Hey everyone, I had an old post about this, but I kind of let it die because I got so busy with school and such. But I am still having a problem with a consistent stutter when playing games via bootcamp on a 13" MBP non retina. These games(skyrim, saints row 3, etc) used to work fine when I first got the computer. For at least the first year, if not the first two years they worked fine. Now, when I play a game every 2-3 seconds I get a stutter, eveything slows down for a second, and something skips. This makes games unplayable. I even have an SSD now, and it is still happening. Does anyone have any advice? I use Mac Fan control to keep fans on full blast, I have opened up the computer and cleaned everything out with a can of compressed air, and none of that seems to have helped. I have even tried Razr Cortex gaming booster, but no dice. Sometimes it is okay for a while, but after a few minutes of playing the stutter kicks in on any game, no matter what quality it is set to. (I used to run Skyrim on high no AA with no problems, now even on lowest settings it stutters.) I have tried reinstalling operating systems too, and that doesn't help either. I went into intel settings, changed everything towards performance, that didn't help. Is my internal GPU just fried or something? I can't explain it otherwise... Would appreciate any help...
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.
Stutter during games, non retina MBP 13"
- Thread starter pschwaab
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Does nobody read the post before answering?
Anyhow, could be what you say, that your gpu is starting to feel the age and is a little "fried"
Go on ahead and get an SSD. I'm not sure if your RAM is upgradeable but put 16 GB. They're available on Amazon. I don't know what a PRAM reset is, but I've heard others on here mention it so you can try that. Otherwise, take it into a Genius and see what they say.
Throttling.
GPU isn't fried. The thermal paste probably is, though (for lack of a better description.) If the GPU was fried, you'd have bigger/badder problems.
Re-apply the thermal paste. After you do, keep in mind that thermal paste needs some time to properly "cure" before its optimal performance can be noticed. So, be patient after you do it. Time to cure depends on the paste being used (i.e.: Arctic Silver 5 takes up to 200 hours of system use to cure.)
The other option is sell that system with full disclosure, and get a laptop that is better suited to gaming (I cringe to state that, because I personally believe that "laptop gaming" is an oxymoron of sorts.)
Thanks everyone for the replies, as stated I already have a SSD, I am thinking about upgrading the RAM to 16 gigs, but I am not sure whether or not that would help. As far as the thermal paste goes, I know what that is, as I built a computer for my little brother once, but I don't know where I would find that on my MBP. I'm a little hesitant to do that. I heard someone used a program called throttlestop to fix this kind of thing once, do you know how I would do that? Also, I have reset the PRAM several times, and no luck.
----------
I don't have a nvidia driver. I have intel integrated graphics intel HD 4000. Those are updated.
----------
I am a big fan of Macs. So I don't really want to spend a good amount of money on a windows laptop. I know it would play games better, but I am not ready to spend that kind of money on an operating system and hardware that hasn't treated me well in the past. I know Macs aren't really great for gaming, but some do it alright, and it isn't by any means a primary gaming machine. For video editing mostly. It would just be nice if I could get the games that used to work on it to work again. I don't know if throttlestop would help with that or not... or thermal paste.
----------
I don't have a nvidia driver. I have intel integrated graphics intel HD 4000. Those are updated.
----------
I am a big fan of Macs. So I don't really want to spend a good amount of money on a windows laptop. I know it would play games better, but I am not ready to spend that kind of money on an operating system and hardware that hasn't treated me well in the past. I know Macs aren't really great for gaming, but some do it alright, and it isn't by any means a primary gaming machine. For video editing mostly. It would just be nice if I could get the games that used to work on it to work again. I don't know if throttlestop would help with that or not... or thermal paste.
Long story short, you can't game on an integrated graphics card.
Even the GT 750M in the 15" rMBP is far better, even if it's already 2 years old.
16gb won't help
There is not a game on the market that ne4eds more than 8gb RAM.
The HD4000 is not really very good for gaming (on macs or PC's so platform makes no difference) Have you updated the games?? Changed the settings?? This may have an effect. Try turning off AA or effects or lowering the resolution.
There is not a game on the market that ne4eds more than 8gb RAM.
The HD4000 is not really very good for gaming (on macs or PC's so platform makes no difference) Have you updated the games?? Changed the settings?? This may have an effect. Try turning off AA or effects or lowering the resolution.
Right. I know integrated graphics aren't exactly ideal for gaming. That makes total sense. But like I said before, skyrim and saints row and other such games used to run fine on high settings with no AA or antriscopic filtering. I haven't updated settings since then. Same games, in fact, I have lowered the settings to the lowest they can be, and still get the stuttering effect.
Oooh
I bet you have updated your OSX version though... New drivers in new OSX. You could try downgrading back to the last version that it worked well on then see...
I bet you have updated your OSX version though... New drivers in new OSX. You could try downgrading back to the last version that it worked well on then see...
I have, but I doubt that would have changed much. Especially since the majority of stutters I see are in windows, bootcamp. Which hasn't really been updated.
I have no idea then
All I can think is clean it out and reapply thermal paste to get temps down and it may not throttle so much.
All I can think is clean it out and reapply thermal paste to get temps down and it may not throttle so much.
I'm hesitant to disconnect the motherboard and reapply the thermal paste, I have cleaned it with a can of compressed air already. Maybe I will call a local computer repair place and see how much they would charge to do it, as I don't consider myself experienced enough to do that without breaking something. I was hesitant enough in removing my optical drive and replacing it with a second hard drive.
Thanks for your help everyone, I'll post back here if I can find a good local repair shop.
Thanks for your help everyone, I'll post back here if I can find a good local repair shop.