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MacBook Pro 16" lagging when clicking/typing with integrated GPU but not with discreet GPU

baryon

baryon

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 3, 2009
3,906
2,979
I've had my 16" MBP for more than a year now and I've constantly had this problem: when typing, every few words, the computer will freeze for a split second. This leads to inadvertent typos as I think I made a mistake when I didn't. The same happens in Safari when clicking on Favorites: I will click, the computer will freeze for 4-5 seconds, after which the clicked item will load. It also happens when scrolling and doing all sorts of things related to the GUI.

All in all in terms of user experience, I get far more responsive typing on a Commodore 64. Unfortunately however, I currently can't afford a Commodore because I've spent all my money on this Mac. Until I can finally afford a computer that doesn't lag constantly, I have to find a workaround.

Maybe 32GB of RAM, an i9 with an 8GB GPU wasn't enough, but after saving up for 5 years this was all I could afford.
Integrated GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 630
Discreet GPU: AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB

If I turn off "Automatics graphics switching", then the problem immediately goes away. It only happens when the computer is using the integrated GPU. It seems the integrated GPU just can't handle the extremely power-intensive task of typing on a keyboard.

I've been running it on the discreet GPU for the past year but it gets extremely hot and loud, and will only last a few hours on battery so it is functionally a desktop computer.

I have the latest macOS and updates, but no updates have helped with the issue so far, but it's been a year so I'm guessing it's being ignored.

Anyone with a solution or tips?
 
The built in gpu is crap, some say it is related to the location where the computer was build…
If you dont mind more power consumption and more heat, just keep the dgpu running all the time
 
The UHD 630 on the 16" simply sucks. One of the big reasons of the frame drops is related to the high resolution screen of the 16".

Heck it's normal that this thing can't drive the 3072x1920 display.. Just try to browse in Reddit or Imgur and the whole thing goes crazy.

Hop on the Apple Silicon boat with us later this year..

Best tip I can give you is to work with it plugged in using the dGPU.
 
Wonder if it's a software bug.

FYI for those going "the high resolution display", I have no issues whatsoever with my Dell XPS13 which has a 4K display and the same UHD 630 iGPU.
 
It’s a macOS bug that has been coming and going for the last couple of years. Has nothing to do with the iGPU performance, contrary to the popular explanation. I was under impression that it was fixed in 2020, but apparently there are still some edge cases. You can try resetting the SMC and see whether it helps.
 
I can confirm this and it is crazy.

The only way to solve is forcing discrete graphics.

I think it is software problem too but guess it will never be solved...
 
make_mac_fast_again said:
Check if you are being thermally throttled. See here.
Click to expand...
This lag with integrated graphics occurs when temp is also ~60 degrees and CPU is way less than 100

I mean, as others, it lags also in idle when typing in terminal...

Of course with AMD GPU is completely smooth even with additional screen (FHD), while with Dynamic GPU it struggles also without external screen
 
empersance said:
This lag with integrated graphics occurs when temp is also ~60 degrees and CPU is way less than 100

I mean, as others, it lags also in idle when typing in terminal...

Of course with AMD GPU is completely smooth even with additional screen (FHD), while with Dynamic GPU it struggles also without external screen
Click to expand...
Okay so definitely not thermal problems.

Sometimes this can be caused by event taps on keyboard input. They are blocking so that if there is a delay in one of them then your keyboard input will be slow. If one is slow it will be removed though.

To see what event taps are installed:
Bash: 
osqueryi "select t.*, p.name as process_name from event_taps t join processes p on t.tapping_process = p.pid where enabled = true"
 
make_mac_fast_again said:
Okay so definitely not thermal problems.

Sometimes this can be caused by event taps on keyboard input. They are blocking so that if there is a delay in one of them then your keyboard input will be slow. If one is slow it will be removed though.

To see what event taps are installed:
Bash: 
osqueryi "select t.*, p.name as process_name from event_taps t join processes p on t.tapping_process = p.pid where enabled = true"
Click to expand...
Here it is, seems nothing strange but I don't know

