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Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

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Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#51

Post by slantyyz »

linuxlizard wrote: post #49
slantyyz wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had one of those problematic 2011 MBPs, and reballing/reflowing/baking was only a band-aid. For many users, the issue was known to recur after implementing the fix. Even for the eventual repair order, Apple stuck in the same logic board with the same parts. I think the main difference was that those logic boards throttled the CPU to run cooler. That early 2011 Macbook Pro was the first laptop I ever had (by any man…

I had one of those problem units, too. After a lot of back and forth, Apple swapped the main board. I had no subsequent problems. Yay, Applecare.

My AppleCare had lapsed the time it died. The logic board was already replaced once while it was under Applecare, and maybe 3 months after the first logic board replacement, the GPU flickering issues started recurring. At that point, I didn't have the board replaced again under AppleCare because it was clear they were going to replace the logic board with one that for all intents and purposes, had the same design (?) defect.

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#52

Post by njloof »

mikhailt wrote: post #40

Dave (the guy who Apple mentioned working with to find this issue) already tweeted that the performance is "soo much better". Source: https://twitter.com/Dave2Dtv/status/1021817313555755009

Has he tried setting it on his bare legs during the test?

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#53

Post by yulaow »

earenndil wrote: post #39
tomp wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they have tremendous brand loyalty, but will need to be more careful in the future. Does that really matter though? I was just discussing this with someone over the weekend... his thesis was that people buy Apple because of branding, which might be true as far as the majority of customers are concerned... But for people like me (powerusers), MacBooks are simply the best possible choice. Everything else is either ad…

I've had no driver problems running linux on my laptop, just sayin.

Same, since 2009. Even got better battery than on windows (and by far since windows 10)

But it's true that you better buy a laptop that you know has good support. eg: almost any dell, almost any asus, any thinkpad.

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#55

Post by dep_b »

Nice, I was going to buy the lowest spec CPU version of the 2018 yes or yes so seeing that the thermal issues are getting improved just affirms my decision. I think the 2018 might be the new 2015. Apple MacBooks are like classic wines, some years are better than others, but you'll pay through the nose for every vintage anyway ;)

My 2008 alu worked without a hitch for 10 years until a bad third party battery started to give problems together with the keyboard a month ago and I decided not to try to fix it anymore: that wasn't a bad investment.

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#56

Post by chipotle_coyote »

gaius wrote: post #33
tomp wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they have tremendous brand loyalty, but will need to be more careful in the future. Does that really matter though? I was just discussing this with someone over the weekend... his thesis was that people buy Apple because of branding, which might be true as far as the majority of customers are concerned... But for people like me (powerusers), MacBooks are simply the best possible choice. Everything else is either ad…

Everything else is either adware (Windows 10) I am running Windows 10 Pro on a Surface. I haven’t seen a single ad, anywhere. If that’s your only reason let me set your mind at rest. Surface is a better Mac than a Mac at this point. That’s why I upgraded my old MBP to one rather than a new MBP.

The Surface is probably a great Surface, and you might prefer it to a Mac, but a Surface is a terrible Mac, for much the same reason a Mac is a terrible Surface.

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#57

Post by ordinaryradical »

skrause wrote: post #36
ketralnis wrote: post #2

> Following extensive performance testing under numerous workloads, we’ve identified that there is a missing digital key in the firmware that impacts the thermal management system and could drive clock speeds down under heavy thermal loads on the new MacBook Pro. A bug fix is included in today’s macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update and is recommended. We apologize to any customer who has experienced less tha…

Probably the MSR_TURBO_POWER_LIMIT value as described in https://www.reddit.com/r/macbookpro/comments/91256u/optimal_...

If you read that thread, what's curious is that it seems this power threshold has always been set perilously because older MacBooks seem to have the same setting for their VRMs as well.

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#58

Post by sgillen »

adpirz wrote: post #48
sgillen wrote: post #42

I’m glad it was just a software bug. It still seems like Apple’s quality control has gone way done over the last few years. My hypothesis is that there has been a change in culture as the company gets bigger with less emphasis on rigorous testing of the code? It would be interesting to get some perspective from a longtime Apple employee on this.

The alternative is this issue came up, and they had a trade off to make with heat + noise vs cooler + quieter, and out of the gate they bet on cooler and quieter; with the backlash, they’re realizing it was the wrong bet, and fixing a “bug.” I have to imagine that basic stress testing would have caught this somewhere.

That’s true, but it seems like this issue doesn’t affect all MacBooks? And looking at the reddit thread someone posted here it does look like the behavior wasn’t actually throttling properly.

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#59

Post by ggg9990 »

mikhailt wrote: post #27
ggg9990 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yikes, pretty bad showing by Apple here. They don't have the leeway that they did when they had Steve Jobs... they have tremendous brand loyalty, but will need to be more careful in the future.

They had the same issues before Steve Jobs, 99% of people seriously do not care or even knew about this. What's more important is fixing and moving on to the next problem. Technologies are so complex nowadays that it is becoming virtually impossible to produce anything without issues.

They had the issues with Steve Jobs but they also had Steve Jobs to save their ass.

Re: Apple releases software fix for MacBook Pro slowdown

#60

Post by joshstrange »

This appears to be working as expected. Here is a graph [0] of the Intel Power Gadget while I ran Cinebench. They are not the same length because it took longer before the update and I cut out the parts before and after. Pretty striking difference IMHO and it never went below base clock after the update. I was worried about my i9 but I'm not anymore. Also if anyone is wondering it went from 780cb -> 860cb but I wouldn't put too much stock in that since I've got other apps open (same apps for both tests) and 3 external monitors attached. Some people report 1100cb score after the fix.

[0] https://www.dropbox.com/s/y30x13mi6ozhg0k/10.16.3S-Fix.png?d...

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