Major graphics performance issues suddenly. (Retina 15")

I've been getting back into playing World of Warcraft in the last few weeks. I love that my 15" Retina MBP with the high-end processor and 16GB of RAM can run it as smooth as silk on High graphics settings.
Suddenly, however, it's stopped doing just that.
Last night it was working fine. Today, I fired up the machine and frame rates in WoW are almost unplayable. I thought it might be a problem with the game client so I tried every troubleshooting method I could. Nothing made an impact. Then I realized that the familiar sound of the laptop fans spinning up to help keep things cool didn't exist. The fans aren't running at all while I play.
That led me to start thinking it's a hardware issue. So I launched a few other games (Starcraft 2, Diablo 3) and they both had very similar frame rate issues.
So now I'm wondering if there's a solution to this problem that won't have me booking a visit to the Genius Bar at my local Apple store. Is there some way I can diagnose, via software, that my video cards are working properly. I've already verified that the machine is using the Nvidia 650M card while the game is running.
Running OS 10.8.2

According to the "System Information" app it was using the NVIDIA card. However, I think it was confused. I suspect that it *thought* it was using the NVIDIA card when it was actually using the on-board graphics.
During my troubleshooting I did go into Energy Saver control panel and force it to always use "high performance" graphics. I did this and then ran a benchmarking tool that I found online - "NovaBench" - and when it ran the GPU test it said it was using the on-board graphics despite the System Information telling me it was using the NVIDIA card.
Regardless, everything is back to normal now.

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    and until today had never attached a second monitor to it. Today I hooked up my Samsung 24" to do some dual screen editing in Final Cut 7.0.3. I was unable to play back my video at full speed in the second monitor, and after a few seconds of skippy playback I'd get that error message about unable to play back video at full speed and to check my RT settings. I was using a Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter. My computer has no issues playing the video in the laptop's monitor at any resolution and any quality settings (I've never changed the RT settings or anything else in the menu ever but I tried every combination this time). I then tried using my TV as a 2nd monitor with an HDMI adapter. Same performance issues. I then tried my friend's newer 13" MBP 8,1 and it performed flawlessly with the same project & footage. I feel like my $3,000 computer should outperform a $1,200 one even if mine is a year and a half older. Any advice?
    Chris

    Wow, you posted this perfectly to coincide with an identical problem, albeit using Logic Pro 9.1.5 rather than FCP.
    Last week, I purchased a 23" external monitor to use alongside my "flagship" 2011 15" hi-res, 2.3 i7 Macbook Pro with 8Gb of RAM.
    It is connected via a mini-DVI to D-sub analog (not that that should matter?) and all appeared fine.
    The first issue I had was with my MBP's fan now running CONSTANTLY, when I have the second monitor attached. Even when the machine is completely idle.
    When using the machine to record audio, this is a fairly hefty problem and not something I had anticipated - indeed why would I anticipate such a thing?
    What is far, far worse though is that over the last few days I have had repeated problems with performance drop-outs and errors in Logic and I have trying to fathom out why. Realising that the only major system change made, was the above monitor connection, I ran some tests.
    I restarted my MBP, no other apps were running and with my new 23" monitor attached acting as main display with MBP built in display on as secondary
    I loaded up a fairly demanding Logic project which was hitting 40% to 60% CPU usage when using the built in MBP display last week
    I ran activity monitor and had CPU usage history open
    The above project now repeatedly overloads and playback halts in a given 8 bar section - with CPU at 80% most of the time
    I disconnected the external display, no shut down, I just let the machine switch to the built in 15".
    Started the same project, the same 8 bar section and hey presto - CPU usage back down to 40% to 60%
    The above was reflected in the CPU usage history with the graph showing CPU use down by about a half, when running this Logic project WITHOUT the external display.
    There is a very useful benchmark Logic project that has been used as a test by many users to gauge Logic performance on given Apple hardware.
    The project has about 100 tracks pre-configured with CPU intensive plugins, designed to tax the CPU.
    The idea is that you load up the project with tracks muted, press play and then unmute the tracks steadily until Logic us unable to play contiunously because of a system performance error.
    On my MBP, with the external monitor NOT attached, I can play back around 50 of the audio tracks in this benchmark project.
    With the monitor attached, I can get about 22 tracks playing.... which is actually a far worse a performance drop (-50% I think!?) than with the first example!
    I did also try with just the external monitor attached and not the MBP display and performance was about 10% better than with dual monitors - so still extremely poor, to say the least.
    This machine is the flagship MBP and has a dedicated AMD Radeon HD6750 GPU which should take care of most if not ALL graphics processing - I mean it's capable of running some pretty demanding games!
    Putting aside the issue of constant fan noise, there is no reason AT ALL, why using an external monitor should tax the i7 CPU this way - it's not as though Logic is graphically demanding... far from it.
    I am on 10.6.8, Logic 9.1.5, all apps up to date via "Software Update".
    I will of course, be contacting Apple...

