Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Performance is weak?
- Thread starter juantoothree4
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The performance of my macbook has been better. I have not experience any stuttering but just on the occasional time only. I don't know why it was stuttering before while I do my daily internet browsing with 10-20 windows open, itunes, videos.. I've been using this on the latest Maverick update. It may have been because of the older version is why the performance was weak. But I don't believe that that version was the cause, I don't think it should be. So I'm still a little skeptical. Maybe it's because of using Google Chrome, because I have read that Mac runs safari as good as windows runs chrome.
About my internet, I am new to using wireless. Although I am sure that the stutters on the video I have experienced earlier was not because of my internet. I'm sure it was of performance issue. What I meant is that my internet wireless would fail for 3-5 minutes, so my playback on videos would be completely cut-off for that duration, but it wouldn't stutter. So that is why I don't think my internet was the issue for the performance.
EDIT: Made new thread for different topic.
About my internet, I am new to using wireless. Although I am sure that the stutters on the video I have experienced earlier was not because of my internet. I'm sure it was of performance issue. What I meant is that my internet wireless would fail for 3-5 minutes, so my playback on videos would be completely cut-off for that duration, but it wouldn't stutter. So that is why I don't think my internet was the issue for the performance.
EDIT: Made new thread for different topic.
Last edited:
The problems you were experiencing before WAS due to OSX Mountain Lion. Mountain Lion was not enhanced for rMBP's 13" or 15" models. Maverick's introduced many enhancements and UI stability fixes. I too purchased a refurbished 15" mid 2012 15" rMBP last August for $1599 and I actually sent it back just before my 2 weeks was up, because I couldn't stand the scroll lag just by simply browsing the web. The dock was also laggy unless I was using the 650M. It just killed the experience for me even though the retina screen was so beautiful. But after doing more research, I ordered another one about a week later and downloaded a developer copy of Maverick's to see if that would fix my issues, and it did. I'm so glad I kept it the second time around.
Thanks for that tip, but after trying the above, I would say WiFi Explorer is worth £1.99 of anybody's money, unless they never use wifi.
I don't know what you are doing wrong. Maybe not close the wizard before you hit CMD+2. I wrote that in the wrong sequence, I just meant to say that the wizard doesn't matter and should be ignored. CMD+2 is just a short cut you can also go with the mouse up to the menu bar click on Window and select Utilities.
I don't have time to read through the entire thread in great detail, but here's my response to the main concerns in the original post.
Firstly, modern versions of OS X use the RAM much more extensively in order to enhance overall system performance. This is mainly in the form of a file cache, so recently used (or commonly used) files are loaded into the memory so that they are loaded extremely fast when called upon. This goes along with the popular philosophy that "unused RAM is wasted RAM". If an application needs the space and its files aren't already cached, the cache will surrender its occupied memory to make room for it. In other words, it's normal for RAM usage to be high on OS X, even if you've got loads of RAM.
OS X Mavericks' enhanced Activity Monitor shows the above with much great clarity (see attached image, especially the info on the right). You can see that most of my 16GB gets used, even when the machine is idling (10GB used in the screen shot).
Secondly, from my experience with MacBook Pros with Retina display (I owned a 15" model for a few months and I'm also training as a technician at an Apple Authorised Service Provider), I've found that they require SMC (System Management Controller) resets at relatively frequent intervals. It's probably a firmware issue, but I found that these machines will sometimes slow down significantly in terms of graphics performance, such as with OP's Counter-Strike example. This is likely due to the SMC throttling performance when it shouldn't be; a reset will fix this, at least temporarily.
To perform an SMC reset, shut the MacBook Pro down and plug it into the mains power (if it isn't already). Unplug all peripheral devices. With the machine powered off, press (on left side) Shift + Ctrl + Alt + Power *simultaneously* for about a second and then release. Start the computer up as normal.
SMC reset support document: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
I hope this info helps!
Firstly, modern versions of OS X use the RAM much more extensively in order to enhance overall system performance. This is mainly in the form of a file cache, so recently used (or commonly used) files are loaded into the memory so that they are loaded extremely fast when called upon. This goes along with the popular philosophy that "unused RAM is wasted RAM". If an application needs the space and its files aren't already cached, the cache will surrender its occupied memory to make room for it. In other words, it's normal for RAM usage to be high on OS X, even if you've got loads of RAM.
OS X Mavericks' enhanced Activity Monitor shows the above with much great clarity (see attached image, especially the info on the right). You can see that most of my 16GB gets used, even when the machine is idling (10GB used in the screen shot).
Secondly, from my experience with MacBook Pros with Retina display (I owned a 15" model for a few months and I'm also training as a technician at an Apple Authorised Service Provider), I've found that they require SMC (System Management Controller) resets at relatively frequent intervals. It's probably a firmware issue, but I found that these machines will sometimes slow down significantly in terms of graphics performance, such as with OP's Counter-Strike example. This is likely due to the SMC throttling performance when it shouldn't be; a reset will fix this, at least temporarily.
To perform an SMC reset, shut the MacBook Pro down and plug it into the mains power (if it isn't already). Unplug all peripheral devices. With the machine powered off, press (on left side) Shift + Ctrl + Alt + Power *simultaneously* for about a second and then release. Start the computer up as normal.
