MacBook Pro 2019 missing AMD Radeon Pro, scrolling is janky with integrated Intel GPU

[fodaise]

My boss sent me a refurb, and I noticed that the frame rate drops often while scrolling (unlike every other Mac I've used, and unlike my old Windows 10 laptop), and I noticed in About This Mac > Overview the Graphics listed as Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB... which I think means that it doesn't have a non-integrated GPU like the AMD Radeon Pros listed on Apple's MacBook page:

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I have the one on the left, the one with 2.6GHz 6-Core Processor and 512GB Storage (those are fine though)... I just can't figure out how he got one without the distinct AMD GPU.

The refurbs I'm looking at have maybe a $300 difference from the comparable new ones, so I don't know how or why he chose one with a non-discrete GPU... can somebody fill me in on how this happens?

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If the speed or graphical latency becomes a problem (which could be while having an external monitor connected), I'll show him and ask to have the discrete GPU put in, but I don't even know if that's possible. Are there versions of the MacBook 2019 16" that can't have the AMD GPU installed?

 

[MacInWin]

Welcome to the forum.

I don't know why the GPU isn't showing the better one in that display. Go back to About This Mac and click on the "System Report" button. Once the report is generated, there should be an entry for "Graphics/Display" on the sidebar that will show what is installed.

And I don't think it is possible to add a GPU to the machine as it was not a separate board but was soldered on the logic board.

But what makes you think the frame rate is changing on scrolling? Normally scrolling is associated with internet browsing, which is most ofted ragged when scrolling because of lag in the connection or at the server.

 

[fodaise]

Oh, I discovered that it appears to have the Radeon GPU... but then I don't know why scrolling would be janky, nor why it doesn't show as Graphics in About Overview.


?

So, like... is the MacBook using the Radeon GPU? Is it using it for main graphics processing? Why is it not showing as Graphics in Overview? I'm not even sure how to find these things out in settings or if I need to flip some switches to get it to work right or improve performance somehow... I just know it's behaving like a janky old HP.

 

[MacInWin]

macOS automatically switches GPUs based on demand. The only setting for it that I know is under "Power Settings" or "Battery" in System Preferences (I forget when the name changed, I'm on Big Sur.) One of the boxes that can be ticked is "Automatic Graphics Switching." Make sure it's ticked for both Battery operation and Power Adapter operations. Also, I'd suggest running some speed check on your internet. Speedtest.net is a good place to check. Slow ISP service can cause a lot of video problems when online. And again, it could always be the server on the other end, which you cannot control.

 

[mavifoda]

Thanks for the info. I found it in Energy Saver (in System Preferences).



It looks like graphics switching is already on. I don't see anything unusual in settings.

I'm getting scroll frame rate drop variously in the browser, and consistently in some other apps. My internet is fine during speed test (30Mbps consistently), and that isn't going to have any relation to scroll speed in apps that don't hit the internet for every pixel or line I scroll (I'm not aware of any that do, are you?) and that would be a very noticeable and unpopular thing in apps anyway, which would probably be fixed pretty fast by the app makers... anyway, the only thing where internet speed consistency would feasibly make an impact on frame rate is loading a section on a webpage when scrolling hits it, but the scroll lag on webpages isn't behaving consistent with that.

The frame rate drops just seem to have to do with how much visual and data information is being processed at the time, indicating that either there's some inefficiency in the graphics processing software or drivers, or something like that in the hardware (CPU/GPU), or maybe my Avast real-time scanning is just overdoing it, or there's some incompatibility with it on Mac.

I mean, it's literally behaving like I'm using a computer from 10 years ago or with a crappy GPU. Some things are fine, many are not. I think at this point that it's Avast or something else the admin installed... maybe Parallels is constantly monitoring or video recording for no good reason, like just in case admin wants to say "show me what he was doing 10 minutes ago", like something saves screen recording for 30 minutes constantly, slowing down my CPU/GPU. I can't tell yet. I'm not sure if I wanna uninstall this stuff to find out. It's definitely not behaving like past Macs, and they weren't set up by an admin that wasn't me, and they weren't refurbs.