Code: 
+---------+--------------+------------------------+----------------------+-----------------+---------------------+
| enabled | event_tap_id | event_tapped           | process_being_tapped | tapping_process | process_name        |
+---------+--------------+------------------------+----------------------+-----------------+---------------------+
| 1       | 1189641421   | LeftMouseDown          | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventLeftMouseUp       | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventRightMouseDown    | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventRightMouseUp      | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventMouseMoved        | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventLeftMouseDragged  | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventOtherMouseDown    | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventOtherMouseUp      | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventOtherMouseDragged | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 596516649    | EventKeyDown           | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 596516649    | EventKeyUp             | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 596516649    | EventFlagsChanged      | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1649760492   | LeftMouseDown          | 0                    | 535             | Tiles               |
| 1       | 1649760492   | EventLeftMouseUp       | 0                    | 535             | Tiles               |
| 1       | 1649760492   | EventLeftMouseDragged  | 0                    | 535             | Tiles               |
| 1       | 424238335    | EventKeyDown           | 0                    | 441             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 424238335    | EventKeyUp             | 0                    | 441             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 424238335    | EventFlagsChanged      | 0                    | 441             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 846930886    | EventKeyDown           | 0                    | 385             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 846930886    | EventKeyUp             | 0                    | 385             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 846930886    | EventFlagsChanged      | 0                    | 385             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
+---------+--------------+------------------------+----------------------+-----------------+---------------------+

What do you think?
 
empersance said:
Here it is, seems nothing strange but I don't know

Code: 
+---------+--------------+------------------------+----------------------+-----------------+---------------------+
| enabled | event_tap_id | event_tapped           | process_being_tapped | tapping_process | process_name        |
+---------+--------------+------------------------+----------------------+-----------------+---------------------+
| 1       | 1189641421   | LeftMouseDown          | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventLeftMouseUp       | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventRightMouseDown    | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventRightMouseUp      | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventMouseMoved        | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventLeftMouseDragged  | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventOtherMouseDown    | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventOtherMouseUp      | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1189641421   | EventOtherMouseDragged | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 596516649    | EventKeyDown           | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 596516649    | EventKeyUp             | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 596516649    | EventFlagsChanged      | 0                    | 574             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1649760492   | LeftMouseDown          | 0                    | 535             | Tiles               |
| 1       | 1649760492   | EventLeftMouseUp       | 0                    | 535             | Tiles               |
| 1       | 1649760492   | EventLeftMouseDragged  | 0                    | 535             | Tiles               |
| 1       | 424238335    | EventKeyDown           | 0                    | 441             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 424238335    | EventKeyUp             | 0                    | 441             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 424238335    | EventFlagsChanged      | 0                    | 441             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 846930886    | EventKeyDown           | 0                    | 385             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 846930886    | EventKeyUp             | 0                    | 385             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 846930886    | EventFlagsChanged      | 0                    | 385             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
+---------+--------------+------------------------+----------------------+-----------------+---------------------+

What do you think?
Click to expand...
Disable the Tiles app and see if it resolves. The others are system hooks. Tiles might also be a system hook though I’m not sure.
 
make_mac_fast_again said:
Disable the Tiles app and see if it resolves. The others are system hooks. Tiles might also be a system hook though I’m not sure.
Click to expand...
Yes Tiles is an app to pin windows at half screen, quarter ecc...

Disabled, lag on terminal (while writing stuff) and general annoying lag still present if Dynamic Switching is enabled.

It's a bug, 99% software i guess, that they have to solve
 
Mine is:

