MacBook Pro 2020 slower than MacBook Pro 2015

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Level 1

6 points

MacBook Pro 2020 slower than MacBook Pro 2015

When I upgraded my 2015 MBP 15" (2.2 GHz model with Intel Iris Pro 5200 integrated graphics) to a 2020 MBP 16" I was surprised how the system felt globally more sluggish for development tasks. Lots of subtle stutter here and there, but it adds up.

I investigated and I found that while both the CPU and GPU performance were way above the 2015 model, this was the case only in peak, that is during a benchmark, a video encoding or a game. In normal use (browsing, mail, development, etc.), what happens is that macOS sets the lowest GPU frequency possible to save power.

-> On the 2015 model that is 750 MHz (pretty high, but Intel didn't allow going lower).

-> On the 2020 model it alternates between 0 and 300 MHz (much slower despite better architecture).

The GPU never gets above that under normal use, which makes the 2020 less reactive. You'd think that it only affects the animations and provokes occasional stutter, but actually macOS relies on the GPU to draw anything on any of the windows, and has to wait for it to finish before presenting it. As such almost everything in the UI will react slower. If you want to get an idea, run the Intel Power Gadget, enable the "Max GPU frequency" test from the test menu, and then try to use the Mac. You'll see that everything slows down hugely, because of the busy GPU: Settings, changing About my Mac tabs, etc.

I think there's something wrong in selling new computers that are both more expensive and slower in common use. The more it goes the slower macOS gets because Intel allows a slower minimum frequency. It has to stop. Apple should provide an option to power up the GPU to the fullest, and it should be the default on AC power, where the gains from the aggressive power saving are insignificant.

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Posted on Jun 13, 2020 9:34 AM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

207,787 points

Jun 13, 2020 10:13 AM in response to Brunni

Download and run Etrecheck. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Copy the report

and use the Add Text button to include the report in your reply. How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report

IMPORTANT:

Before running Etrecheck assign Full Disk Access to Etrecheck in the Etrecheck's Privacy preference pane so that it can get additional information from the Console and log files for the report:

Also click and read the About… info to further permit full disk access.

Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine what might be causing the problem.

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Answer 2

Brunni Author

Level 1

6 points

Jun 13, 2020 6:25 PM in response to Old Toad

Thanks Old Toad. Unfortunately I can't do it because I just returned the Mac to Apple.

The same thing happens with more than twenty recent Macs I tried, my friends, at the Apple Store… you would see for yourself if you had a 2015 MBP-15 at hand. This is definitively an issue in macOS, and I have given the technical reason for it in my post. How can we be heard by the Apple engineers?

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Answer 3

steve626

Level 6

10,163 points

Jun 14, 2020 9:42 PM in response to Brunni

Have a look at https://browser.geekbench.com/mac-benchmarks and you can see that the fastest 2015 MacBook Pro tests out at about one third the performance of a new MacBook Pro 16" laptop. Before returning your computer, perhaps you should have done some troubleshooting, such as creating a new user to see if the issues you saw were user dependent, and also running Etrecheck, as was suggested to you by Old Toad, as Etrecheck provides lots of diagnostics that can reveal the sources of issues with a computer. I read what you stated about benchmarks versus "everyday" uses, but my experience is opposite of yours. My comparison was with a 2013 MacBook laptop (yours was 2015) but most things I informally tested were 3-4 times faster on the new MacBook Pro 16". This including opening and using programs like MS-Office, backing up (both Time and Super Duper were more than 4 times faster), copying files, and other simple everyday tasks. The new Laptop seems like lightning fast to me. This also includes software like Photoshop and Lightroom.

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Answer 4

Brunni Author

Level 1

6 points

Jun 15, 2020 12:54 AM in response to steve626

I have reinstalled the machine entirely and tested on ~twenty different Macs (13 and 16) from 2020 and the result is always the same.

Benchmarks are synthetic, they measure the maximum performance in specific tasks. It's different from the speed that you get on small tasks, because the OS needs time to react and ramp up the CPU and GPU frequencies.

The 2015 MBP 15" was faster because its minimum frequency was higher. Not your 2013. Not the 13". The 15" from 2015. I don't do photoshop, I do programming and I want things to react fast, I don't want to buy a new machine and it to feel slower in most cases. You might not have anything to compare, or you might be happy with how it is, but the fact remains, the 2020 is slower than my previous machine in basic usage.

