Slow Graphics Performance MacOS High Sierra

The performance shortcomings are similar to memory leaks (graphics memory leak?)

... there is said to be a memory leak problem in graphics, fixed in 10.13.1, available a few days ago.

NVIDIA is very proprietary about the detailed operation of their graphics processors, insists on doing the Drivers themselves, and are almost always so late that they cannot be included with the main MacOS releases.

NVIDIA Users have gotten in the habit of getting them direct from NVIDIA, when they eventually become available.

10.13 really turned me off to upgrading for the 1st time on Mac.

if you had asked Users here, they would tell you to wait for at least the nn.1 release, and then upgrade only when you need the features offered. Otherwise you are on the "bleeding" edge of new technology introduction.

Grant Bennet-Alder wrote:

The performance shortcomings are similar to memory leaks (graphics memory leak?)

... there is said to be a memory leak problem in graphics, fixed in 10.13.1, available a few days ago.

There was a memory leak fixed in the WindowServer process (which was very noticeable), but the performance is still poor. There is definitely something else wrong.

After chatting to Apple support, my main concern is this doesn't seem to be a well known issue, despite the number of people on forums talking about it.

I think I'm going to just revert to Sierra.

There so many users that don't have this issue after upgrading to HighSierra....

But for you probably not an issue of MacOs anymore but the chance is that is is an hardware issue.

There is a possibility to "program" that only the built-in (onboard) GPU is used from startup of the mac and the discrete not at all. Which is of course not ideal when you use software that runs better when using the discrete GPU....

"Given that graphics issues are rampant (and also APFS takes away more than it gives, IMO) I'll probably stay with 10.12 for the foreseeable future. 10.13 really turned me off to upgrading for the 1st time on Mac. (iOS 9 did that for iphone;)"

You CAN stop te conversion to APFS the next time you upgrade. Although Apple does not give that as an option.

Goede morgen. Yes you can go back to Sierra. It looks as if some of the mac models have this issue. Why I don't know. I am sure that Apple is working on it, but sofar the HS updates did not attack this issue.

Lex

I doubt that the issue can be evaded by not going to APFS (the filesystem has nothing to do with the GPU).

And I think that the way to avoid the apfs conversion (a simple instruction to the installer, when starting the installer from Terminal) will survive the next updates, but I am not Apple. I don't know why they force apfs so much. Although apfs as a file system is much more modern and safer than HFS+, it still has some quirks. Personally I am not interested how my data are written as long as there is no file corruption possible. And when you have more partitions on one SSD, it can't even tell you the free space on one of them, just the total on all three together.

Reseting NVRAM and SMC didn't work for me. Fresh install of High Sierra didn't work either. I've also tried up to Beta 2 of 10.13.2, still no luck.

Based on conversations I had with support, and other postings around the web pointing to graphics issues with High Sierra and 2013-2014 MacBook Pros, it looks like it is a graphics driver issue.

I've reverted to Sierra and everything works fine, so I'll wait until there is progress on this before upgrading again!

I'm now watching macOS High Sierra: parts of the window not rendering · Issue #10736 · electron/electron · GitHub for progress. It makes reference to several other problems in Chrome and specific Electron-based apps that are suffering from GPU-related issues in High Sierra on similar MacBook Pro models. My guess is that these are related (I was having these problems myself).

Same Problem with a brand new MacBook Pro with Max specs. Photoshop has become so slow that any image modification takes like 3sec to render. Same with other demanding apps. Such a disaster. It was working great on Sierra. I now need to use my 4k screen with full resolution and have then tiny characters very hard to read.

Sad...

Same issue for me, same suspect model. Fresh install, late 2013 15" MBP, Geforce 750m GPU. I also have a co-worker with this model who is having this issue.

I get it, I'm using a 4 year old computer, but it's still great using Sierra. Really frustrating.

Thanks to the original poster for this question because I too have been experiencing this for at least a week since upgrading. In my testing I believe it's related to the NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M GPU as well. What's worse is that my work depends on good graphics rendering (WebGL, virtual tours, etc.).

So how do I downgrade back to macOS Sierra? I can't stand this sluggishness any longer.

Assuming that you're experiencing the same issue detailed here, I would recommend first trying some WebDrivers from NVidia to see if this fixes your problem: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/324195-nvidia-web-driver-updates-for-maco s-high-sierra-update-01112017/

Failing that I would recommend reverting to Sierra.

Since switching back I've noticed a considerable performance improvement in the on-board graphics too. It looks like very little testing was done on 2013-2014 MBPs...

My issue is different, but perhaps related to ParhamS's. I have been told that I need to install a new, non corrupted OS and have been considering High Sierra. In point of fact I don't want, or foresee ever wanting to use, much of the new functionality that comes with High Sierra. For me, these new bells and whistles are a potential liability in terms of clogging up the processor with unwanted material. In particular I want to be able to use all of my existing photo editing software and MS Word 2011. Have you had any reports of compatibility issues with from users of older Adobe and Nikon software? The specific programs are Capture NX 2 and View NX2, Adobe Lightroom 5 and Photoshop Elements 10. If High Sierra is not the best option for me, which slightly older version of Sierra would work best with these programs? Thank you for any help you might provide. My machine is a late 2009 iMac with 8GB memory, 4GB Ram and a 3.06 GHz processor.

Thanks for posting back and letting us know it won't fix the issue, that'll save a lot of wasted time.

I guess we either revert back to Sierra or wait and put up with it and hope Apple sort it out sooner rather than later.