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Macbook Pro 16 inch lag issues (video & while typing)
- Thread starter Marshall N. Nguyen
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I understand the difference when stuttering occur when doesn’t. I have encoded a few serial numbers of the same model. And the model that was manufactured Date of manufacture= China Week 50 of 2020 *Quanta Computer Subsidiary doesn’t have Intel GPU Stuttering. Other laptops that were manufactured at week 49 of 2019 have such stuttering
I have encoded serial numbers of macs that work normally and serial numbers of macs which have microfreezes. If you ask how - in the internet many services which can decode such info as model/factory manufacture date by serial number
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This issue still exists.
Just open Photo Booth, record video, and somewhere in the first 10 seconds the video will hitch for about a second. This hitch will be recorded into the video file so you can share it with Apple Support or easily demonstrate the issue to the techs at the Apple store. I'm no expert but based on what I've read I believe it's an issue with iGPU to dGPU handoff and has nothing to do with hardware. In my case, it can be solved by using gfxCardStatus, but that's not an acceptable compromise.
I own the i9 Macbook Pro 16" and have spent hours on the phone with Apple Support troubleshooting it. Have done multiple fresh installs and reset PRAM and NVRAM. Sent it in for repair, and the repair center "could not replicate the issue." I took it to the store, showed them the problem, and they replaced the logic board and touch ID. Booted it up, same problem. They suggested a display replacement and I agreed to it. For what it's worth, the techs at the store were super understanding and in agreement that this was an issue.
Out of curiosity, I checked a display model at the store. It had the same problem.
Obviously this is not OK--none of us paid top dollar for Apple's premier laptop expecting the compromise of either a computer that is laggier than a half-decade old computer, or, if you disable GPU switching, a laptop with a 2 hour battery life. I wouldn't have knowingly bought either of those.
Numerous users have escalated this issue with Apple, and as far as I can tell, they are continuing to knowingly sell a defective computer. I encourage you all that are still under warranty or Applecare+ to pursue this enough that it discourages them from releasing broken products in the future, or --even better!-- fixing the ones we already own. I would really love this computer if it worked.
Just open Photo Booth, record video, and somewhere in the first 10 seconds the video will hitch for about a second. This hitch will be recorded into the video file so you can share it with Apple Support or easily demonstrate the issue to the techs at the Apple store. I'm no expert but based on what I've read I believe it's an issue with iGPU to dGPU handoff and has nothing to do with hardware. In my case, it can be solved by using gfxCardStatus, but that's not an acceptable compromise.
I own the i9 Macbook Pro 16" and have spent hours on the phone with Apple Support troubleshooting it. Have done multiple fresh installs and reset PRAM and NVRAM. Sent it in for repair, and the repair center "could not replicate the issue." I took it to the store, showed them the problem, and they replaced the logic board and touch ID. Booted it up, same problem. They suggested a display replacement and I agreed to it. For what it's worth, the techs at the store were super understanding and in agreement that this was an issue.
Out of curiosity, I checked a display model at the store. It had the same problem.
Obviously this is not OK--none of us paid top dollar for Apple's premier laptop expecting the compromise of either a computer that is laggier than a half-decade old computer, or, if you disable GPU switching, a laptop with a 2 hour battery life. I wouldn't have knowingly bought either of those.
Numerous users have escalated this issue with Apple, and as far as I can tell, they are continuing to knowingly sell a defective computer. I encourage you all that are still under warranty or Applecare+ to pursue this enough that it discourages them from releasing broken products in the future, or --even better!-- fixing the ones we already own. I would really love this computer if it worked.
The iGPU on the 16" has a lot of issues. I'm 99% sure it's not the iGPU itself but Apple's driver or render implementation. The UHD630 had stutter issues in some Dell XPS machines, but that was fixed by a new Intel Driver (this was like a year ago).
It's clear that Apple doesn't care about their "old" and "outdated" Intel machines anymore. My 16" also has various performance issues when on the iGPU, but not in the AMD GPU.
Talked to Apple. Several hoops to jump through like clean re-install, and other stuff. None solved anything.
Their solution: Just run it on the AMD GPU all the time. Yeah, thank you Apple... for nothing.
It's clear that Apple doesn't care about their "old" and "outdated" Intel machines anymore. My 16" also has various performance issues when on the iGPU, but not in the AMD GPU.
Talked to Apple. Several hoops to jump through like clean re-install, and other stuff. None solved anything.
Their solution: Just run it on the AMD GPU all the time. Yeah, thank you Apple... for nothing.