Code: 
+---------+--------------+------------------------+----------------------+-----------------+---------------------+
| enabled | event_tap_id | event_tapped           | process_being_tapped | tapping_process | process_name        |
+---------+--------------+------------------------+----------------------+-----------------+---------------------+
| 1       | 1540383426   | EventKeyDown           | 0                    | 803             | SiriNCService       |
| 1       | 1540383426   | EventKeyUp             | 0                    | 803             | SiriNCService       |
| 1       | 1540383426   | EventFlagsChanged      | 0                    | 803             | SiriNCService       |
| 1       | 1365180540   | LeftMouseDown          | 0                    | 87              | karabiner_grabber   |
| 1       | 1365180540   | EventLeftMouseUp       | 0                    | 87              | karabiner_grabber   |
| 1       | 1365180540   | EventRightMouseDown    | 0                    | 87              | karabiner_grabber   |
| 1       | 1365180540   | EventRightMouseUp      | 0                    | 87              | karabiner_grabber   |
| 1       | 1365180540   | EventMouseMoved        | 0                    | 87              | karabiner_grabber   |
| 1       | 1365180540   | EventLeftMouseDragged  | 0                    | 87              | karabiner_grabber   |
| 1       | 1365180540   | EventFlagsChanged      | 0                    | 87              | karabiner_grabber   |
| 1       | 1365180540   | EventScrollWheel       | 0                    | 87              | karabiner_grabber   |
| 1       | 1365180540   | EventOtherMouseDown    | 0                    | 87              | karabiner_grabber   |
| 1       | 1365180540   | EventOtherMouseUp      | 0                    | 87              | karabiner_grabber   |
| 1       | 1365180540   | EventOtherMouseDragged | 0                    | 87              | karabiner_grabber   |
| 1       | 1967513926   | LeftMouseDown          | 0                    | 613             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1967513926   | EventLeftMouseUp       | 0                    | 613             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1967513926   | EventRightMouseDown    | 0                    | 613             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1967513926   | EventRightMouseUp      | 0                    | 613             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1967513926   | EventMouseMoved        | 0                    | 613             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1967513926   | EventLeftMouseDragged  | 0                    | 613             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1967513926   | EventOtherMouseDown    | 0                    | 613             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1967513926   | EventOtherMouseUp      | 0                    | 613             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1967513926   | EventOtherMouseDragged | 0                    | 613             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 2044897763   | EventKeyDown           | 0                    | 613             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 2044897763   | EventKeyUp             | 0                    | 613             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 2044897763   | EventFlagsChanged      | 0                    | 613             | gamecontrollerd     |
| 1       | 1102520059   | LeftMouseDown          | 0                    | 519             | Magnet              |
| 1       | 1102520059   | EventLeftMouseUp       | 0                    | 519             | Magnet              |
| 1       | 1102520059   | EventLeftMouseDragged  | 0                    | 519             | Magnet              |
| 1       | 783368690    | EventKeyDown           | 0                    | 493             | Siri                |
| 1       | 783368690    | EventKeyUp             | 0                    | 493             | Siri                |
| 1       | 783368690    | EventFlagsChanged      | 0                    | 493             | Siri                |
| 1       | 1025202362   | EventKeyDown           | 0                    | 432             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 1025202362   | EventKeyUp             | 0                    | 432             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 1025202362   | EventFlagsChanged      | 0                    | 432             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 846930886    | EventKeyDown           | 0                    | 359             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 846930886    | EventKeyUp             | 0                    | 359             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
| 1       | 846930886    | EventFlagsChanged      | 0                    | 359             | ViewBridgeAuxiliary |
+---------+--------------+------------------------+----------------------+-----------------+---------------------+
 %

Edit: I disabled magnet and siri. It looks better now I guess, but I have to use it more to see.
 
Last edited:
Different issue, but related: my bluetooth magic keyboard/trackpad have to be switched on/off every few days or I get very similar behavior to what OP is experiencing -- crazy inconsistent input lag. Seems to be two different issues with similar symptoms, since OP has more issues than just input lag.
 
I will probably sell this machine soon as I've had it for 1.5 years and they still haven't fixed the issue and I cannot get used to it, it's just irritating. Using discreet graphics makes the computer run very hot and the battery drains very fast, and I'd prefer to not have to resort to that just to fix a software bug. Too bad there is no M1 MacBook Pro of this size.
 
baryon said:
I've had my 16" MBP for more than a year now and I've constantly had this problem: when typing, every few words, the computer will freeze for a split second. This leads to inadvertent typos as I think I made a mistake when I didn't. The same happens in Safari when clicking on Favorites: I will click, the computer will freeze for 4-5 seconds, after which the clicked item will load. It also happens when scrolling and doing all sorts of things related to the GUI.

All in all in terms of user experience, I get far more responsive typing on a Commodore 64. Unfortunately however, I currently can't afford a Commodore because I've spent all my money on this Mac. Until I can finally afford a computer that doesn't lag constantly, I have to find a workaround.

Maybe 32GB of RAM, an i9 with an 8GB GPU wasn't enough, but after saving up for 5 years this was all I could afford.
Integrated GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 630
Discreet GPU: AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB

If I turn off "Automatics graphics switching", then the problem immediately goes away. It only happens when the computer is using the integrated GPU. It seems the integrated GPU just can't handle the extremely power-intensive task of typing on a keyboard.

I've been running it on the discreet GPU for the past year but it gets extremely hot and loud, and will only last a few hours on battery so it is functionally a desktop computer.

I have the latest macOS and updates, but no updates have helped with the issue so far, but it's been a year so I'm guessing it's being ignored.

