4k External Monitor Performance Issue w/ MacBook Pro

Question

Level 1

12 points

4k External Monitor Performance Issue w/ MacBook Pro

Hello!

I have recently purchased a 4k external monitor (LG 27UD69P‑W) to run with my MBP (see specs below) in clamshell mode. I keep the laptop plugged in to power always, I have automatic graphics switching turned off, and the laptop connects to the monitor via mini display port to display port cable. I use this setup for work, which is mainly web browsing/google docs with some lite photo editing mixed in, nothing overly taxing at all. I ran this setup for about a month with no issues, until about a week ago when, towards the end of a work day, my MBP started to run really slowly. Laggy mouse movement, laggy mouse clicks, laggy typing, slow loading of any action I was trying to perform, whether in web browser or in photo editing or just switching between applications. So I restarted MBP, which fixed the issue only momentarily. Once I started working with multiple applications open at once again, the slowness started again. So I unplugged my 4k external monitor and finished working that night on just my laptop screen, which worked without issue.

This problem has persisted ever since. My laptop performs completely fine when not connected to any external monitor, and also performs well when connected to a 1080p monitor. But when plugged in to my 4k monitor, as soon as I get going working with multiple tabs and apps open (again, nothing too crazy, really basic tasks), things get really slow, to the point where I can't get anything done. It's worth noting that since the first night this issue occurred, the problem was pretty random and didn't always occur. But now the slowness happens on cue, whenever I start to open and work in multiple apps/browser tabs.

I'm no genius, but my immediate thought is this is a GPU issue and that my MBP simply can't handle the 4k. However, I did the research prior to purchasing my 4k monitor and my MBP model is supposed to be able to run 4k, and DID run 4k just fine for like a month before this issue started happening. My computer also doesn't feel that hot when the issue occurs, and the fans don't spin like crazy. Everything on that end seems pretty normal.

I did check my laptop battery condition and it needs to be "replaced soon" according to energy saver.

I have done a few system diagnostics with an apple tech via chat while the issue occurs, including disk utility first aid (checked out fine), CPU idle percent is 96% during issue, and memory pressure in the green during issue.

So is my MBP just not able to run 4k as advertised? Is it my failing laptop battery? If it is my battery, does that mean that this 4k monitor killed my battery, and it will do the same to a new one?

Any potential solutions or further troubleshooting suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)

2.5 GHz Intel Core i7

16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
macOS 10.13.1

MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS High Sierra (10.13.1)

Posted on Nov 20, 2017 7:13 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 21, 2017 7:03 AM in response to Chazford76

I don't see any well-known Bad Actors, and most stuff looks reasonable. Google Chrome is a known memory leaker and resource hog. With the new Safari and version 57 of Firefox now available, there are much better Browser solutions.

In most cases when you use an external Display, the Discrete Graphics processor is used, regardless of the settings you make. You are running High Sierra, with an NVIDIA graphics processor. This configuration may not have been tested well enough.

The issue may not be the 4K of your external monitor, but the fact of using an external monitor at all.

Reports seen here are that the NVIDIA drivers included with High Sierra are inadequate, and that the versions downloaded from NVIDIA are slightly better, but the graphics processor appears to Hang from time to time, and when it does it essentially "makes my Mac dog-slow". Some Users got relief for a few hours by changing the screen resolution and changing it back, but since the underlying problem is not well understood, your mileage may vary.

Slow Graphics Performance MacOS High Sierra

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Answer 2

Nov 21, 2017 7:03 AM in response to Chazford76

Slow and unresponsive computer is NEVER a GPU issue unless the intended GPU died. The extra time needed to service a 4K display is below the threshold of human vision (about 1/6 second).

It is usually caused by software problems or malware. Try downloading and running etrecheck. It needs no extensions, and does not even need to be installed. Its pre-laundered report can be shared back to a reply on the forums.

Using Etrecheck

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Answer 3

Chazford76 Author

Level 1

12 points

Nov 20, 2017 10:39 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks Grant. I ran etrecheck, here is the report:

EtreCheck version: 3.4.6 (460)

Report generated 2017-11-21 01:22:44

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 1:57

Performance: Excellent

Click the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.

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

Problem: Computer is too slow

Description:

MacBook Pro runs slow when connected to 4k monitor

Hardware Information: ⓘ

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)

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

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro11,3

1 2.5 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7-4870HQ) CPU: 4-core

16 GB RAM Not upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Handoff/Airdrop2: supported

Wireless: en0: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Battery: Health = Replace Soon - Cycle count = 1231

iCloud Quota: 33.59 GB available

Video Information: ⓘ

Intel Iris Pro - VRAM: 1536 MB

NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M - VRAM: 2 GB

G257HL 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz

LG Ultra HD 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz

Disk Information: ⓘ

APPLE SSD SM0512F disk0: (500.28 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk0s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

(disk0s2) <not mounted> [APFS Container]: 499.42 GB

USB Information: ⓘ

USB30Bus

LaCie P9227 Slim

P9227 Slim disk2: (1 TB)

Chaz Backup (disk2s1 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/Chaz Backup : 800.16 GB (440.72 GB free)

CHAZ SHARE (disk2s2 - MS-DOS FAT32) /Volumes/CHAZ SHARE : 200.04 GB (199.82 GB free)

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Logitech USB Receiver

Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Virtual disks: ⓘ

Macintosh HD (disk1s1 - APFS) / [Startup]: 499.42 GB (308.49 GB free)

