Helpabud

Q: Help me isolate my bottleneck

Hey all,

 

I received a new iMac a couple days ago (27" 5K), and on first impression I'm disappointed with the performance.

I edit video for a living, and for the first time find myself needing a more intensive machine.

It seems only marginally better than the laptop I've been using (and in some cases slower), and that's a bummer.

 

BUT, I realize these are complicated monsters.

So, I'm trying to figure out where I went wrong (and if there's anything I can do about it, such as upgrade the RAM).

 

The specs:

4ghz quad core i7

1 TB fusion

AMD R9 390 2GB

16 GB RAM

 

The laptop I've been using has only one advantage over the iMac: flash storage.

So I'm assuming this has a lot to do with the faster responsiveness I'm experiencing with the laptop.

Laptop specs:

2.2ghz quad core i7

256GB flash storage

Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB

16 GB RAM

 

I was planning on upgrading the RAM to 32GB anyway, but will that make enough of a difference?

To summarize the problem, I've found the computer less responsive overall, and only marginally faster in the two programs I use most: Premiere and After Effects.

 

I thought this machine would be much faster, so I'm trying to understand my "bottleneck."

It certainly isn't the processor, so what's preventing the computer from excelling?

 

THANKS!!!

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)

Posted on Sep 13, 2016 6:16 PM

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Q: Help me isolate my bottleneck

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Dadasmithywinkle,

    Dadasmithywinkle Dadasmithywinkle Sep 13, 2016 6:22 PM in response to Helpabud
    Level 2 (319 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 13, 2016 6:22 PM in response to Helpabud

    It amy be the fact that your iMac doesn't have a dedicated SSD, just an SSD/HDD combo. That is the only difference between your current and last computer and would affect internal speeds on the machine.

     

    The 1TB Fusion Drive is small 10-20GB SSD and a 1TB HDD. Thats the main bottleneck that I foresee.

  • by Helpabud,

    Helpabud Helpabud Sep 13, 2016 6:28 PM in response to Dadasmithywinkle
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 13, 2016 6:28 PM in response to Dadasmithywinkle

    Yeah, I'm thinking the same.

     

    I guess the bit that's still mysterious to me is where the GPU is a problem as well.

    I don't want to swap for another iMac and find that it's still not quite what I need.

     

    I thought the fusion would be plenty (I won't be running many programs from the computer), but even the basic functions seem to be notably slower.

     

    Thanks for the reply!

  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Sep 13, 2016 6:33 PM in response to Dadasmithywinkle
    Level 9 (53,640 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 13, 2016 6:33 PM in response to Dadasmithywinkle

    I have a DIY Fusion Drive in my Mac Pro. I found d that it increased performance for me to the point that I have remained with the 2010 Mac Pro rather then upgrading. So I doubt that the Fusion Drive is the primary cause of the bottle neck.

  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Sep 13, 2016 6:36 PM in response to Helpabud
    Level 9 (53,640 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 13, 2016 6:36 PM in response to Helpabud

    Before you do anything drastic I would suggest download and install EtreCheck from http://etrecheck.com/

     

    Run it and post the report here. Maybe the EtreCheck report will show us something that is causing a bottleneck on your Mac.

  • by Helpabud,

    Helpabud Helpabud Sep 13, 2016 6:42 PM in response to Allan Eckert
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 13, 2016 6:42 PM in response to Allan Eckert

    Awesome, sound advice.

    I'll run that tomorrow and see what it comes up with.

     

    Thanks Allan.

  • by Helpabud,

    Helpabud Helpabud Sep 14, 2016 4:16 PM in response to Allan Eckert
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 14, 2016 4:16 PM in response to Allan Eckert

    Okay here's the report.

    I opened both After Effects and Premiere and a project I'm presently working on, to give an accurate sense for the type of demand I'm putting on the computer. I hope that was the right way to go.

     

    EtreCheck version: 3.0.3 (307)

    Report generated 2016-09-14 19:13:28

    Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

    Runtime 1:35

    Performance: Excellent

     

    Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

    Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

     

    Problem: Computer is too slow

    Description:

    New iMac.

