Extremely slow performance with Sierra!

[yalag]

Not sure what is going on, but my Mac Pro (2014) is really slow after the GM update. I can't really identify any specific process from activity monitor. It's as if everything is just slower across the board.

I've tried resetting the SMC and PVRAM and it helped a bit. But it's still noticeably slower than before.

It's most apparent when using the UI. It's sluggish just doing simple UI gesture, like scrolling a list, or clicking the fan in the dock etc.

Another great example is login. If I have 5-10 apps opened since last session, it's not uncommon now to take 10 minutes before the system is "logged in" and have everything loaded and ready to use.

It's almost as if, I lost 50% of my CPU power.

Any ideas?

 

[h9826790]

There is no 2014 Mac Pro, do you mean MacBook Pro?

 

[yalag]

There is no 2014 Mac Pro, do you mean MacBook Pro?

Sorry I forgot the exact year but basically the trash can latest version.

 

[h9826790]

I see, then something is very wrong. Do you install Sierra on the internal SSD? Or an external HDD?

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Is Spotlight indexing? That can slow down the normal UI gestures quite a bit! Check your Spotlight preferences (Preferences Pane) and see what drives (internal/external) are being indexed. You can also exclude drives from the Spotlight index.

Cheers

 

[yalag]

I see, then something is very wrong. Do you install Sierra on the internal SSD? Or an external HDD?

I installed it in the internal SSD. What is the best way to troubleshoot this? Is there a safe mode I can boot into?

 

[h9826790]

Yes, you can hold Shift during boot to enter safe mode.

 

[blasto2236]

Is Spotlight indexing? That can slow down the normal UI gestures quite a bit! Check your Spotlight preferences (Preferences Pane) and see what drives (internal/external) are being indexed. You can also exclude drives from the Spotlight index.

Cheers

This. Spotlight indexing will definitely slow down your system after an update, sometimes even for a few days. How long has this been ongoing?

 

[h9826790]

This. Spotlight indexing will definitely slow down your system after an update, sometimes even for a few days. How long has this been ongoing?

Spotlight indexing is just very light loading for the 2013 Mac Pro, even the baseline config. Unless there is something wrong in hardware (e.g. failing SSD), then the extreme huge amount of error correction operation may significantly slow down the whole system.

 

[Matt Leaf]

I noticed a photos process in the background, my guess is its to create the 'memories' feature.

 

[h9826790]

I noticed a photos process in the background, my guess is its to create the 'memories' feature.

Yes, it is. But it only take around 200% CPU usage. Not even close to half of the low end Xeon's capacity, should not cause this extreme slowness on the nMP.

 

[grahamperrin]

It's almost as if, I lost 50% of my CPU power.

Does kernel_task use more than expected?