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Anyone with a MacBook Pro 16?

Started by evaamo, Tue, 11 Feb 2020 02:52

evaamo

Hello !

I'm running MacOS (Catalina) 10.15.3 on my MacBook Pro 16. It's an i9 with 64GB of RAM and 1TB SSD. It comes with dual GPUs, the internal one is an Intel GPU and the discrete one is an AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 8 GB of VRAM.

Sadly, as good as this machines' spec sound, in reality it's running PSX very poorly. I've been trying all kind of settings during the last two days, including the desperate measure of reinstalling MacOS from scratch and only installing OpenJDK 13 and PSX. I've tried multiple versions of Java's JDK and different settings inside PSX to try to get it to work.

The situation is: I'm getting random pauses, each 3-5 seconds long, sometimes as often as  every 20 or 30 seconds when running PSX. This is specially noticeable when using the Demo loop situ. The FPS fluctuates between 63 and 72, but it "hiccups" randomly, making PSX almost unusable. The situation improves if I disable audio, but doesn't cure it 100% (Disabling audio reduces the pauses for 85-90% of the time).

Ironic thing is, my former laptop (2017 MacBook Pro - also with a discrete AMD Radeon card, although inferior in specs), has no issues running PSX. I have the same JDK, same OS version, same screen resolution, same PSX install folder, same MacOS settings in both laptops.

In the MacBook Pro 16, I can see in the Activity Monitor the (discrete) GPU running at 100% capacity for the windowserver process when running PSX, which in contrast to the 2017 MacBook Pro, it also sustains 60-70fps in PSX but GPU usage never goes above 40-50%.

If I force the Intel (integrated) GPU instead of the discrete (AMD) in the new MacBook, the GPU usage never goes above 60% and I don't have these pauses. The bad part is PSX runs at 24fps using the integrated GPU.

So, it would seem to be a driver issue of some sorts with this particular discrete GPU (AMD)... not sure if there is any relation to Java (yet), however if any of you have a MacBook Pro 16 I'd love to read about your results.

I have little faith in Apple when it comes to fixing these kind of issues...

Thanks for the help!

cheers
-E

Enrique Vaamonde

Hardy Heinlin

Hello Enrique,

maybe it has something to do with the file access?

Are your Aerowinx files in an Internet cloud? (Any hidden settings?)

Is your Aerowinx folder on an external drive?

Is your internal drive 100% OK?


Regards,

|-|ardy

evaamo

Hi Hardy, thanks for replying.

I thought it was filesystem related initially... however, the Aerowinx folder is in a local (non-iCloud / Google Drive / Etc.) hard drive. I reinstalled the OS in both MacBooks and copied the Aerowinx folder in both machines, using the same JDK.

The difference is definitely something GPU-related. Using the discrete GPU in both the MacBook Pro 16 (2019) and the MacBook Pro 15 (2017) result in 100% GPU usage in the first, and 35-50% usage in the latter.

For the sake of troubleshooting, I used an external USB-C Solid State Drive in both machines. Same result.

It's quite absurd, really.

I will try to contact Apple about this... although as I said, the probabilities of getting any answer or patch is low, very low.

Will keep this thread updated as soon as I know more, or find a solution.

Thanks!
-E



Enrique Vaamonde

United744

#3
Contact Apple, and threaten to return the MBP for a refund as it's defective.

That the GPU is maxed out indicates a GPU problem and the pauses may be GPU resets. I've heard of this occurring before on earlier MBP with discrete graphics (though I thought this was addressed).

Is it overheating? I would hope not but worth checking.

United744

Try this: force the discrete GPU by turning OFF auto-switching between GPUs.

Ensure you're running off mains power.

evaamo

Hi United744! Thanks for replying.

>> force the discrete GPU by turning OFF auto-switching between GPUs.

Did that, same result. I even used a tool called gSwitch for that. In the activity monitor I can tell it's only using the discrete GPU by selecting the Command-4 option and seeing the graphs.

I thought about the thermal situation as well, but cpu-side it rarely goes above 60% running PSX... the fans go like crazy is because of the amount of heat being generated by the discrete GPU, not the CPU per se.

Having said that, your suggestion about GPU resets and contacting Apple for a refund might be a viable option.