  • Macbook screen cracked, HD and performance issues

    I am definitely disappointed with my computer.
    I have a Macbook 13.3" 2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo 4Gb 160Gb HD, Serial#: W8**VM0P5, and within 1,5 year I have faced many issues, which are related here:
    September 24th, 2008
    O.S. CRASHES
    I bought it in late September 2008, in Cologne, Germany, at the reseller "Compustore PC Gmbh", and also asked 4Gb Ram, and a Wireless mighty mouse.
    After changing the Ram memory, i went home; and a few days later, the problems came. Sometimes, the system crashed suddenly, showing the grey screen: "You must restart your computer". I thought it was normal, and continued to use, when it became more frequently (Picture: http://picasaweb.google.com/gstorck/MacbookProblems#5476986272817173138). It was little strange for a new laptop, and then I took it back to the store to fix it. The seller just took a look, changed some configurations, and gave me back again. I did this twice, and had to get back to the store for the third time, due to new crashes and some lack of performance. Then the seller replaced the Ram memory, with new 4Gb.
    After that, the system worked more stable; the problem happened some two or three times after some months, but it was ok.
    November 9th, 2009
    HD Problems
    One year later, in late 2009, I purchased a Mac OS update, the Snow Leopard. I was back to Brazil, where I live till today. During the OS installation, something went wrong and it couldn't be completed. Mac asked me to restart the computer, but then the system didn't start anymore; some files were corrupted. I guess there was not enough space to install the update, so it was not completed; but it should be no reason to the corruption of the OS.
    November 10th, 2009
    I took my computer to the local Apple technical support, the "Omni Informatica", in Curitiba, PR, Brazil, to format the HD and reinstall the Snow Leopard. As I needed more space, I also changed my original 160Gb HD for a new 250Gb Western Digital HD. The service was finished in Nov 17th.
    I noticed also little cracks in the laptop case, but I had no time to insist with the bad local technical support to repair it (I know Apple already acknowledged this problem.) They said, at first, that they would have to ask the Apple USA to send the body, or something like that.
    (Pictures:http://picasaweb.google.com/gstorck/MacbookProblems#5476986477312032226)
    January 12th, 2010.
    SCREEN CRACKED
    The reinstallation was ok, and the laptop was running well. Suddenly, when I take the Macbook from the case and open it on my desk, something pretty wrong appears: a large crack on the lower right corner of the screen.
    It was not dropped, it was not crashed, and I did not "close it with a pen inside".
    The screen simply cracked. And as so many similar problems with another users I could easily find on the web, I really expect Apple to admit it as a Manufacture's fault. The local technical support said it is no other thing except I hit the laptop, or dropped it, so it's all my fault. (See Picture 3)
    The only thing they can offer me is to repair the screen for R$1200. I am definitely not going to pay for this; a "normal" and good pc laptop costs this price (And a new basic macbook costs today R$2400).
    If the problems were just it, it would be not so bad.
    (Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/gstorck/MacbookProblems#5476986361400585122)
    February 11th, 2010
    HD FAILURE
    After 1 month, on Feb 11th, my new 250Gb HD simply stopped working. Different from the first time, that the HD was just corrupted, this time it has really broken, it died. I had it all backed up, but I have lost the HD.
    Back again to the technical assistance, they said to me the problem was the same that cracked my screen: my fault, on letting the laptop fall, or hitting it with some kind of pressure. They couldn't do anything, and even the Western Digital 3-month Warranty would not cover this type of problem ("user's misuse").
    May 28th, 2010
    DECREASE IN PERFORMANCE
    I'm working again with the original 160Gb HD (formatted and reinstalled), and some other external drives to store my files.
    It's been quite difficult to deal with all this Data and Screen problems, and now the Macbook's performance is decreasing every day. It's been slower to process operations and to launch the applications. Sometimes, the system does not even sleep anymore when the laptop is closed, or it takes so long time to sleep that it just sleeps when I open it again. Besides, sometimes the mouse pointer disappear, and some bizarre graphics take its place.
    Don't forget: It's a 1,5-year-old Macbook, with 2.4GHz, 4Gb RAM and the O.S. is installed for no longer than 4 months. It is supposed to work better, I guess.
    I saved a lot of money to buy a good computer, and to get rid of the endless issues I had with PCs. That issues never were so serious with the ones I face now with Macbook.
    Even if I pay R$1200 to replace the screen, with the money I don't have, I would still stand these performance issues, which seem to have come with this problematical laptop. I hope to have some solution from Apple, if it want to deliver what it promises and want to keep a customer.
    Otherwise, I will have to change to another system platform and another computer manufacturer, to see if I stop throwing money away with these devices. I think that maybe at least, the cost-benefit ratio will be higher.
    Did anybody receive contact from Apple support about these screen problems?
    Guilherme R. Storck
    Apple user since 2008
    <Edited By Host>
    gstorck (at) gmail (dot) com