 

[chscag]

I mean, it's literally behaving like I'm using a computer from 10 years ago or with a crappy GPU. Some things are fine, many are not. I think at this point that it's Avast or something else the admin installed...

Get rid of Avast. It's one of the worst AV programs and has been known to cause problems when used with macOS. Very well may be the reason for the frame rate slowdowns.

We recommend using Detect X Swift for malware detection and Intego VirusBarrier Scanner for any Windows type viruses that may have snuck in. Both apps do not interfere with normal operation.

 

[MacInWin]

maybe my Avast real-time scanning is just overdoing it,

Ding, ding, dingety, ding! We have a winner! Get rid of Avast and watch your problems disappear. As Charlie said above, Avast is one of the worst of the worst. You don't need a resident A/V program for a Mac, there aren't any real viruses out there for the Mac. DetectX Swift and maybe Intego VirusBarrier Scanner, run maybe once a quarter, is all you need.

 

[mavifoda]

Interesting, thanks. I'm not sure I can convince my boss of it, so I'll need any other recommendations as opposed to Avast. I'm not familiar with anti-malware software on Mac (just Windows), so top recommendations are helpful. I think Avast was chosen because it's free and well-known.

 

[chscag]

I think Avast was chosen because it's free and well-known.

Yes, it's free and well known for Windows. What may work well for Windows does not necessarily work for macOS. We realize you may be confined to what your boss dictates but for your future use and knowledge, stay far away from Avast.

Actually, our recommendation is to stay away from any Windows virus software packages. That includes Norton and others.

 

[harryb2448]

Suggest to your boss you be allowed to install Intego Virus Barrier Scanner.

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[mavifoda]

I haven't yet figured out how to uninstall Avast, at least not without my boss(es) freaking out, but I did notice a nice suggestion from it:


Heard anything about Avast Cleanup Premium on Mac? I know you've heard or experience Avast be bad on Mac, but I'm curious if this is useful, since I've had to clean out junk like this manually before.

 

[chscag]

Nothing about Avast or any of its spin offs are useful.

We can't help you out with your boss though, it's up to you to convince him/her. Lots of anecdotes in the various Macintosh forums that you can refer to. Google is your friend.

 

[mac_killa]

im me

 

[mavifoda]

We can't help you out with your boss though, it's up to you to convince him/her. Lots of anecdotes in the various Macintosh forums that you can refer to. Google is your friend.

chscag, I know nobody here can help me out with my boss Thanks for letting me know I can search this forum and Google... I honestly don't know why you're even saying any of this; your other replies were helpful. Just FYI: I'd already searched Google and this forum... but sometimes you don't find answers easily when you're not as familiar with the subject matter or the forum. That's why I posted here. I don't know why people make statements like your quote above, it's just so unnecessary and comes off as condescending. I'm sorry if saying that is offensive.

PS: My post about Avast's file cleanup wasn't before a Google search about it I posted it to get people's opinion on the thread here on it... I'm sorry if there's already a post about it buried here somewhere in the millions of posts that I should have found first.

 

[MacInWin]

chscag, I know nobody here can help me out with my boss Thanks for letting me know I can search this forum and Google... I honestly don't know why you're even saying any of this; your other replies were helpful. Just FYI: I'd already searched Google and this forum... but sometimes you don't find answers easily when you're not as familiar with the subject matter or the forum. That's why I posted here. I don't know why people make statements like your quote above, it's just so unnecessary and comes off as condescending. I'm sorry if saying that is offensive.

PS: My post about Avast's file cleanup wasn't before a Google search about it I posted it to get people's opinion on the thread here on it... I'm sorry if there's already a post about it buried here somewhere in the millions of posts that I should have found first.

Wow, talk about condescending! You need to take a good look in a mirror. You are here with 9 posts and already you are lecturing the mods on how to post!

As for Avast, as chscag said, nothing from them is any good, Period.