Thanks!!!
-E
Enrique Vaamonde

evaamo

Quick follow-up:

I'm "happy" to report that, as long as I'm using earphones (wired or bluetooth, doesn't matter), PSX performs flawlessly. The discrete GPU is still pegged at 100%, but it doesn't affect the fluidity of PSX and I'm getting a constant 70fps. So, it might not be GPU related after all.

Now for the sad part: as soon as I use PSX and the audio goes through the built-in speakers of the MacBook Pro, I start getting the same behavior I mentioned on the initial post.

There are reports of "sound popping" issues on this specific MacBook Pro model speakers, but I don't know (and don't have the time to test) if it's related. It might be a Java + this machine sound driver issues (I'm unable to replicate this issue with other Java apps / games), but at least it's working now.

No big issue tho', most of the time I'm using earphones anyway. Now, why a $4,000 machine has this kind of issues makes you wonder about Apple products quality these days.

Hope this helps if anyone here ever hit this issue.

cheers
-E

Enrique Vaamonde

Hardy Heinlin

Isn't this just power related? The job of the audio software remains the same when you change from earphones to speakers. Just the amplifier needs more power. Perhaps there's a bug in the power management software?


Regards,

|-|ardy

cavaricooper

#8
E-

Unfortunately, I refuse to subscribe to Adobe CS, so I am stuck with Mojave, and therefore for the foreseeable future with my 2014 15" Retina MBP.  Most of it's shortcomings are obviated by the SSD and the 27" Cinema Display, but I do wish I could upgrade.  Posts such as these help curb my impatience.  I do agree, Apple is different without Jobs... I miss the days they didn't try and push new models twice a year, and produced robust offerings that worked for a decade without a hiccup. More is sometimes, just more.

Good Luck my friend! Fingers x'ed for an update to solve your woes.

Best- C
Carl Avari-Cooper, KTPA

evaamo

Quote from: Hardy Heinlin on Sun, 23 Feb 2020 08:25
Isn't this just power related? The job of the audio software remains the same when you change from earphones to speakers. Just the amplifier needs more power. Perhaps there's a bug in the power management software?

Hi Hardy. That's a good hypothesis. According to different forums, the "popping" could be fixable by a software update soon, but I don't know if it's related to "my issue". Who knows, time will tell. I have tried two other different games that require high GPU usage and haven't managed to reproduce this issue, so the only variable here would be Java, as absurd as that may sound. For now, I'm happy I found a workaround to this issue and hopefully will try the NG add-on :-)

Quote from: cavaricooper on Sun, 23 Feb 2020 14:01
Unfortunately, I refuse to subscribe to Adobe CS, so I am stuck with Mojave, and therefore for the foreseeable future with my 2014 15" Retina MBP.  Most of it's shortcomings are obviated by the SSD and the 27" Cinema Display, but I do wish I could upgrade.  Posts such as these help curb my impatience.  I do agree, Apple is different without Jobs... I miss the days they didn't try and push new models twice a year, and produced robust offerings that worked for a decade without a hiccup. More is sometimes, just more.

Good Luck my friend! Fingers x'ed for an update to solve your woes.

Hi Carl! Long time no "see" ;-). Hope all is well on your end, my friend.

To be honest, I love this machine... specially now that they reverted to the original keyboard mechanism. I already had to send my "old" 2017 MBP 15" twice to Apple support because of the "stuck" keys situation related to the "butterfly" keyboard, so the moment they announced this new version of the MBP, I just had to switch. I know your feelings exactly tho', I would still be using my trusty 2013 MBP 13" if I could. Sadly, because of my line of work I need lots of RAM for virtual machines and 8GB is a no-go. So, now the 64GB of RAM feel like an "infinite" resource (I'm from the MS-DOS  / Apple II / Macintosh 512k days, so it should be enough, right?  ;D ). Anyway, I agree Apple is indeed a different company these days... a $4000 machine would last 10 years or so. I'm hoping I can squeeze 4 or 5 years out of mine, while avoiding a tech repair all-together.

Anyway, glad to hear from you again. Take care amigo, and thanks for the good wishes.

-E
Enrique Vaamonde

evaamo

Quick follow-up:

I'm happy to report that Apple's recent update to macOS Catalina (10.15.4) fixed the issue.

No reference about anything related to this "bug" anywhere in the changelog, tho'.

This is using Oracle's Java JDK 13.

Hope this helps.

Stay healthy and safe, amigos.
-E

Enrique Vaamonde