I tell it again, there is no good reason for crippling the Mac to save power, especially on AC. The first step to actually having things improve ever, is to accept them. I gave the research and technical reasons in my post.

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Answer 5

steve626

Level 6

10,163 points

Jun 15, 2020 10:41 AM in response to Brunni

This feels like one of those never ending discussions. And yes, I don't have access to this magical 2015 MacBook Pro. But I do have access to a 2016 MacBook Pro (in addition to the 2013 one) and the latest (late 2019) MacBook Pro. Both with 1 TB SSD and 16 GB memory. And the newer one, when measuring time to open large (250 MB) Word files, large (50 MB) Powerpoint files, saving such files, and open web browser and loading pages, and opening and downloading Mail, and also copying files, as well as numerous tasks in Photoshop and Lightroom -- the newer one is always faster, sometimes by a significant amount. (I measured this by using a stopwatch, nothing too fancy.) These are tasks the vast majority of laptop users do. I suspect "coding" is not that common. Maybe a laptop is not the ideal machine for "coding." Maybe a Linux workstation or a Windows PC would be better. I could be wrong. So stay with your 2015 laptop, but not sure what you plan to do when a 5 year old laptop's components start to wear out or become obsolete.

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Answer 6

Brunni Author

Level 1

6 points

Jun 15, 2020 9:04 PM in response to steve626

I don't know why you need to get angry.

You can get the frequency of the GPU with the Intel Power Gadget and you'll see that it's largely inferior with a recent machine. As such you get less reactivity under some cases. That's just a fact, you're not helpful by saying that you don't have the same issue. I'm glad you don't have the same issue. But you (and even the majority) not being bothered by it proves nothing.

As of now yes I'm planning to stick with the 2015. But Apple should really look into this, as despite maybe not being so common, it's definitely a regression, and there's no reason to regress when your components are more powerful than ever. I'm not here to make you feel that your 2019 mac is slow. You're happy, many Mac users (15% of the computers?) are happy, not me. There's a very simple fix that Apple could do to make me and some others happy. But for that, the first thing would be to listen, not try to say that no problem exists.

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Answer 7

steve626

Level 6

10,163 points

Jun 15, 2020 9:57 PM in response to Brunni

I was not angry, and did acknowledge your point that for coding (compiling?) your older model might be better optimized than the newer one. I do all my compiling on Linux workstations not my laptop (which I use more for MS-Office type applications, email, web browsing, and photo applications like Lightroom and Photoshop). But I think Apple optimizes its configuration for the vast majority of its users and what they use the computer for. That's why I suggested that perhaps a different platform is what you may need.

I work at a space technology company whose main site has 6000+ employees. More than half of the scientists and engineers at this site use Macs now, versus PCs. The PCs are used by almost all the business and administration personnel. The company requires us to replenish our computers every three years. So I expect the 2015 models are mostly gone by now. My colleagues always like getting a new computer because it always seems faster than the previous one ... Some of that might be due to increasing the amount of memory or faster SSD's. I assume that you did apples to apples comparisons (same memory etc.) when you did your tests.

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Answer 8

Brunni Author

Level 1

6 points

Jun 15, 2020 10:25 PM in response to steve626

Yeah I totally agree. Unfortunately it's as you say, Apple optimizes for the majority, and they often don't decide it good to allow for configuration for more advanced users. But in this case I believe that it would be better for everyone. It's probably just an overlook, they coded it back in 2000 and it only starts becoming apparent now that GPUs are heavily underclockable.

As you say a PC might be better. I always had Mac laptops (apart from the Surface Pro) but I keep a Windows & Linux desktop at home and I like it. In particular, when you compare the 20-60 images/second that the Mac UI provides on the 2020 machine, it feels "heavy" and dated compared to my 120 Hz PC which never stutters, despite a worse CPU and GPU. And the 2015 machine too, has no problem delivering constant 60 Hz, it's really a joy (and that smoothness is one reason I liked Macs).

Maybe this place is not the best place to be heard, but honestly I don't know what to do. Thanks for understanding :)

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MacBook Pro 2020 slower than MacBook Pro 2015

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