2.4GHz 8 Core i9 2TB 64GB RAM 5500M 8GB 16" Macbook Pro
Stutters when typing...
I can't believe I wasted this much money on a Machine that can't type. I can't even switch to Windows because I have to compile iOS apps. Think of the laptop I could have bought with $4700?? Pains me.
Stutters when typing...
I can't believe I wasted this much money on a Machine that can't type. I can't even switch to Windows because I have to compile iOS apps. Think of the laptop I could have bought with $4700?? Pains me.
Is this related to the MBP16 crashing when using it with an external monitor? The computer will hit a point where it just ***** the bed and, freezes and shuts down.
It sucks cause the $999 M1 Air is a better mac in terms of snappiness and has buttery smoothUI.
I too have a base model 16" and I get very annoyed when the M1 Air outperforms the 16" in most cases.
Battery life
better GPU than the iGPU
I have i7 model, so even the cpu is better
and its also MUCH MUCH quieter
M1 is cooler than my 16"
I am eagerly waiting for the 16" Apple Sillion Mac.
Do you know of any way to improve the performance on these GPUs so they are usable with the screen open in dual monitors?
Use another OS instead of macOS. Apple controls drivers for macOS and doesn't want anyone else to supply them. They don't care about updating them for their "old" machines.
The Intel GPU is not that bad. It should be enough for most cases. But Apple's drivers are garbage. With the release of the M1, I wouldn't wait for any improvements on any Intel machine.
Either you can live with it, or sell it while it still has value. When a 15"/16" Apple Silicon MacBook is out, the value of your 16" will very likely drop significantly.
When you have a device, and it's not performing well. Don't expect that to be fixed. Selling a new machine is more profitable than fixing the old one. Apple has their name and their loyal fanbase. They can almost do what they want and people will applaud.
/rant
So the spouse's Windows laptop is dying. I think to myself, aside from her laptop, she's ensconced in the Apple ecosystem, just streams video and browses the Internet, so a used 2019 i7 MBP 16" would provide her with a nice display and smooth-as-silk video playback for a decent price. Got one in cherry condition for $1100. Yesterday she sez to me she sez, "the video keeps stuttering." A quick search yields this thread. Turning off graphics switching has helped a lot, but I assume battery run-time will tank. Plus, the audio is also stuttering. FWIW, this is on Monterey, so clearly Apple has thrown their best minds toward fixing this years-old issue. SMH. The good news is that $1100 is less than Apple's current trade-in value, so if I want to plonk down $2500 for an M1 unit, that would "work." Then again, so would a Chromebook. We'll see what battery life is like and how hot it now runs, then go from there. Sigh.
Well, two of 'em, b/c if she's getting one, then by God so am I. I had actually bought an MBP M1 13 earlier this year, but returned it because the display was too small. Well, that's no longer an issue.
I've been using this machine for exactly two years now and no, the stuttering issue has never been fixed and I doubt it ever will. The only solution is to use discreet graphics but then of course the computer needs to be plugged in 24/7 as the battery only lasts 2-3 hours at most and generates a lot of heat.
Unfortunately it seems that an i9 with turbo boost, 32 GB of RAM and two graphics cards is just not up to the task of typing or playing YouTube videos. I mean I was being cheap and only paid $4500 for this computer, so I guess I got what I paid for!
This issue is clearly a result of the throttling Apple is doing to the iGPU. If I open a video in quicktime and play it, I can see the frequency of my iGPU increase and my typing performance immediately gets better. This is so disgusting. I spent 2 hours on the phone night before last with a senior tech explaining the issue, but I have no doubt that Apple will completely ignore the problem.
I just gave up on ever expecting a resolution. Apple Support was an utter waste of time. I sold my 16 inch and bought a 14 inch MBP instead. From the worst computer I've ever owned to the best. You'll probably lose some money in the process but if you can afford to, I'd recommend just switching to a better machine.
True, but given the absolutely abysmal sales value of the intel 16" mbp, I'm gonna loose a whole lotta money doing that. Really has been such a huge letdown though. Unbelievable hot garbage really. I'm tired of all the problems. The hot, noisy operation when on an external monitor. The fact that my battery is so bad the senior tech was shocked (but not bad enough that he can do anything about it quite yet). The typing lag on the iGPU. The myriad of issues with my upgrade to Monterey. It's all just so absolutely infuriating. This is a maxed-out machine that cost ~$4500. It should friggin' type.
Phew, I was worried with my M1 Pro 16” but then realized the problems in this topic are only for the Intel 16”! Hooray!!
All hail Apple’s M processors!
All hail Apple’s M processors!
