iMac Retina 5k 2019 Performance (EtreCheck Report Included)

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iMac Retina 5k 2019 Performance (EtreCheck Report Included)

I've been trying to figure out why my machine gets brought to a crawl for about 6 weeks and not making much progress. It doesn't happen all the time, or with specific apps, or only when I've got intense apps (Lightroom) running.

Should I reinstall macOS, have it serviced, or try something else? Details below...

By crawling, I mean:

Bootup to login screen is fast but login to loaded desktop takes at least 5 minutes
Frequent pinwheels and not-responding apps, but which apps are random and not reproducible (eg, Messages doesn't hang every time it's launched, just sometimes)
Pinwheels occasionally present immediately after reboot, other times I can work for hours without issue
Happened 3 times while writing this post -- even though this has been my active window and no new apps, tabs, etc. launched

Stuff:

Specs: Intel 3.1 GHz 6-Core i5, Crucial 32 GB 2667 DDR4, Radeon Pro 575X 4 GB.
Storage: 1.03 TB Fusion Drive, 137.76 GB available (of 849 GB)
Memory pressure (32 GB) is green/low: 13.65 GB used (10.89 GB app, 2.76 GB wired), 10.39 GB cached, 0 bytes swap
CPU pressure is low: 4.82% system, 1.93% user, 93.62% idle
Disk: Reads in/sec 1,644, writes out/sec 35
Neither memory or CPU pressure spikes during hangs
Seems like disk writes are increased right before a pinwheel (it jumped to ~700 writes out/sec right before the last incident)

I upgraded the RAM ~2 years ago. It's been fine for 2 years.

Things I've tried:

removing non-essential apps, from Dropbox to MalwareBytes
booting into recovery and running disk repair (no issues found)
running Apple Diagnostics (no errors/issues found)
logging into a new user (pinwheel'd immediately on login)
installed EtreCheck yesterday...

EtreCheck initially showed no major issues, but just started showing "hard drive too slow." That's been coming up consistently. Side note: Apple Support said they "did some googling" and saw that Etre Check was considered malware 😬

FWIW, I also ran Blackmagic Speed Test:

EtreCheck Report

iMac 27″, macOS 12.5

Posted on Sep 9, 2022 12:36 PM

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Answer 1

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den.thed

Level 9

77,560 points

Sep 9, 2022 1:19 PM in response to tehPickle

That looks like an improperly partitioned, a split or failing Fusion Drive. The only way to fix a messed up Fusion drive is to erase, refuse, reinstall and restore from backup.

see > How to fix a split Fusion Drive - Apple Support

Why do you only have only 1 32GB RAM module installed?

What brand and where did you get that 32GB module?

Try reinstalling the factory RAM and test. Then try adding the single.module or better yet, another pair to the factory RAM.

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Answer 2

Sep 9, 2022 2:38 PM in response to tehPickle

Doesn’t look like a split drive, just a slow HDD and without enough SSD.

Read and write speeds from EtreCheck look reasonable for Fusion, though busy.

The other speed test makes the HDD look a little slow, but it’s unclear what else is going on.

VPNs won’t help with performance.

For reference on the (not-split) Fusion: How to fix a split Fusion Drive - Apple Support

A busy Fusion turns into an HDD when the SSD gets overloaded:

Why is my hard disk drive iMac so slow? - Apple Community

From that, I’d see if migrating to an external SSD helps:

Use an external SSD as your startup disk … - Apple Community

As an external SSD will get you full speeds of Thunderbolt or USB 3.x, rather than the Fusion processing.

I’d pair the memory, but I’d doubt that has this large an effect, unless that single module is not being well-tolerated.

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Answer 3

tehPickle Author

Level 1

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Sep 9, 2022 2:11 PM in response to den.thed

Thanks for the response!

re: That looks like an improperly partitioned, a split or failing Fusion Drive.

I wouldn't be surprised if the drive is failing but it doesn't look like it's split. On the page you linked to, in the section "Before you Begin" it has steps to verify if you have a split Fusion Drive.

 -> About this Mac -> Storage only shows 1 Fusion Drive (with 2 partitions -- one for macOS, one for Bootcamp):

It sounds like there would be 2 drives displayed if it was split.

re: RAM

Honestly, I can't remember why I chose 1x32 module instead of 2x16, but that's why there's only 1 module. Is it recommended to always install pairs (2x32, 2x16, etc.)?

The original post was wrong -- it's Samsung, not Crucial, and ordered from Amazon.

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Answer 4

Old Toad

Level 10

207,823 points

Sep 9, 2022 2:33 PM in response to tehPickle

tehPickle wrote:

re: RAM

Honestly, I can't remember why I chose 1x32 module instead of 2x16, but that's why there's only 1 module. Is it recommended to always install pairs (2x32, 2x16, etc.)?

The original post was wrong -- it's Samsung, not Crucial, and ordered from Amazon.

Yes, it is recommended to install in pairs. Macs are extremely sensitive to RAM module quality, particular with the newer systems. We recommend purchasing only from Cruial.com or MacSalex.com.

If you have the original Apple modules that came with the iMac do as den.thed suggested and put them back in and run only with them. If the problem goes away then you can get additional modules from the two sources I mentioned. Two 8 GB modules will give you 24 total.

Additionally, Unless you're using a true VPN tunnel, such as between you and your employer, school or bank's servers, they are useless from a privacy standpoint. Read these two articles: Public VPN's are anything but private and Former Malware Distributor Kape Technologies Now Owns ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Private Internet Access, Zenmate, and a Collection of VPN “Review” Websites.

Uninstall the VPN app according to the developer's instructions.

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Answer 5

den.thed

Level 9

77,560 points

Sep 9, 2022 3:14 PM in response to tehPickle

Ah’ OK, it’s the BootCamp partition that looks strange.

Again I would reinstall the original factory modules and test.

Then I would get and add 2x8GB or 2x16GB modules purchased directly from either OWC macsales.com or Crucial.com.

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iMac Retina 5k 2019 Performance (EtreCheck Report Included)

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