SMC reset support document: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
I hope this info helps!
Attachments
About wireless diagnostics. You have to press CMD+2 while the wizard is still open (before closing it). Shows good infos that I was never aware of when using my old PC.
My macbook pro is definitely faster now on Maverick than it used to on the previous version. I don't notice any more hangs when using, and have been keeping an eye on the activity monitor, it is true that it shows all is being used up, but the performance was still fine.
It seems kinda bad if I would have to perform an SMC reset on a frequent basis on my MBP. I hope I won't have to do that. I've read the support page about it. It says some indicators if I do have to do an SMC reset. Do I really have to do this maintenance every after a certain amount of time?
Thank you for the tips guys! It has been really informative and helpful as a new Mac user.
My macbook pro is definitely faster now on Maverick than it used to on the previous version. I don't notice any more hangs when using, and have been keeping an eye on the activity monitor, it is true that it shows all is being used up, but the performance was still fine.
It seems kinda bad if I would have to perform an SMC reset on a frequent basis on my MBP. I hope I won't have to do that. I've read the support page about it. It says some indicators if I do have to do an SMC reset. Do I really have to do this maintenance every after a certain amount of time?
Thank you for the tips guys! It has been really informative and helpful as a new Mac user.
No, only as-required, I have done 1 in 3yrs.
WiFi will never match the data speed of your internet connection unless your internet connection is REALLY poor so if you are having download/streaming issues the first step is to connect via a cable and turn off WiFi on the MBP, then retest.
Ok. Haha that sounds good.
Yeah, Wi-Fi has really been bad for every Wi-Fi users in this house. I think we just have a terrible router. I am eyeing on the Refurbished Airport Extreme to buy for an upgrade. Seems like a good investment if like 5 people here are using Wi-Fi, but I do not know much about it yet.
Yeah, Wi-Fi has really been bad for every Wi-Fi users in this house. I think we just have a terrible router. I am eyeing on the Refurbished Airport Extreme to buy for an upgrade. Seems like a good investment if like 5 people here are using Wi-Fi, but I do not know much about it yet.
Try checking what channel the router is using, what channels other WiFi networks are using around you, it may just be interference. If it is try manually selecting a channel not in use around you.
WiFi networks are killed by interference, distance and multi-user....
When I say 'relatively frequently', I only mean perhaps a little more than normal (again, just going from my experience). So what's 'normal'? It's normally something that you shouldn't need to worry about, but it's useful to understand what the SMC does and how to reset it. It's often the first thing to reset if your hardware is misbehaving, such as when performance is slow for no apparent reason.
In the case of the MacBook Pro with Retina display, I suspect that it's something along the lines of a power saving state being induced when it shouldn't. For example, slower performance than normal when gaming or video editing.
In summary, SMC resets shouldn't be necessary very often at all (you may never need to do it), but it's an easy fix for the more common performance issues!
P.S. For those who don't know, the System Management Controller controls power regulation and cooling in Intel-based Macs. Its main goal is to keep the machine running safely and quietly.
Ok good to know, thank you! Sorry english is not my native language.
@simonsi Hi. I am not sure what you are pertaining to. I am not really good at this. I have checked the Wireless Diagnostics... it says the channel is: 6(2.4GHz). I am not sure what this means. I don't know how to check other WiFi networks around me are using, they have their own passwords to their WiFis? I don't know how to manually select channel neither. If you mean what channel someone else using the same WiFi connection is, the other MB in this house is also on channel 6.
@simonsi Hi. I am not sure what you are pertaining to. I am not really good at this. I have checked the Wireless Diagnostics... it says the channel is: 6(2.4GHz). I am not sure what this means. I don't know how to check other WiFi networks around me are using, they have their own passwords to their WiFis? I don't know how to manually select channel neither. If you mean what channel someone else using the same WiFi connection is, the other MB in this house is also on channel 6.
The channel is set on the modem/router. If your network is transmitting on the same channel as another WiFi network that you can detect then you will have interference on your channel which will affect your connection and throughput speed. All devices on your WiFi network will be on the same channel, that is fine.
You will need to install a WiFi monitor, there are several free ones that will tell you which channels are being used, then consult your modem/router manual and alter the WiFi channel to a vacant one - it doesn't change your WiFi network name or password.
Edited to add I use "Wifi Radar" think it was free...
Last edited:
Safari normally uses HTML5 instead of Flash for video. It's faster.
It depends. MacOS is actually much lighter on system resources than Windows is. But this is an older model of laptop (8GM of RAM isn't enough anymore), and no laptop is going to be able to match desktop performance at the same price point. Not only is your processor slow, but thermal throttling will slow it down further if you're doing anything heavy with it for more than a few minutes.
But to generalize, if the apps that you're running use a GPU (games and such), then they will usually run up to 50% faster under Windows because that's what every GPU manufacturer optimizes for, and Apple hasn't shipped good nVidia GPUs in close to a decade. For everything else, performance is usually comparable to Windows, or even better. Particularly when it comes to disk operations. When you run out of RAM and have to page out to disk, you'll notice that MacOS is a lot faster and more responsive.