    Well, your first issue is pretty clearly just some bad RAM, and it sounds like even the replacement RAM was bad. Who knows if the people who put it in had any kind of clue what they were doing. I've seen repair shops where people are smoking in the same room they do repairs.
    Second problem sounds typical of a failing HDD. It's a fairly common problem with laptops... Apple, Dell, Lenovo, HP, Acer... Probably the single most common problem with laptops no matter who makes them. People get this notion in their heads that the "portable" aspect of laptops means you can pick them up and carry them all over while turned on. Which you can... If you don't mind dramatically shortening the life of the HDD. What "portable" REALLY means with laptops, is that they are easy to move if you put them into a powered down state. They should NEVER be moved around when in normal operation. And since you seem to do a bit of traveling, if you're on a plan, and there's turbulence, you should shut the laptop off until it smooths out.
    The screen cracking could have something to do with the rather sudden change in climate. Germany isn't exactly the frozen tundra, but it is a pretty different climate from Brazil, and changes in things like humidity could cause problems. The laws of thermodynamics tell us that things expand as they heat up, so if there's already a crack somewhere, it could easily get worse as a result of increased heat.
    And since your initial hard drive was already starting to fail, it hasn't magically stopped failing since being removed from the system, so obviously performance is going to get worse.
    At this point, it's pretty much impossible to tell where the damage was done, so you're probably just out of luck. The people in Germany could have screwed something up, or the people in Brazil, it could have been environmental damage, and it's possible the defect was always there, it just didn't manifest until recently. There's just no way to tell for sure. So Apple is unlikely to do anything for you.

  • Graphics performance - external monitor

    Hello everybody.
    I've run into a problem..
    When I add an external monitor to my rMBP 15", the graphics performance is reduced by quite a bit. Example: when I play League of Legends on my built in monitor, it runs smoothly at 60fps with almost the highest graphic settings. But when I play it on the external monitor, with the lid closed, it's going at 30fps with the lowest graphic settings.
    Here's the twist..
    I bootcamped it, just to test if there'd be any difference. And surely, there was. Suddenly I could play with the highest graphic settings at 60fps on my external monitor.
    Here's my setup:
    MacBook Pro Retina 15", mid 2012.
    Asus VE278Q
    The monitor is connected with a HDMI cable.

    I have the same hardware, a rMBP with the quad 2.6, 16 gigs of ram and the NVidia 650.  I don't have the problems you are describing but I play different games - mostly borderlands, so perhaps that makes a difference.
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