tbMBP 13 lagging with 4K display

[mcomp112]

Hi all. Just picked up a base tbMBP 13 and connected it to the 27ud88 LG 4K monitor.

Everything is good except when playing multiple YouTube videos or when using Parallels. If I have more than 1-2 tabs playing high-res YouTube videos or when I have Parallels (Windows 10) open, the computer noticeably lags and stutters from time to time.

I know this computer can run two 4K monitors so I think I may be doing something wrong. Any advice?

Thanks in advance!

 

[keviig]

I experienced the same with the 13" tbMBP.
Got a 15" instead and it's all smooth now!
It might just be a bit much for the iGPU to handle without some stutters here and there.

 

[Hajzenberg]

Hi all. Just picked up a base tbMBP 13 and connected it to the 27ud88 LG 4K monitor.

Hey, I'm on the verge of buying 27UD88 (for nTB 13"), but I'm afraid of this disconnect issues.

Did you experience these kind of problems? And do you run scaled resolution or native 4k?

 

[jerryk]

Dual core CPU. It can only do one or two things at a time. The 15" has a more capable quad code CPU and GPU options that might be better for the workload you describe.

 

[WickedPorter]

I'm using a 4K display (BenQ 32" BL3201PH), hooked up with an Accell USB-C to DisplayPort 1.2 cable), also using the built-in display as a screen and another 1080p display with HDMI off the Apple USB-C multi-port adapter (three displays total). The 32" display is running at it's native 3840 x 2160 resolution, the 1080p also native 1920x1080, and built-in MacBook display at the maximum "more space" option (furthest right option).

This is with my non-touch 2016 model, 2.4Ghz i7 / 16GB RAM.

I have some issues mostly with Office 2016 applications in Parallels 12, disabling hardware acceleration in each individual Office application options fixes this, for the most part... still some issues here and there. I think Parallels may need to optimize their display code for all the pixels, and possibly allow a larger amount of video memory (above 2GB).

Natively/in MacOS, no issues to report, everything works fine.

 

[andy9l]

Hey, I'm on the verge of buying 27UD88 (for nTB 13"), but I'm afraid of this disconnect issues.

Did you experience these kind of problems? And do you run scaled resolution or native 4k?

Use that monitor with my rMB 2015 and haven't had a single hiccup.

Run it at 2560x1440 or 3008x1692 HiDPI scaling. It's not smooth at all times, though - far from it.

To use 4K or 5K display(s) with perfect smoothness, you will absolutely need a 15" MBP or iMac, regardless of what Apple might say. The under-clocked or thermal-throttled hardware Apple use simply is not powerful enough I'm afraid.

The 13" tbMBP should at least provide acceptable performance on a single 4K display for typical usage.

 

[mcomp112]

Hey, I'm on the verge of buying 27UD88 (for nTB 13"), but I'm afraid of this disconnect issues.

Did you experience these kind of problems? And do you run scaled resolution or native 4k?

The monitor works really well. Sharp with good colors and no issues whatsoever.
[doublepost=1484004109][/doublepost]

I'm using a 4K display (BenQ 32" BL3201PH), hooked up with an Accell USB-C to DisplayPort 1.2 cable), also using the built-in display as a screen and another 1080p display with HDMI off the Apple USB-C multi-port adapter (three displays total). The 32" display is running at it's native 3840 x 2160 resolution, the 1080p also native 1920x1080, and built-in MacBook display at the maximum "more space" option (furthest right option).

This is with my non-touch 2016 model, 2.4Ghz i7 / 16GB RAM.

I have some issues mostly with Office 2016 applications in Parallels 12, disabling hardware acceleration in each individual Office application options fixes this, for the most part... still some issues here and there. I think Parallels may need to optimize their display code for all the pixels, and possibly allow a larger amount of video memory (above 2GB).

Natively/in MacOS, no issues to report, everything works fine.

I'm running Office (acceleration turned off) & Visual Studio in Parallels with only three tabs open in Chrome. Experienced stutter as I scrolled down this page... 2.9/16gb//512gb

How is the 15 inch with your 4K display?

 

[Hajzenberg]

The under-clocked or thermal-throttled hardware Apple use simply is not powerful enough I'm afraid.

Yeah, I share the same opinion. I was thinking of running it at 4K native, and avoid another performance hit for gpu scaling.

If you have time, could you post a photo of desktop (or text document...) at 4k and 1440p scaled? Not sure if 4k is usable on 27".

 

[andy9l]

Yeah, I share the same opinion. I was thinking of running it at 4K native, and avoid another performance hit for gpu scaling.

If you have time, could you post a photo of desktop (or text document...) at 4k and 1440p scaled? Not sure if 4k is usable on 27".

I made this, unfortunately low quality, video the other day to demonstrate performance/scaling. I'll get some photos up, too.

 

[pshifrin]

I find the performance with my 13 inch 3.3/16/512 & Dell p2415q (60hz via USB-C to Display Port cable) at my office perfectly acceptable in normal day to day work. Safari, Chrome, light photoshop, lots of remote desktop sessions, terminal sessions, etc.

