Level 1

1 points

Macbook Pro Retina 13" late 2013 (Haswell) UI Lag

My config: 2.6/16/256, 10.9 (Mavericks)

NOTE: Outside of the issues mentioned, this computer has been great. Awesome build quality, perfect size and weight, Retina screen is outstanding, CPU is snappy, boot and wake from sleep is blazing, it makes ZERO noise, even under heavy usage it only gets mildy warm and it gets great battery life.

Here's my problem: While the machine is wonderful in many aspects, it is far from the smooth experience we have come to expect from Apple products. As mentioned in the title, the UI is a step behind and the smooth transitions of non-retina models are stuttery a jerky on the retina.

Some examples of UI issues that I've replicated on floor models at the Apple store are:

1. Putting certain stock apps in fullscreen show choppy animation (Finder, Safari, Chrome, Maps) while others are buttery smooth (iPhoto).

2. Mission control stutters occasionally (usually when one of the above offenders are open).

3. Preview of any large .jpg or RAW image will cause significant lag when putting it into fullscreen. It literally trips the entire way.

4. Swiping between full screen apps will cause light animation stutter.

To troubleshoot it, I've done a few things.

1. Brought it to the genius bar. They checked all of the harware and ran a number of other diagnostics (including resetting the PRAM). While they confirmed the issues I have mentioned, they told me to wait for a software update that will resolve them.

2. Tried things that others have reportedly worked for them: Deleting windowservers in Library, etc.

3. Downloaded "Display Menu" from the App Store so that I can manipulate resolution settings. Interestingly enough, Display Menu hasn't optimized all of their settings for Retina and choosing any stock settings (including best for retina 1280x800) lowers the overall image quality. When in Display Menu's version of 1280x800, all of the problems (outide of the preview issue) dissapeared. Animations were back to being buttery smooth. This leads me to belive that Iris isn't quite up the the task of Retina.

I'm hoping that Apple didn't purposely release these Pro's without considering the GPU's ability to offer a "smooth ride". Has anyone else experienced this? If it is indeed a driver issue, I hope that Apple addresses this sooner than later. Based off of forums from early 2013 rMBP owners, it doesn't look like that will be the case.

Are you experiencing this also and have you found any true solutions?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9), 13-inch 2.6/16/256

Posted on Nov 10, 2013 9:30 PM

355 replies

Oct 18, 2014 11:34 AM in response to pythogorian

This is the perfect example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnYEzwgkREQ

Oct 18, 2014 3:29 PM in response to JovZun

I found that disabling the transparency fixes the GUI lag a lot, if not completely.

It makes the OS look like a toy, though. Unacceptable on Apple's part for not optimizing their OS for its recent retina models.

Just like the rest of you, I'm very disappointed with the performance of our machines.

Try this :

System Preferences > Accessibility options > Display > Reduce Transparency (check it off)

Mid 2012 Retina Macbook pro

HD4000 + nVidia 650m

8Gb ram

256 Gb SSD

Oct 18, 2014 3:58 PM in response to DAmbrosio

Well, let's say it is a bit better but everything seems...poorly done. I mean, i got some freezes today, and the entire machine seems slower. Also.. visual bugs!

That is supposed to have rounded corners. That's my last concern tho, i am just pointing another (minor must admit) bug.

Oct 18, 2014 4:55 PM in response to pythogorian

This is a video of my 13" Retina MacBook Pro...late-2013 2.8Ghz i7 Iris graphics. Again, I don't think mine is exhibiting any lag, and that these issues are localized to each device.

http://youtu.be/Oa2-ugLJa_I

Oct 19, 2014 5:22 AM in response to JovZun

It's funny that Linux has better optimization for animation than apple. Mission control with external displays and many opened windows is huge pain. Using RDM it is a bit better. But with two external monitors mac still lags.

Oct 20, 2014 8:34 AM in response to JovZun

Does anybody with a Mid 2014 Retina have the same issues? If not it would make absolute no sense.

The used hardware (CPU, GPU) is nearly exactly the same. The performance can't be this significantly higher than our Late 2013 model (I have 8gig RAM also)

My girlfriend has a Mid 2014 model. If I can convince her to install Yosemite i will give you feedback.

Oct 20, 2014 8:36 AM in response to stunner2002

Yes, here. Mid 2014.

Oct 20, 2014 8:46 AM in response to stunner2002

Also here, mid 2014 rMBP 8gigs ram

Oct 20, 2014 10:17 AM in response to JovZun

Steve is gone and the "it simply works" philosophy is fu**ed...

Oct 21, 2014 12:15 PM in response to JovZun

My set up is with the late 2013 MBP Retina with 16 gig ram and i5 processor. I run 2 external monitors at 1680X1050 @ 60 Hertz with the macbook lid closed. On Mavericks, i had no issues at all. No lag at any time. I would run all my apps with my windows virtual machine running as well with 4 gigs dedicated RAM.

Ever since I updated to Yosemite, things have been bad. I deleted the window server files, reset the pram and it just doesn't help. I also reduced the transparency.

The lag is most noticeable when switching windows on 2 different screens, it takes almost a second for the new window to be active. Mission control is very choppy. Also, when I click on the inactive screen, the menu bar acts weird, the icons get thrown off a little and then rearrange properly. At that moment, the menu bar becomes active. The messages app jumps between screens, even when you don't drag it. Just click on the title bar of messages app and click on the next screen and it jumps to the second screen in a very choppy way..

It's really disappointing to see this. It feels like a driver issue. As if, the video card kexts are still in beta. We pay a lot of money for these laptops and this performance is just ridiculous. It's such a hassle to downgrade...

How can apple not test properly on such limited hardware choices? Yosemite was in beta for how long???

on a related note... I upgraded my mac mini at home and the apple remote stopped working too... it wouldn't even recognize that there's an IRA receiver in my mac-mini... Not looking for a solution on this (nor trying to hijack the topic).. as i downgraded that one to Mavericks.. just ridiculous...

Oct 21, 2014 1:35 PM in response to JovZun

For those of you who experience lag and have macbook pro's with retina display as well as Nvidia graphic cards, you might want to try this.

I just installed CUDA from Nvidia and it fixed my UI lag as well as gave me 15 FPS more in diablo 3. Bumping it up from 30 FPS to 45 running the exact same settings.

I got CUDA 6.5.18 ( http://www.nvidia.com/object/mac-driver-archive.html).

install

Reboot.

Good Luck!

Oct 22, 2014 10:50 AM in response to JovZun

You guys saw my video, right? I have no lag with my rMBP running Yosemite whatsoever!

http://youtu.be/Oa2-ugLJa_I

Oct 22, 2014 10:52 AM in response to Wayne Chin

Good for you?

Oct 22, 2014 10:57 AM in response to ladiciuus

I think the point Wayne's trying to make (and the one I tried to make several months ago) is that this issue isn't prevalent with all models, which makes it tough to say it's a hardware issue - since the hardware is basically the same throughout the lineup - many people have said that even changing the display manufacturer (samsung/LG) didn't change anything. So it makes sense that it's software. And I really hope Apple gets this fixed ASAP for those that are affected.

Oct 22, 2014 10:58 AM in response to Wayne Chin

I've downgraded to Mavericks, on Yosemite it's not bearable.

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Macbook Pro Retina 13" late 2013 (Haswell) UI Lag