Macbook Pro 13” (mid 2012) speed problem, or is it me?

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Hi everyone,

I recorded a short video regarding the performance of my Macbook Pro (13” , i5, 2,5ghz, 4GB memory) purchased 4 months ago, as I recently have been a bit disappointed.

Applications open:

Calculator
Chrome (set at Facebook)
Safari (set at Mac-Forums.com)
Mail (having less of 300MB stored data to deal with)
Outlook for Mac (same as with Mail)

1,4 GB of memory free (out of 4GB) see top of the page.

I takes 24 bounces for Opera to start!

WHY?

ScreenDemo - YouTube
 

pigoo3

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I takes 24 bounces for Opera to start!

Better information would be:

- how much ram do you have?
- how full is your HD?
- screenshots of Activity Monitor (cpu & system memory tabs)

- Nick
 
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chas_m

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He already said he had 4GB of RAM, but the other two questions were unanswered.
 
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good question.... why do you need 4 browsers? Why not only use Safari? Safari is all i use and it works just fine.
 
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Better information would be:

- how much ram do you have?
- how full is your HD?
- screenshots of Activity Monitor (cpu & system memory tabs)

- Nick

1. 4GB (during the video you will see how much RAM is free)
2. Out of 500GB I have 250GB free space
3. I checked it (without providing the screenshot) after recording the video and it would show
the normal programs that use memory (Outlook, Mail, Chrome, Safari)

I am aware that restarting the Mac gives you a better system state, but it seems strange to me that if I have over 2GB of RAM free, no special programs open (apart from the ones I mentioned) it is still taking 16 bounces for Opera to open. As an example, with 10% more memory free when restarting the Mac, it takes 7 bounces.

Today for instance I had my computer returning from sleep-mode, waited a while. Opened Outlook, and the beach ball would appear 3-4 times within a single minute (e.g. going from inbox to sent items, clicking on a mail within Outlook). The beach ball would also appear sometimes when switching to Safari and refreshing a page (having Outlook,Mail, Chrome open) It is perhaps just for 3-4-5 seconds, but it is annoying at times knowing that I have an i5 2,5ghz processor and lots of free RAM and I am technically minded enough to see that nothing could be hogging my system when looking at activity monitor.

I know that running many programs at the same time could slow down the system, but I dont find it normal to have Mail, Outlook, Safari and Chrome running (just 4 programs), having 2+GB of RAM free to get into situations that my Mac just stops working (either freezes temporarily 2-3 seconds) or encountering the beach ball.

If I increase the RAM to 8GB, would that make a really huge difference?
 
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MacInWin

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Sounds more like a slowdown in your internet connection. Every action you listed (Open Outlook, checking inbox, opening a mail, open Safari, refresh a page) requires communications to your ISP. You'll see beachballs if the ISP is slow because your system is waiting for the other end of the Internet to respond. I'm still curious about why you have more than one browser open, and why two email system (Mail and Outlook). If Mail and Outlook are checking the same mailbox, that can add to your delays in responding, too.
 
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I am on a UPC 120Mbps/down and 10 Mbps up connection. Therefore my internet connection is really not the problem

Your suggestion that Mail and Outlook could be checking the same mailbox is not the case. Outlook handles one business address (separate dedicated mail server) and Mail handles my personal email (Yahoo and Gmail for 5 accounts).
 
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MacInWin

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Well, then, to answer you original question, we've eliminated everything else, so it has to be you. :)
 
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I have a core i7 MBA with 4GB of RAM and it takes 0 bounces for opera to open. With only Opera opening - Opera opens right away. When I have 3 other browsers open - I get 2 bounces before Opera opens.

I have ~150MB free with that many browsers open.

From what I could tell -> Opera looks like it was being called from /Applications - but since you called it from spotlight I can't be 100% sure. Are you sure that Opera is on the hard drive and installed in Applications? You aren't calling it from an encrypted dmg or anything like that?
 

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I've been following this thread...and I've been thinking something similar to what "IvanLasston" has hit on.

If Opera is the only application with this issue...I'm thinking:

- It was installed incorrectly.
- If the install has multiple parts...maybe these "parts/files" have gotten separated...causing computer "confusion".
- Maybe the program itself has gotten corrupted in some way.
- Maybe repairing permissions will help (Disk Utility).
- Maybe the most current version of Opera wasn't installed.
- Maybe multiple versions of Opera were installed...causing computer "confusion".
- Start from scratch. Uninstall what is currently installed...then reinstall Opera.

Just shooting a bunch of ideas your way. Some ideas obviously won't apply...but some may.

HTH,

- Nick
 
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Hi Nick

Thanks for your input as well.

I have re-installed Opera (as an example) - after my Mac started up- and it takes 3 bounces for it to open.

I wish to mention that Opera (as an app) is just an example. If I have my computer running for a couple of hours (Mail,Outlook, Safari and Chrome active) it seems that when opening another program (regardless if this is Opera or not) it takes a lot of time before such program opens.

