Performance on MBP gets worse with time

[ojeng]

Hey, so I've been using my 2016 Macbook Pro (2.7 Ghz i7, 16gb RAM, Radeon Pro 460 4GB, SSD internal drive) for the past year for VJing, but after a while of being OK, it's now choppy and jumps between 12-30 FPS which results in a pretty lame performance.

I've toured around and did many shows and everything was going relatively ok - as long as I didn't use more than 3-4 layers. All my vids are 1080p in DVX. And I always had to restart before performing and quit all running background apps. Sometimes on very high-end projectors it would still get under 30fps for not more than 3 layers, sometimes even less - but I could still deal with that.

However now it's got to a point where even one layer would go under 30 fps no matter if I restart or reduce the output resolution. Also I make sure there's at least 10% free space on the HD.

I'm kinda baffled - why would the performance get worse after a few months if nothing has changed in my setup or videos? And is there anything I could do to make it run smoother like it used to?
I really don't want to get a new laptop cuz according to the general benchmark tests this should be running very smooth with my setup.

Thank you!

[Arvol]

Not a fan of mac's. They thermal throttle and are overpriced for the basic hardware you get.
With that being said, what other processes are you running while using Resolume?
Have you installed a system performance monitor to see what is maxing out your system, causing it to slow down? I would start with that.

With what you have said, I agree, you shouldn't have any issues with 60fps on your setup. My 2012 MBP can still push 4 layers of 1080p@60 (although I haven't turned it on in almost 3 years)

[ojeng]

Hey thanks for the reply - so it will play at around 60fps for about 30secs to a minute as it gradually drops in frame rate with CPU usage showing low activity and GPU usage at full rate.
Then all of a sudden it'll drop to 10 fps or lower, CPU kicks in at full speed to a point where all computer is slow and unresponsive, and GPU usage drops by around a third

It's weird, I tried to reset SMC and also reinstall OS X from recovery, and also reinstalling Arena, but it didnt make it any better.

However, I noticed that when I open a new composition and play 3 layers it'll stay at 60fps. So now I'm guessing it has to do with the project file.

Is that normal? Will a project file with lots of decks and videos will lag more than one with less decks or did the project file just get buggy?

[Zoltán]

If you use lots of effects, or layers that will make the GPU work hard.
If it works hard it will heat up. Till the point where your GPU and the CPU starts to throttle.
Yes, also the CPU because they are on the same heat sink.

Reducing the number of effects, and layers playing could help.

Have you tried cleaning the insides of the macbook could be also a good idea, and maybe re-pasting the CPU and GPU too.
Then what you can also do would be to use a more aggressive fan profile with Macs Fan control so the macbook doesn't wait cranking up the fans till temps hit 95 degress C.

[ojeng]

Thanks for your reply Zoltan

So there's no way for me to get in the Macbook since ...it's a macbook and I don't have the right tools for that. I'll try to take it to the apple store when I get back home.

Macs Fan control show the fans on full speed whenever Arena is running (even when nothing is playing)
CPU 1-4 range frmo 65-71 degrees
GPU Diode is around 70 when 3 layers are playing and connected to a 1080 external monitor

The original project file was playing at 10fps after about 30 secs, with CPU kicking up full acitivity and GPU slowing down, even when nothing was playing, right after opening it.
After about 10 minutes the new project files started acting the same way. It doesn't drop to 10 but it's at 15-25 now, only 3 fhd layers, no effects whatsoever.
Kernal_task is jumping to 500% and the CPU for some reason is working at full speed when usually Arena wont even use it that much.

You think it's simply a heat issue?

[Zoltán]

When the CPU starts to throttle, the utilization percentage goes up on my macbook, so I'm thinking you might see the same.
But the temps are above 95 for me then.

What are the temps when you see the kernel task use that much CPU?
How's the CPU frequency? (You can check that with Intel Power gadget)