Ram is slowing my MBP down

[GoOilersEh]

I currently have a base mid-2015 MBP 15"

I am kind of a rookie at the hardware side of things.. and was wondering how to free up some ram when im pretty much used up.
Afaik my ram is slowing down my gaming experience esp when i play league of legends and also when i run GGpoker for some reason..even tho any other poker site is fine. (all at separate times obv) So what can i do? ive tried resetting my whole mbp to factory settings and then only downloading lol and it still runs at low fps with the fans going at full speed. what are my options?

 

[chabig]

Trying to "free up some RAM" should not be a goal of yours. Don't try to manage RAM. That's not something that you, the user, needs to concern yourself with. The operating system does that. A good operating system, like macOS, will use all of the RAM you can through at it. To not use it would be wasteful.

The speed of your computer is primarily driven by how fast the processor is and how fast it can move data around. Hard drives are slow by modern standards, so if you still have one, replace it with an SSD today. After that's done, there is nothing you can do to make your Mac faster except to replace it with a faster one.

 

[Audit13]

The speed of your computer is primarily driven by how fast the processor is and how fast it can move data around. Hard drives are slow by modern standards, so if you still have one, replace it with an SSD today. After that's done, there is nothing you can do to make your Mac faster except to replace it with a faster one.

The OP has a retina 15" with a PCIe 3.0 bus running a ssd.

 

[chabig]

Roger that. Then I'd say his only option is to buy a new machine. The mid-2015 machine nearly five years old now.

 

[GoOilersEh]

So assuming what you guys are all saying, if i buy a new MBP with all the same specs and use time machine to transfer all the same data and files, it will run alot better/smoother?

and if so...what would be the benefit of buying 32gb of ram compared to 16? what will be the difference?

also whats the cause of my computer slowing down over time? is it due to the computer receiving heat for 5 years? or just files just getting bigger over time, therefore requiring better processors and ****?

 

[glenthompson]

Time for Activity Monitor. Start it and then run your programs. Run until it starts slowing down then look at what activity monitor shows. If memory pressure is in the green you don’t have a memory problem. See how the cpu loads are.

 

[Yvan256]

Could be a dusty system, airflow is partially blocked so the CPU and/or GPU keeps being throttled to a lower speed.

 

[GoOilersEh]

Could be a dusty system, airflow is partially blocked so the CPU and/or GPU keeps being throttled to a lower speed.

what would be a way of fixing this?

 

[DeltaMac]

You can check for dust, etc, around the fans by removing the bottom cover. The fans are fairly easy to clear out then.

 

[GoOilersEh]

You can check for dust, etc, around the fans by removing the bottom cover. The fans are fairly easy to clear out then.

Is it ok for the average man to do this or should i get a repair shop to do this?
[automerge]1587352538[/automerge]

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Is it ok for the average man to do this or should i get a repair shop to do this?
[automerge]1587352538[/automerge]

Average person can do it. Just open it up and blow off the dust with compressed air. Only thing is be careful to not let the fan spin while you are blowing air at it.

Also see if you have enough free storage left on your SSD. 16GB of memory should not be a problem for most modern games, let along LoL. There is something called virtual memory where the system will essentially use the hard drive as (very slow) RAM once physical memory runs out. If you don't have a lot of free storage left on the SSD it will be even slower to swap data back and forth. This is usually why a computer stutters with too many open browser tabs.

 

[DeltaMac]

Check out how to remove the bottom cover - https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBoo...Display+Mid+2015+Lower+Case+Replacement/55914
You DO need the right tool - a P5 pentalobe screwdriver. That tool is available to buy on that guide page.
(Don't pay a repair shop for something that you can handle)

 

[GoOilersEh]

Thank you guys...you are the best..will clean the fans and report back

 

[GoOilersEh]

Oh k...did a little cleaning and nothing much has changed...its obv not my ram as i have checked enough times...it gets high as ~11.5-12 gb of ram in use at times.

i am curious as to what the numbers on activity monitor mean. i would appreciate the help

 

[New_Mac_Smell]

Just look at the memory pressure graph, it goes from green to red. If your system is struggling it would be red. As it stands, your graph shows it's struggling to use the available RAM - meaning you're not taxing the system at all.

