Sending back my rMBP for poor performance

I have the same computer, and it's super smooth.

Is your software up-to-date? Try resetting your SMC.

Seems like your model may be wonky, I've never really experienced anything you've described.

 

Have you upgraded to Mountain Lion? I also found that some screen visualizations with the computer were laggy, but Mountain Lion apparently optimized something because it's now buttery smooth. If you're still using Lion I'd recommend trying the OS upgrade before you decide to return the thing.

 

So do I, and I see the issues he reports - regarding jerkiness. I'm just not bothered by them - but I do see them.

Many people report the issue. I think some people are more annoyed by it than others. Every model I've seen has the same problem. The dGPU/iGPU are both underpowered for the display when you consider what OS X does to get the retina view. I doubt this will be resolved until the 2013 model with a hardware update.

Please note: I am extremely satisfied with my laptop. The jerkiness of screen switching and some of the other movements doesn't bother me. The primary purposes for me are software development and managing a global Windows network. It excels at both.

 

It is very very strange but it changes from machine to machine. I've exchanged three rmbp and 2nd one was the worst. Jerky, stuttery and slow, yes slow! Even with exact same configurations they are different. The one I have now has absolutely smooth graphics and no stuttering whatsoever. The fastest to all of them that I've had. So you might have one of those that are not working to their best performance and no resets or clean install will help, I tried it. Hopefully you will get another one that will work properly.

I guess that's why we see some people report their disappointments with laggy rmbp, and some are say to that what are you talking about, it is perfect! I've experienced it myself so now I know that not all of them are the same...

 

For the GUI animations, I recommend that you:

a) Autohide the dock
b) Show dock menus as lists and not as stacks. From what I can see, this causes a massive amount of UI lag.

The two suggestions given above were recommended in another MR thread. After changing them, absolutely all GUI lag has disappeared from my system. I can run on the battery at any res using IG.

The remaining lag I have is in Safari. It's extremely minor whilst scrolling most web pages at 1:1 scale. I can navigate from the top to the bottom of a page in a single trackpad swoosh for about 50% of sites I visit. An additional 30% are somewhat choppy and the last 20% are distinctly lagging. An example of somewhat choppy site: www.thesun.co.uk.

Regardless of the website, whilst zoomed in to a page, the lag becomes much more apparent (even when running on the mains using discrete graphics). I've tried the "zoomed in" scrolling on a 2012 cMBP and there is some lag there as well, although it seems less pronounced.

 

TRY THIS: even if you're gonna return it, reset the SMC.


Once in a while my rMBP gets laggy as hell (even with discrete chip), everything stutters, scrolling is horrible, I get 5fps on games, I go and reset the SMC and everything is smooth as butter, I cannot get it to lag. I have no clue what is causing it.

 

I dont doubt what you are stating, however what you are describing is totally bizarre; same hardware, same software load, yet completely different performance experiences across three separate machines. Same with the latest EFI update many are highlighting that their systems are throttling overly aggressively and killing performance, i don't game a lot these days yet once again my 2.3 with all the latest updates including EFI, yet Amnesia "The Dark Decent" plays perfectly with high settings with no signs of throttling, all very perplexing.

Personally i have a 2.3 base and it`s been really smooth since day one and simply got better with every update of the OS...

 

Most of the issue is completely gone with the latest software update. I see no lag switching to the Dashboard, and no lag when doing things like opening finder. There's a bit here and there on webpages, and such, but not to the extent he's experiencing. That's what I meant; that he seems to be experiencing it to an extreme level.

Shut down, then press (all at the same time) left shift, control, option, and power. Then, let go and press power again to boot.

 

Maybe my work habits are different. I run a lot of applications, 4 desktops, and 4 full screen apps. About 50% of the time there is lag switching desktops or going into Misson Control. This is on the latest updates, no VMs running (worse when I run a Win8 VM).

Applications usually running:
Xcode, 1-2 projects
Chrome
Mail
iTap, 2-3 remotes
Terminal, 3-4
Coda 2, 1 site
Textwranger, 1-5 documents
Preview, 2 eBooks
ForkLift
Numbers, 2-3 documents

None are heavy apps.

Also this is noticeable on all of the display models at the two Apple Stores local to my area.

 

Interesting, I'm running two CS6 programs, and a few full-screen Apple Programs, and I have no lag four-finger swiping between Apps/to the dashboard. As somebody else above said, it seems some machines are more/less prone to lag, even under the same workload. But different work habits are definitely a possibility for lag induction.

 

You guys should post whether you're using discrete or integrated graphics. The Intel HD4000 will lag with that high of a resolution, but the NVIDIA 650M shouldn't have any problem pushing 2D and some 3D applications.

Turning off Automatic Graphics Switching will keep the NVIDIA card activated at all times - it'll kill the battery, but when you're plugged in it'll eliminate any lag you have.

 

Did you try resetting the SMC? Power off. Press (left side shift) shift, control, option and power. Then turn it back on.

Reset the SMC

 

Well, if you've tried everything, and it doesn't work out for you, perhaps the best is to return it. We all have different work patterns and what's OK for one person might not be for another.

 

No, it won't damage any data.

 

Personally I find it hard to believe those that claim they see no lag in the UI with their rMBP, even with the latest OS X update and after resetting the SMC. Case in point.

Switching to desktops using the swipe or ctrl + left or right arrow = smooth
But put one application in desktop 1 and another application in desktop 2. Now cmd tab between them = jerky

I've the dock set to autohide. When I click on applications it's jerky. If I click again immediately afterwards, then it's smooth.

This is on the 2.6 GHz model and using the Nvidia 650M. Jerky scrolling is still a problem in both Chrome and Safari, but not as bad as it was back in Lion.

 

Instal windows in bootcamp, I experience NO lag in windows compared to OS X, it's clearly a driver issue.

 

Except that little problem of ridiculously aggressive throttling under load, which is even worse than in OS X.

 

I haven't noticed that at all. I find it throttles in OS X but not in Windows.

 

Same Build

We have the same build....Just got mine. I love it and runs great... Could just be a dud.... switch it out for a new one.