AMD Radeon R9 M370X Struggling to play games (i.e. GTA V) - bootcamp

Hi Loner

To my surprise the bootcamp drivers version is exactly the same as before ELC. Even the size and number of files/folders in the Bootcamp driver folder is also same.

The very obvious and logical conclusion is that it is not the drivers that are an issue, but the OS and the OS kernel scheduler and Thermal Management.

In previous OSX versions, there are several instances of throttling of GPU clock speeds which have been noted and documented. For example, please see http://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Pro-Retina-15-Mid-2015-Review.144402. 0.html .

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Gaming Performance

Even though the differences fluctuate significantly from game to game, our gaming benchmarks confirm the previous statement: The GeForce GT 750M (GDDR5 model) is roughly 30% slower than the Radeon R9 M370X, which is another 30% behind the GeForce GTX 950M. Unfortunately, the M370X is not powerful enough for the native display resolution, so it is recommended that you reduce the resolution to 1680x1050 in combination with medium graphics settings. Rivals like the ZenBook Pro or the Aspire V 15, both equipped with a GeForce GTX 960M, are certainly better options for gamers.

Unfortunately, the MacBook Pro is affected by a very annoying problem when you use Windows, which results in frame rate drops during prolonged gaming sessions: The Radeon GPU cannot maintain its core clock of 800 MHz. The clock often fluctuates between 675 and 725 MHz, but occasionally drops to 400 MHz. The resulting stutters are very annoying, particularly when you play shooting games, and seem to be caused by thermal throttling when the core temperature reaches around 74 °C (~165 °F).

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No matter what settings I use (even the lowest) my MacBook Pro always gets very hot and the ventilators start working very hard and noisy right from the beginning.

What do I wrong?

No that's normal. I've HD three macbooks /pro since 2007 and they've all run very hot and been very noisy when playing games, no matter the graphics settings. Unless you want your motherboard to melt it's necessary.

Hmm...

For how many hours I can keep playing under this condition?

Hey Loner,

I just checked apple's website and it says that the 2015 macbook pro 13'' have an intel core 5th generation and that the 15'' have the 4th generation. What the ****? is that a mistake or what ?!

No unfortunately not. The latest 15" MBP are using last years Intel chips 😟 Due to production delays on Intel's side, only the 13" MBP had the latest Intel chips at launch.

oh well...

does that change anything in term of gaming/performance ?

if it does i will jump out of my window

Well the 13" chips are newer but are also only i5 compared to the older i7 chips found in the 15". I can't say for sure which would give better performance overall. i7 > i5 but then the i5 is a newer generation. Have you bought the new 15" already? If you haven't I would wait till new MBPs come out with 6th generation skylake Intel chips which allow for 32GB of RAM...

You are not even using the Intel integrated GPU on the Windows side unless you use EFI installation. Test your Games as Windows is installed now. Check the BIOS Mode in SysInfo. Your Mac will also do EFI boot. One test to check for any speed differences would be to install Windows EFI and test the performance. I expect it to be better.

I was talking about the intel core i7 4th gen vs the 5th gen

But it's too late I cant wait until 2016, for newer macbook pro. I wish i could tho, but the macbook pro 15 has been in my head for over 5 years and once again I know that Apple will release a brand new, completely redesigned macbook pro that will be thinner and stuff but my only hope is that they don't get a far better graphic card because if they do... 😢

I just read somewhere that the macbook pro 15 retina does not have 5th gen intel core because the only 5th gen intel core i7 available at the moments are broadwell

I think you are hair-splitting. If you want to chase clock speeds, which has very little impact on daily and extreme use, you will never be able to buy a machine. You will just keep waiting for the next CPU if you keep reading TechSpecs. 😉.

Faster clocks also produce more heat.

Do you think its ok to keep the macbook always plugged in and on the night unplugged and repeat the same process over n over again<

The newer Macs support about a 1000 cycles. The Batteries are meant to go through normal charge/recharge cycles. I usually have no need to keep it plugged-in all times during the day or night. I go to meetings, come back, plug it in, go to the Lab, so it is normal work day. I will check the cycle count once a quarter or once every six months. Older Macs have many issues vis-a-vis batteries.

I am a student and on the summer I am not going to be mobile. Do you think that if I keep it plugged all day and unplug it during night and replug it when I wake up in the morning can damage my mac battery ?