In basic, apps use RAM to store temporary information for the CPU to run calculations, things like undo-history or anything that doesn't need be permanently saved. So the OS gives apps plenty of RAM so they have room, otherwise it would constantly be at the limit and you'd get stuttering.

When you open more apps that demand RAM, the OS will reduce these overheads to ensure that everything runs smoothly and the user doesn't notice any problems.

If RAM is either maxed out capacity (Very rare) or too many apps are requesting RAM, then the OS will start to move things onto the SSD (Which is slower to access, but if the user notices a few seconds it's fine - vs. system crashing). This is your swap space.

So think of it all like a layered memory for your computer. Firstly, the CPU has incredibly fast RAM of its own, which is very limited. After this it moves to the system RAM, which is fast but still limited. After that it moves stuff to the SSD, which is slower but plenty of capacity. Your OS will work all of this out on the assumption that the user should never notice a system slowdown, or have apps crash due to memory - so it calculates the best scenario for you.

People get very obsessed and panicky about the RAM in their system and want to throw way more RAM at it than the system could ever handle. It gives people peace of mind having more RAM, but the system isn't using it. Your system is using half of the available RAM as it is, so buying a new machine with 16GB of RAM is still going to use 50%.

What is more likely your issue is either due to an older CPU or older GPU - check the system requirements of the stuff your doing and see if your computer matches these specs. If it doesn't, consider turning down settings, it will make things run a lot smoother.

 

[GoOilersEh]

So i havent seen my memory pressure go red yet..what are u seeing that makes u say its struggling to use the available RAM?

 

[easy4lif]

Could be a dusty system, airflow is partially blocked so the CPU and/or GPU keeps being throttled to a lower speed.

This
[automerge]1591242690[/automerge]
1. There’s no way to upgrade the ram on this machine, soldered on ?

2. You can upgrade the ssd that may help a bit, that’s more a bandaid then solution

MacBook Pro 15" Retina Display Mid 2015 Repair Help: Learn How to Fix It Yourself.

2.2 GHz (Turbo Boost up to 3.4 GHz), 2.5 GHz (Turbo Boost up to 3.7 GHz), or 2.8 GHz (Turbo Boost up to 4.0 GHz) quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with 6 MB shared L3 cache and an optional AMD Radeon R9 M370X dGPU.

www.ifixit.com

 

[alien3dx]

Just look at the memory pressure graph, it goes from green to red. If your system is struggling it would be red. As it stands, your graph shows it's struggling to use the available RAM - meaning you're not taxing the system at all.

In basic, apps use RAM to store temporary information for the CPU to run calculations, things like undo-history or anything that doesn't need be permanently saved. So the OS gives apps plenty of RAM so they have room, otherwise it would constantly be at the limit and you'd get stuttering.

When you open more apps that demand RAM, the OS will reduce these overheads to ensure that everything runs smoothly and the user doesn't notice any problems.

If RAM is either maxed out capacity (Very rare) or too many apps are requesting RAM, then the OS will start to move things onto the SSD (Which is slower to access, but if the user notices a few seconds it's fine - vs. system crashing). This is your swap space.

So think of it all like a layered memory for your computer. Firstly, the CPU has incredibly fast RAM of its own, which is very limited. After this it moves to the system RAM, which is fast but still limited. After that it moves stuff to the SSD, which is slower but plenty of capacity. Your OS will work all of this out on the assumption that the user should never notice a system slowdown, or have apps crash due to memory - so it calculates the best scenario for you.

People get very obsessed and panicky about the RAM in their system and want to throw way more RAM at it than the system could ever handle. It gives people peace of mind having more RAM, but the system isn't using it. Your system is using half of the available RAM as it is, so buying a new machine with 16GB of RAM is still going to use 50%.

