High Sierra on Mid 2014 MBPR exhibits GPU memory leak with external displays

Same problem as in High Sierra on Mid 2014 MBPR exhibits GPU memory leak with external displays but on 10.3.3. As there was no problem on earlier versions of Mac OS I suppose that it appeared on Mac OS 10.3.2 or some earlier. I do not want to think it's a new slowdown issue like with batteries on iPhone.


My configuration is:

MPRO mid 14 15'', 2.5 GHz, 16 GB, 512 SSD

MacOS 10.3.3

Apple Thunderbolt Display

iStat Menus 6

Step 1) External Display + Safari after several hours of work (100% GPU mem, Nvidia GPU used):

User uploaded file

Step 2) Disconnect External Display + Safari (39% GPU mem, internal GPU used):

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Step 3) Connect again External Display + Safari (42% GPU mem, Nvidia GPU used)User uploaded file

Step 4) External Display + no Safari (35% GPU mem, Nvidia GPU used):


User uploaded file

Step 5) Disconnect External Display + no Safari (31% GPU mem, internal GPU used):

User uploaded file


Display configurations:

User uploaded file

User uploaded file

MacBook Pro, macOS High Sierra (10.13.3), Apple Thunderbolt Display

Posted on Feb 12, 2018 2:50 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 4, 2018 5:37 AM

I'm on a late 2013 iMac 27" with a GTX 775M (2 gb) and RAM = 24 gb. Installing the latest Nvidia driver made Windowserver and Memory go totally haywire, I am pretty certain.


Typically I'm at < 10% memory pressure; post-driver update I was at 70%+ after one hour. According to Activity Monitor, at one point windowserver was using 180 GB ( ! ) of RAM, ~174 GB of which compressed. Also appeared: forty 1.03 gig "swapfiles" in /private/var/vm/ taking up 40 gigs of hard drive space (disappeared on restart). System forced logouts every few hours. It was very confusing figuring out what was causing what. All I do is browse the internet and compile TeX documents. No gaming, no computations...youtube is as graphics heavy as I get.


Solution that worked for me: I switched from Nvidia Web Driver to Default MacOS Graphics Driver in the nvidia web utility (not cuda). Now I have no problems. Slightly uglier but it's stable and non-buggy. So I will stick with this.


It is totally unacceptable to have bugs like this. Apple does not let us tweak the hardware. We are forced to use one of the three graphics cards that Apple chooses. Then we sit around not able to use the only thing they allowed us to purchase, til maybe Apple or Nvidia figure out a fix some day. (It will just happen--no PR to tell us what's going on). "We won't fix it and no you can't change it" is such a rotten message. Unfortunately the alternative is windows...

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19 replies

Feb 12, 2018 1:34 PM in response to 91koff

You might consider a different route.


A Troubleshooting Protocol to Identify Problems or Fix macOS El Capitan or Later

You should try each, one at a time, then test to see if the problem is fixed before going on to the next.

Be sure to backup your files before proceeding if possible.


  1. Shutdown the computer, wait 30 seconds, restart the computer.
  2. Disconnect all third-party peripherals and remove any support software like drivers and plug-ins.
  3. Resetting your Mac’s PRAM and NVRAM
  4. Reset the System Management Controller (SMC)
  5. Start the computer in Safe Mode, then restart normally. This is slower than a standard startup.
  6. Repair the disk by booting from the Recovery HD. Immediately after the chime hold down the Command and R keys until the Utility Menu appears. Choose Disk Utility and click on the Continue button. Select the indented (usually, Macintosh HD) volume entry from the side list. Click on the First Aid button in the toolbar. Wait for the Done button to appear. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu. Restart the computer from the Apple Menu.
  7. Create a New User Account Open Users & Groups preferences. Click on the lock icon and enter your Admin password when prompted. On the left under Current User click on the Add [+] button under Login Options. Setup a new Admin user account. Upon completion log out of your current account then log into the new account. If your problems cease, then consider switching to the new account and transferring your files to it - Transferring files from one User Account to another.
  8. Download and install the OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 Combo Update or 10.12.6 Combo Update or Download macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 Combo Update as needed.
  9. Reinstall OS X by booting from the Recovery HD using the Command and R keys. When the Utility Menu appears select Reinstall OS X then click on the Continue button.
  10. Erase and Install OS X Restart the computer. Immediately after the chime hold down the Command and R keys until the Apple logo appears. When the Utility Menu appears:
  1. Select Disk Utility from the Utility Menu and click on Continue button.
  2. When Disk Utility loads select the drive (out-dented entry) from the Device list.
  3. Click on the Erase icon in Disk Utility's toolbar. A panel will drop down.
  4. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
  5. Click on the Apply button, then wait for the Done button to activate and click on it.
  6. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
  7. Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Continue button.

Ways to Help Make a Slow Mac Faster


  1. 17 Reasons Why Your Mac Runs Slower Than it Should
  2. Slow Mac Performance? This Article Solves It!
  3. Fix slow start-ups in OS X | MacFixIt - CNET Reviews
  4. How to fix slow shutdown and startup times. | MacTip.net
  5. 6 Easy Tips to Speed Up OS X Yosemite on Your Mac
  6. OS X El Capitan- If your Mac runs slowly
  7. Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Performance
  8. Tips to Fix Issues that affect Mac Performance
  9. Avoid using any third-party cleanup software. Usually, this software does more bad than good. You don't need it. All computers become slower over time even under normal use. Experienced users erase the hard drive and do a clean install from scratch from time to time; or whenever installing a major OS upgrade. Doing so means you must maintain regular and multiple backups.
  10. If you have enabled iCloud Disk and are storing your Documents and Data in iCloud, then consider turning that off and signing out of iCloud. It can slow down the computer considerably. Please see the following from the user, fotomac: "The solution was to SIGN OUT of iCloud and my problem STOPPED! NO MORE SPINNING BEACHBALL! My computer's speed increased to what it should be and all my Apps now work!"
  11. Add more RAM or cut back on the number of concurrently running applications and utilities. Remove unnecessary anti-malware software and any software that promises to clean your Mac. Check for runaway processes: Runaway applications can shorten battery runtime, affect performance, and increase heat and fan activity. Also, visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on dealing with The Spinning Beach Ball of Death.
  12. The Ultimate Fix: Backup everything, erase the drive, reinstall OS X, and restore your data from the backup. Reinstall third-party software from original media/scratch.

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High Sierra on Mid 2014 MBPR exhibits GPU memory leak with external displays

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