When my Mac has started up I have 2,5GB of free memory, and it takes 3-4 bounces for instance for Opera to open. A few hours later (with 2,1GB of free memory as an example) it can take up to 24 bounces for Opera to open. As mentioned, this also applies to Google Chrome (3-4 bounces when Mac has just started up, while it takes 10-15 bounces or more when I have used my Mac for a few hours)

In activity monitor there is nothing that lets me assume that my system is slow, and the available RAM in any of such cases is between 1.8 - 2,2 GB. I have not installed all sorts of tweaks and there are 2 minor applications running at the top (a ”Kill all” application and a ”Sound amplifier”). Bluetooth is off as well.

I have verified my Mac with Disk Utility during the time I was writing this post, and opened Opera again and it too 31 bounces (and this is 15 minutes after I opened Opera after a fresh install with 3 bounces)

Closing Opera again and opening Microsoft Word 9 bounces. Closing Word and opening Chrome, 10 bounces. Maybe I am impatient, and of course the time to open a program depends on the size of the app. On the other hand iTunes opens in 5 bounces (even with Safar and Chrome in the background).

I think it would be time perhaps for some extra RAM ...
 

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In activity monitor there is nothing that lets me assume that my system is slow...

You may not think so...but I am not convinced. This is why I asked for screenshots of Activity Monitor earlier (System Memory tab) way back in reply #1 of this thread...but you choose not to provide them.:(

I'll ask once more...and then it's up to you.;) Please provide screenshots of Activity Monitors "System Memory" tab. It's very important that you ONLY do this when your computer is acting slow (lots of bounces when opening apps.)...otherwise it won't be helpful.

- Nick
 
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MacInWin

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You might also provide a screenshot of Activity Monitor after clicking on the %CPU column header to get it sorted with the biggest CPU user at the top. The screen will keep changing as the system moves, but the one at the top, if it's a problem, will stay at the top.
 
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Opera, when opened not through Finder but directly from Applications, also took 15 bounces to open (which I find a lot) and I took screenshots of Activity Monitor

1. Activity Monitor (System Memory)

3309v2b.png


2. Activity Monitor (CPU highest)

2aij7o4.png
 

pigoo3

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1. Activity Monitor (System Memory)

3309v2b.png



Awesome...thanks for the screenshots!:)

You see the sizes of the "Page outs" and the "Swap used"...this is the problem. When these numbers get too large...things slow down. It's a cumulative effect of having:

- a lot of apps. being open & used at the same time
- the computer hasn't been rebooted in a good while.
- and simply a lot of activity on the computer

Sometimes this can happen in a couple hours...a couple days...or a week. It all depends on how busy a user is on thier computer.

For example...I have 8gig of ram in my MBP (used to have 4gig). Right now my "Page Outs" and "Swap Used" are both at zero (which is optimal...but eventually they will start growing).

With my usage patterns...I may be able to go 3-4 days or a week before they start to "grow" beyond zero. But on another computer I have (a MacBook)...I used to only have 2 gig of ram in it...and the "Page Outs" and "Swap file" sizes would start to grow after only a couple hours...and basically I would have to reboot the computer every 1-2 days. When I upgraded it to 4gig...it was much better!:)

So basically what I'm saying is...this slowdown that you're experiencing (and other folks experience) is due to a combination of:

- lots of apps open at once
- lots of activity on your computer
- possibly not rebooting the computer sooner when these indicators get large

From what I'm seeing (you're usage patterns)...you probably would benefit from a ram upgrade.

- Nick

p.s. The "Beachballs" link in my signature explains things further if you need more info.
 
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MacInWin

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@pigoo3, when I open AM on my machine there are a lot of processes with the User "Root," but I don't see any at all in his posts. Could that be contributing to his large Page out and swap?
 

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@pigoo3, when I open AM on my machine there are a lot of processes with the User "Root," but I don't see any at all in his posts. Could that be contributing to his large Page out and swap?

If you look at the "Activity Monitor" window...towards the upper right area there's a drop-down menu to view the type of process the person wants to see listed.

In "Buc021's" case...he has "My Processes" selected...thus only the user's ("Stefan" in this example) processes are listed.

- If from the drop-down menu someone selects "System Processes"...only the "root" processes will be listed.
- If from the drop-down menu someone selects "All Processes"...then everything will be listed ("root" and everything else).

So we only see the "Stefan" related processes because "My Processes" is selected in Activity Monitor.:)

HTH,

- Nick
 
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Nick,

Thank you for the elaborate response to the matter.I will beconsidering buying an extra 4GB of RAM

I understand what you are explaining, but to me it seems that the slowdown does not happen after half a day or a day, it typically happens within an hour or two-three. I use 3-4 apps regularly (Safari, Mail, Outlook) and I am not excessively doing all kind of data-hungry things.

I have this little app (on the top bar) which can ”kill all applications” at once, and I have a separate App which can free memory (called ”Memory Clean”) which I use at times. When I start my Mac in the morning, I wish to use it throughout the day and then close it completely in the evening. But during the day I would like to make as little restarts as possible.Is there a technical solutions for lowering the ”Page Outs” and the ”Swap Used” when my Mac is on, instead of having to restart my Mac to get the optimal figures?
 

chscag

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I have this little app (on the top bar) which can ”kill all applications” at once, and I have a separate App which can free memory (called ”Memory Clean”) which I use at times.

I'll let Nick comment on that.... but my advice is to get rid of "Memory Clean" and any other cleanup type utilities that you may be running. None of them work and are usually more harmful.
 

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