Encrypted: Yes (Unlocked)

Physical disk: disk0s2 499.42 GB (308.49 GB free)

(disk1s2) <not mounted> [Preboot]: 499.42 GB

Physical disk: disk0s2 499.42 GB

(disk1s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 499.42 GB

Physical disk: disk0s2 499.42 GB

(disk1s4) /private/var/vm [VM]: 499.42 GB

Physical disk: disk0s2 499.42 GB

System Software: ⓘ

macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 (17B48) - Time since boot: about 2 hours

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.nike.sportwatch (1.0.0) [Lookup]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 8 Apple tasks

[loaded] 170 Apple tasks

[running] 110 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] 37 Apple tasks

[loaded] 181 Apple tasks

[running] 113 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-08-14) [Lookup]

[running] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-09-26) [Lookup]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenus.agent.plist (Bjango Pty Ltd - installed 2017-11-20) [Lookup]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenus.status.plist (Bjango Pty Ltd - installed 2017-11-20) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-09-27) [Lookup]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.acc.installer.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-09-26) [Lookup]

[running] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-09-27) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (? 2afb3af7 a56d5fc2 - installed 2017-10-25) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.apple.installer.cleanupinstaller.plist (? 1963bf56 0 - installed 2017-09-28)

[running] com.bjango.istatmenus.daemon.plist (Bjango Pty Ltd - installed 2017-11-20) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.bjango.istatmenus.installerhelper.plist (Bjango Pty Ltd - installed 2017-11-20) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-10-12) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2017-10-11) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2017-02-16) [Lookup]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-08-14) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist (? 695f7c30 f03ac3b1 - installed 2017-07-03) [Lookup]

User Login Items: ⓘ

Flux Application

(/Applications/Flux.app)

CloudLoginHelper SMLoginItem - Hidden (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-10-12)

(/Applications/CloudApp.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/CloudLoginHelper.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

AdobeAAMDetect: 3.0.0.0 (installed 2017-09-26) [Lookup]

FlashPlayer-10.6: 27.0.0.187 (installed 2017-11-14) [Lookup]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-09-21)

Flash Player: 27.0.0.187 (installed 2017-11-14) [Lookup]

o1dbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 (installed 2015-12-15) [Lookup]

PepperFlashPlayer: 27.0.0.187 (installed 2017-11-14) [Lookup]

googletalkbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 (installed 2015-12-11) [Lookup]

User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

fbplugin_1_0_1: Unknown (installed 2010-02-12) [Lookup]

Picasa: 1.0 (installed 2015-02-13) [Lookup]

Safari Extensions: ⓘ

[enabled] Honey - Honey Science Corporation - https://www.joinhoney.com (installed 2017-11-08)

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Flash Player (installed 2017-10-25) [Lookup]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Skip System Files: NO

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 499.42 GB Disk used: 190.93 GB

Destinations:

Chaz Backup [Local]

Total size: 800.16 GB

Total number of backups: 51

Oldest backup: 1/2/17, 8:49 PM

Last backup: 11/21/17, 1:14 AM

Size of backup disk: Adequate

Backup size 800.16 GB > (Disk used 190.93 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

9% WindowServer

6% mdworker

5% kernel_task

3% Google Chrome Helper

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

1.39 GB kernel_task

632 MB softwareupdated

594 MB Google Chrome Helper

543 MB Google Chrome Helper

347 MB mds_stores

Top Processes by Network Use: ⓘ

Input Output Process name

430 KB 35 KB mDNSResponder

102 KB 17 KB Mail

46 KB 8 KB Slack

8 KB 10 KB apsd

7 KB 2 KB cloudd

Top Processes by Energy Use: ⓘ

9.06 WindowServer

6.16 Google Chrome Helper

5.84 Google Chrome Helper

0.94 Adobe CEF Helper

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

6.32 GB Available RAM

515 MB Free RAM

9.68 GB Used RAM

5.82 GB Cached files

0 B Swap Used

Software installs (last 30 days): ⓘ

Trello: 2.9.9 (installed 2017-10-22)

Adobe Flash Player: (installed 2017-10-26)

Adobe Pepper Flash Player: (installed 2017-10-26)

Slack: 2.8.2 (installed 2017-10-28)

Trello: 2.10.0 (installed 2017-11-05)

Adobe Flash Player: (installed 2017-11-14)

Adobe Pepper Flash Player: (installed 2017-11-14)

Slack: 2.9.0 (installed 2017-11-19)

LG Screen Manager: (installed 2017-11-20)

Install information may not be complete.

Files deleted by EtreCheck: ⓘ

2017-11-21 01:03:39 - com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist - Unknown

2017-11-21 01:03:56 - /Library/LaunchAgents/com.nike.nikeplusconnect.plist - Unknown

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Answer 4

Chazford76 Author

Level 1

12 points

Nov 21, 2017 7:26 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Ah thank you for the info! Definitely sounds like a High Sierra issue with my hardware. Although, I did update to High Sierra a long time ago and have only recently (within past week) really had this issue. So that doesn't quite match up, but everything else in that thread sounds on point with my issues.

I am trying out the downloaded NVIDIA drivers as I type, fingers crossed.

You have been very helpful. I had basically resigned myself to at the very least needing to spend $400 on a new battery, or even needing a new MBP entirely. So this has been a sigh of relief, even if it is annoying that Apple seems to have forgotten about my generation of notebooks.

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