Problem? with my new Unibody MBP 13" regarding performance in games?

[PowerGamerX]

Ok I'm pretty sure this goes here. If not, I'm sorry.

Well anyway, I got this MBP about 3 or 4 weeks ago. It runs great so far, but when I play a game, it will run fine, then about 10 to 15 minutes after I start, the performance will drop below 50% of what it was, then 10 minutes later, it seems to speed up again.

I've also noticed it seems to kick up performance again once the fan comes on.

So is this normal or some odd coincidence. Also, is there anyway I could prevent this period of low performance from happening.

Any help would be appreciated

-RJ

 

[applebook]

It sounds to me like your MBP is overheating. Have you tried smcFanControl? If not, install it and manually crank the fans up to max before running a game.

 

[Sace]

I would get it checked, a brand new computer should'nt overheat!

I've played MW2 for hours, and never had any problems with my 13"

 

[iLog.Genius]

If performance comes and goes based on what the fan is doing, I would say it's because of heat. Depending on which MacBook Pro you have, your fan might come on sooner than others. For example, my Late-2008 MacBook Pro, the fan will kick in around 70 C whereas later MacBook Pro's tend to kick in much hotter (that's what some of the users here are stating). I guess your only options are to either get a cooling mat or install fan control software that was already mentioned above.

 

[Dan73]

Does sound like something is overheating and downclocking.

I'd use fan control. Put the settings you want, and forget about it.

My settings

Base: 1800
Fan start increasing: 55c
Fans at max: 75c

 

[PowerGamerX]

Its the base 13" model.

Ill try the fan control and see. Would I be able to return and get another one?

I'll also post the temperatures it seems to start at as I've downloaded iStat.

 

[PowerGamerX]

Okay it topped at 84 Celsius (which is somewhere around 180 Fahrenheit i think) which I know is not overheating but isn't terribly good either. Should I take it into Apple or what?

 

[iLog.Genius]

That's normal per Apple spec. It'll be hard for you to go in and say "hey, my fans start to spin at 84 C, there might be something wrong.". I don't think anyone knows when they're suppose to really spin up since everyone's computer varies, some start spinning at 70 C while others start as high as 90 C. Your best bet is to install Fan Control and see if that helps you out.

 

[PowerGamerX]

It's not the fact that it hits 84c its the fact that it de-throttles so much. 84c is definitely warm but for sure not overheating.

Oh well, otherwise its perfect (no lightbleed, dead pixels, flaws in anodization, alignment). I guess I can live with a short time of 5fps in WoW and Bioshock

 

[Dan73]

It's not the fact that it hits 84c its the fact that it de-throttles so much. 84c is definitely warm but for sure not overheating.

Oh well, otherwise its perfect (no lightbleed, dead pixels, flaws in anodization, alignment). I guess I can live with a short time of 5fps in WoW and Bioshock

Well the processors uses SpeedStep, it could be that the processor downclocks while you're playing then jumps back up.

Try downloading CoolBook and watching the clock speed while you play and see if it drops when your FPS drops. I know for a fact that in one game I will get 60 fps but if my processor drops down to 768mhz setting then fps will drop down to 30.