    Underwhelming performance so far.

    Appears to be performing below spec.

    Needed to video editing.

     

    Hardware Information:

        iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)

        [Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

        iMac - model: iMac17,1

        1 4 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core

        16 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

            BANK 0/DIMM0

                8 GB DDR3 1867 MHz ok

            BANK 0/DIMM1

                Empty  

            BANK 1/DIMM0

                8 GB DDR3 1867 MHz ok

            BANK 1/DIMM1

                Empty  

        Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

        Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

     

    Video Information:

        AMD Radeon R9 M390 - VRAM: 2048 MB

            iMac 5120 x 2880

     

    System Software:

        OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G1004) - Time since boot: less than an hour

     

    Disk Information:

        APPLE HDD ST1000DM003 disk0 : (1 TB) (Rotational)

            EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

            Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>  [Recovery]: 650 MB

            Macintosh HD (disk2) / : 1.02 TB (960.86 GB free)

                Core Storage: disk1s2 23.55 GB Online

                Core Storage: disk0s2 999.35 GB Online

     

        APPLE SSD AP0032H disk1 : (24 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

            EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 315 MB

            Boot OS X (disk1s3) <not mounted> : 134 MB

            Macintosh HD (disk2) / : 1.02 TB (960.86 GB free)

                Core Storage: disk1s2 23.55 GB Online

                Core Storage: disk0s2 999.35 GB Online

     

    USB Information:

        Seagate BUP Slim BK 2 TB

            EFI (disk3s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

            EQD_Akron (disk3s2) /Volumes/EQD_Akron : 2.00 TB (958.39 GB free)

        Broadcom Corp. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

        Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

        iLok iLok

     

    Thunderbolt Information:

        Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

     

    Gatekeeper:

        Mac App Store and identified developers

     

    System Launch Agents:

        [not loaded]    6 Apple tasks

        [loaded]    160 Apple tasks

        [running]    72 Apple tasks

     

    System Launch Daemons:

        [not loaded]    47 Apple tasks

        [loaded]    153 Apple tasks

        [running]    90 Apple tasks

     

    Launch Agents:

        [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2016-09-12) [Support]

        [running]    com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist (2016-09-12) [Support]

     

    Launch Daemons:

        [running]    com.adobe.adobeupdatedaemon.plist (2016-09-12) [Support]

        [running]    com.adobe.agsservice.plist (2016-09-12) [Support]

     

    User Launch Agents:

        [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2016-09-12) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-09-12) [Support]

     

    Internet Plug-ins:

        Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2016-07-08)

        AdobeAAMDetect: 3.0.0.0 - SDK 10.9 (2016-09-12) [Support]

        QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-07-08)

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes:

        None

     

    Time Machine:

        Time Machine not configured!

     

    Top Processes by CPU:

            10%    Google Chrome Helper(8)

             9%    Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015

             7%    kernel_task

             6%    WindowServer

             2%    After Effects

     

    Top Processes by Memory:

        3.26 GB    Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015

        1.38 GB    After Effects

        1.21 GB    kernel_task

        1.14 GB    Google Chrome Helper(8)

        524 MB    aerendercore

     

    Virtual Memory Information:

        98 MB    Free RAM

        16.00 GB    Used RAM (4.74 GB Cached)

        1.19 GB    Swap Used

     

    Diagnostics Information:

        Sep 14, 2016, 07:02:52 PM    ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015_2016-09-14-190252_[redacted].crash

            com.adobe.PremierePro.CC10 - /Applications/Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015.3/Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015

        Sep 14, 2016, 06:44:54 PM    Self test - passed

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Sep 14, 2016 4:28 PM in response to Helpabud
    Level 8 (49,226 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 14, 2016 4:28 PM in response to Helpabud

    I was planning on upgrading the RAM to 32GB anyway, but will that make enough of a difference?

     

    It's very easy to determine if your Mac's performance is being limited by available memory. Please read Use Activity Monitor on your Mac - Apple Support. If the "Memory Pressure" graph is frequently "red" your Mac will benefit from additional memory. If not, it won't.