
 
Compressor does not automatically use all cores (in fact it uses only one or two at most) unless configured in a cluster.

Did you configure compressor correctly?

Apple apps are TERRIBLE at multi core operations.
 
I would reset SMC, and just for good measure, clear the PRAM.

My rmbp was getting pretty hot running VMs for a while--like 80-95c, and it was slowing down. After resetting SMC, the most I have seen is 72c (with 3 VMs open and multiple spaces open, including 3 IDEs), and the speed improved.
 
I have a base 15" rMBP 2.3GHz 8GB RAM and scored 11080 on GB and 406/450 on BM. I'd take it in.
 
bma said:
That's a good 1,000 less than I'd expect to see. I have the exact same machine here and this is the result:

Tbh, I'd try doing a clean install of OS X. If that doesn't work, a trip to the Genius Bar may be in order - definitely sounds like it's throttling itself.
Click to expand...

1000 points can be accounted for by using the 64-bit version of Geekbench. You used the 64-Bit version, where as the OP might have only used 32-bit. I have the same exact same machine and get around the OP's score using 32-bit, and just over 13000 using 64-bit.
 
w00t951 said:
Just saying - it's not healthy for the SSD if you keep running disk benchmarks.
Click to expand...

So says the time traveler from 2008. ;)
In the present it does not matter one bit. If the SSD cant take it, it sucks. Buy one that can.\

1000 points in Geekbench does not explain the core2duo disparity. Rendering SD vs. HD would. Or H264 vs mpeg. Same footage, same codec, try again. The i7 will blast the core 2 a new one.
Core 2 @2.4GHz = 3200
Core i7 @2.3GHz = 11,000 (avg. 32-bit "Free GB version")
See the difference?
 
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bma said:
That's a good 1,000 less than I'd expect to see. I have the exact same machine here and this is the result:

Screen-Shot-2013-01-03-at-21.39.33.png


Tbh, I'd try doing a clean install of OS X. If that doesn't work, a trip to the Genius Bar may be in order - definitely sounds like it's throttling itself.
Click to expand...

No do not reinstall OS X as the average GeekBench score for the 2.6 i7 Retina is 11684, to drop a 1000 points on this type of test is not unknown. If you shutdown, restart close any start up apps you may well find the score improves.

Your machines issue is likely related to an application specific problem or throttling due to high temp. The Intel Power Monitor will give you a clear graphical picture of what is happening to the machine under load. Run the monitor, use Compressor as normal, you can then switch back to the Power Monitor, if your CPU frequency drops when the system is under heavy load then throttling is confirmed and you may have to look at ways to keep the system cooler or potentially return it to Apple.

See Intel Power Monitor below, classic throttling of a i7 MBP, CPU frequency and power demand drop in order to keep the CPU within thermal limits, net result is a reduction in performance. This is a Late 2011 15" 2.4 i7 MBP dropping from over 3GHZ to 2.3Ghz due to thermal management, during a video encode using Handbrake (multicore) this can result in as much as 30 - 40 fps reduction, significantly increasing the duration of the encode. As a comparison my other 15" MBP a base Retina does not throttle and will encode all day at 80 - 90 fps.
 

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