Anyone with a solution or tips?
Click to expand...
seems like 12.0.1 Monterey slightly fixes our issue, the longest lagging is about half the second
 
baryon said:
I've had my 16" MBP for more than a year now and I've constantly had this problem: when typing, every few words, the computer will freeze for a split second. This leads to inadvertent typos as I think I made a mistake when I didn't. The same happens in Safari when clicking on Favorites: I will click, the computer will freeze for 4-5 seconds, after which the clicked item will load. It also happens when scrolling and doing all sorts of things related to the GUI.

All in all in terms of user experience, I get far more responsive typing on a Commodore 64. Unfortunately however, I currently can't afford a Commodore because I've spent all my money on this Mac. Until I can finally afford a computer that doesn't lag constantly, I have to find a workaround.

Maybe 32GB of RAM, an i9 with an 8GB GPU wasn't enough, but after saving up for 5 years this was all I could afford.
Integrated GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 630
Discreet GPU: AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB

If I turn off "Automatics graphics switching", then the problem immediately goes away. It only happens when the computer is using the integrated GPU. It seems the integrated GPU just can't handle the extremely power-intensive task of typing on a keyboard.

I've been running it on the discreet GPU for the past year but it gets extremely hot and loud, and will only last a few hours on battery so it is functionally a desktop computer.

I have the latest macOS and updates, but no updates have helped with the issue so far, but it's been a year so I'm guessing it's being ignored.

Anyone with a solution or tips?
Click to expand...
Hey all! I've got a temporary solution that should work for anyone having this issue until a MacOS update comes out that fixes it. As it turns out, it definitely is an issue with what the scaled retina settings do for resolutions smaller than the native resolution of the display (in other words, every single one available).

How do I know this? Well, Download EasyRes from the app store. This app lets you choose any resolution you want beyond what's available in system preferences, and it actually lets you run non-scaled resolutions. They aren't quite as sharp as the retina ones, but this fixed the sluggish issue for me. You can even set it to the native resolution of the panel and get a stupid amount of screen real estate, if you so desire.

It's not perfect, but it's a pretty reasonable workaround. Hope this helps!
 
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djdproductions324 said:
Hey all! I've got a temporary solution that should work for anyone having this issue until a MacOS update comes out that fixes it. As it turns out, it definitely is an issue with what the scaled retina settings do for resolutions smaller than the native resolution of the display (in other words, every single one available).

How do I know this? Well, Download EasyRes from the app store. This app lets you choose any resolution you want beyond what's available in system preferences, and it actually lets you run non-scaled resolutions. They aren't quite as sharp as the retina ones, but this fixed the sluggish issue for me. You can even set it to the native resolution of the panel and get a stupid amount of screen real estate, if you so desire.

It's not perfect, but it's a pretty reasonable workaround. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Awesome find! This is really interesting. In EasyRes, what exact resolution do I have to choose to fix the issue? There are so many I'm not sure which one is supposed to work.
 
baryon said:
Awesome find! This is really interesting. In EasyRes, what exact resolution do I have to choose to fix the issue? There are so many I'm not sure which one is supposed to work.
Click to expand...
All of the 1x resolutions will work, in my case I chose to go with 2304x1440 @60Hz. It's essentially 2/3 the resolution of the native panel, but with the 1x scaling it actually gives you more screen real estate than the highest retina setting, so that's a bonus! Looks plenty sharp too, in my opinion. With the resolutions lower than that, you can tell it's not as sharp, but I found this one to be a great option for me.
 
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I just executed these commands in the terminal to turn off some system animations
Code: 
defaults write -g NSAutomaticWindowAnimationsEnabled -bool false
defaults write -g NSScrollAnimationEnabled -bool false
defaults write -g NSWindowResizeTime -float 0.001
defaults write -g QLPanelAnimationDuration -float 0
defaults write -g NSScrollViewRubberbanding -bool false
defaults write -g NSDocumentRevisionsWindowTransformAnimation -bool false
defaults write -g NSToolbarFullScreenAnimationDuration -float 0
defaults write -g NSBrowserColumnAnimationSpeedMultiplier -float 0
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier -float 0
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-delay -float 0
defaults write com.apple.dock expose-animation-duration -float 0
defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-show-duration -float 0
defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-hide-duration -float 0
defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-page-duration -float 0
defaults write com.apple.finder DisableAllAnimations -bool true
defaults write com.apple.Mail DisableSendAnimations -bool true
defaults write com.apple.Mail DisableReplyAnimations -bool true
and then updated macos to 13.2.1 and the issue is gone for me
 
For me changing refresh rate to 47hz solved the problem. Seems to be 630HD cant handle higher than 47fps
 
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