 

[WickedPorter]

The monitor works really well. Sharp with good colors and no issues whatsoever.
[doublepost=1484004109][/doublepost]

I'm running Office (acceleration turned off) & Visual Studio in Parallels with only three tabs open in Chrome. Experienced stutter as I scrolled down this page... 2.9/16gb//512gb

How is the 15 inch with your 4K display?

Yeah, I'm thinking Parallels could definitely be a bit better.

With this setup using the 15", I do notice a little better graphics performance in Parallels, but maybe marginally (?) - similar issues, again I think most of the blame needs to be put on Parallels; I think the Parallels guest display drivers could be optimized a bit more, but that's just a guess.

I actually use the 15" with dual Dell 24" P2415Q 4K displays in clamshell mode, and it works well as long as the scaling setting isn't too demanding; i.e. no scaling (running native 3840 x 2160) works fine, or if using scaling, the max I can go before Parallels starts to puke is the 1440p setting. Again, natively in MacOS, everything seems fine regardless of scaling setting, I only have display issues in Parallels (always full screen mode).

It may have something to do with the fact that I'm "dual scaling", this just sounds pretty demanding... i.e. I'm scaling on the host/within MacOS, and also scaling in Parallels in the Display Settings.

 

[Chrolm]

Just want to say thanks for this thread. I'm currently contemplating whether to return a 15" for a 13" - but if it can't drive a large monitor properly, never mind - I'll keep the 15" as I plan to go 4K in a couple months.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Hi all. Just picked up a base tbMBP 13 and connected it to the 27ud88 LG 4K monitor.

Everything is good except when playing multiple YouTube videos or when using Parallels. If I have more than 1-2 tabs playing high-res YouTube videos or when I have Parallels (Windows 10) open, the computer noticeably lags and stutters from time to time.

I know this computer can run two 4K monitors so I think I may be doing something wrong. Any advice?

Thanks in advance!

You are using parallels so only have one core and half your ram tops working to run a 4K screen I don't even want to know what virtualisation does for stressing an iGPU this way, yes you can only run 2 4K videos at once what did you expect from a thin light laptop with an iGPU??

Run one at a time is the answer you can only watch one at a time!!!

 

[Hajzenberg]

I made this, unfortunately low quality, video the other day to demonstrate performance/scaling. I'll get some photos up, too.

Thanks, this is really helpful!

 

[andy9l]

Just want to say thanks for this thread. I'm currently contemplating whether to return a 15" for a 13" - but if it can't drive a large monitor properly, never mind - I'll keep the 15" as I plan to go 4K in a couple months.

It can drive a "large" (high resolution) monitor properly, it just massively depends on your usage and scaling preference. If you're driving dual 4K displays and trying to edit in Final Cut on a 13", then you've bought the wrong product and the performance will be horrendous.

If you're using a 4K display for browsing and office app usage or simple photo editing, then the 13" should be fine. Hell, my 2015 1.1GHz rMB runs my 4K monitor pretty damn smoothly for such a weak device, especially if I leave it at native resolution with no scaling. The 13" tbMBP might drive two 4Ks with acceptable performance for basic usage (but with scaling set to ~1440p), but I remain slightly sceptical about that at this time.

I guess my point is, most people buying a £2,000 laptop are going to occasionally do things that push the processor quite hard. As I understand it, it's at these times that the display performance will likely be impacted, especially with scaling turned on (e.g. 1440p). For perfect smoothness regardless of task, your best bet is - quite obviously - the higher-end 15" tbMBP.

 

[mcomp112]

You are using parallels so only have one core and half your ram tops working to run a 4K screen I don't even want to know what virtualisation does for stressing an iGPU this way, yes you can only run 2 4K videos at once what did you expect from a thin light laptop with an iGPU??

Run one at a time is the answer you can only watch one at a time!!!

I'm not playing all the videos at the same time. Only one is ever playing at a time while the others are paused. I didn't know that would be enough to cause stuttering with Parallels open. And I make sure to pause Parallels whenever I can when I move back to MacOS...

It's a shame. I love the 13 inch form factor and the computer is absolutely amazing when not connected to a monitor. I'll be exchanging for a 15 inch. Will update this thread when I do!

 

[mcomp112]

Wanted to update this thread for anyone it might help in the future.

Picked up a 2.7/455/512GB 15 inch today. So far, 2 hours in, no issues with stuttering whatsoever. Everything is much snappier and smoother when connected to the monitor vs. my 13 inch touch bar. Off the monitor, Parallels performance is a bit faster on the 15 inch but nothing significant.

 

[pshifrin]

It can drive a "large" (high resolution) monitor properly, it just massively depends on your usage and scaling preference. If you're driving dual 4K displays and trying to edit in Final Cut on a 13", then you've bought the wrong product and the performance will be horrendous.

If you're using a 4K display for browsing and office app usage or simple photo editing, then the 13" should be fine.

Agree completely. My 13 3.3/16/512 drives my Dell p2415q at 4k 60hz via a cheap Amazon USB-C to Display Port cable beautifully; no lag or performance issues. The performance on the 5k (which I returned after a few hours) was massively different.