What is more likely your issue is either due to an older CPU or older GPU - check the system requirements of the stuff your doing and see if your computer matches these specs. If it doesn't, consider turning down settings, it will make things run a lot smoother.

find egpu.. transfer the gpu usage to others.

 

[glintoz]

If you confident enough to attempt it, I would recommend reapplying the thermal paste to the CPU. If the CPU can't transfer heat to the heatpipe/heatsink/fan then it will thermally throttle and drop its clock speed.

Did it to my MBP 13 2015 a while ago - made a difference. There are plenty of videos around on how to do it.

Basically just involves removing the bottom cover, remove the heatsink from the top of the CPU, clean the top of the CPU and heatsink really well with isopropyl alcohol to remove the old paste, apply a SMALL bead of paste to the top of the CPU, reassemble and test.

 

[chabig]

So i havent seen my memory pressure go red yet..what are u seeing that makes u say its struggling to use the available RAM?

Struggling may not have been the best word. He just meant that your computer is using only about half of its RAM as it is. On your memory picture, it says 7.45GB is used out of 16GB.

 

[gnasher729]

Is it ok for the average man to do this or should i get a repair shop to do this?
[automerge]1587352538[/automerge]

If you can trust yourself to remove 10 tiny screws, put them all on a table instead throwing them on the floor where you will never find them, take the bottom off without touching anything inside, blowing all the dust inside away - without blowing the screws on the floor, putting the bottom back the exact way you took it off, and putting all ten screws back into their original place, then you are fine. There will be people who can mess it up. Most people wouldn't.

Just make sure you have a table with plenty of space, the right screw driver, good light, and that you are not disturbed by anyone.
[automerge]1591275217[/automerge]

Average person can do it. Just open it up and blow off the dust with compressed air. Only thing is be careful to not let the fan spin while you are blowing air at it.

And your lungs are strong enough to produce enough compressed air. Avoid breathing all that dust in.

 

[LinkRS]

Howdy GoOilersEh,

I have (about to trade it in to Apple, waiting for box) a Mid-2015 15" MacBookPro. It has 16 GBs of RAM, 512 GB SSD, and the 2 GB Radeon R9 370X. Under MacOS (or is it macOS lol) running non-games, it works just fine. The CPU and RAM are still very capable, where I was running into performance issues was with games and the Unreal Engine. I tried to play Diablo 3 under MacOS, and performance was just terrible. The GPU struggled to play this game, and it was a less than decent experience. I also had issues running the Unreal Engine, it too struggled because of the GPU. What I ended up doing is using BootCamp (split my SSD in-half) and installed Windows 10. Gaming performance is much better there. So I used Windows 10 for games, and then MacOS for everything else. Earlier this week I received a new 2019 16" MacBook Pro, and am giving straight MacOS a try again. The GPU in this system is much stronger than on the mid-2015, see here: https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/compute/compare/1007768?baseline=1007774

How full is your SSD? Sometimes if your SSD is too full, it can slow your system down. In those cases, you just need to some housecleaning. I my Mid-2015, I used a Transcend JetDrive https://www.transcend-info.com/apple/. These are special SD cards that fit into your SD-Card slot, and can give you up to an extra 256GB of storage. You can move things like your photo library and music/Video Libraries to it, and free up some space. This will be one of the things I miss about the newer systems, no SD-Card slot.

Good luck!

Rich S.

 

[Consultant]

I see you got "Macs Fan Control" installed. What settings are you using?

 

[leman]

Afaik my ram is slowing down my gaming experience esp when i play league of legends and also when i run GGpoker for some reason..even tho any other poker site is fine.

It is very unlikely that RAM is your problem. Why do you think this is the case?

 

[pshufd]

I'd guess that your problem is the lack of a Discrete GPU. I'd suggest trying it on a system with the AMD GPU to see if that makes a difference.