Windows 2013 Macbook Pro Can't Run CRAP!

[c00kays]

Hey guys! Long time acount-less lurker, first time poster. Go easy on me if I come off as long-winded or nubile, I made an account to post only because I know you guys are a strong, knowledgeable community!

Here are my specs before I get into my problem:
Macbook Pro 13" NON-Retina
Mid 2013
2.9ghz Intel Core i7
16gb corsair RAM @1600mhz
Intel HD 4000 512mb (with that much RAM, shouldn't it be bumped up to at least 1GB???)
512GB SSD
Latest version of Lion
Bootcamp'd Windows 8 Build 9200 (I think)

I bought this computer less than a week ago for college; I am a film major who intends to focus primarily on editing. However, I also enjoying video games, so allocating 100GB of my SSD to Win8 gaming was a no-brainer.

The first game I tried was Far Cry 3. I wasn't expecting it to run perfectly, even at medium settings, but I have to say I was extremely disappointed when I was barely pushing 20-25fps when playing at 800x600 and on the lowest (and practically unplayably ugly) settings. Next game I tried was Dishonored, which I initially put at max settings. It ran considerably well (30-35fps), but, after about 20 minutes of sustained play, it started "jumping." By that I mean the game would continue to run fine, but it would, several times a minute, drop about a dozen frames for no good reason. This would just get worse and worse until I just got frustrated and turned the game off. If I turn the graphics down to the minimum settings, it only takes longer (about 30 minutes) before the fps starts dropping again. Next was Skyrim, which I had seen older, crappier Macbook Pros run at 40-50fps on medium settings on YouTube (meaning that's with FRAPS running too!). Not only was I unable to run the game on anything higher than lowest settings, but the same problem that I had with Dishonored would kick in after about 30 minutes or so! I also tested TF2, which had the same issue pop up in about 5 minutes (at max settings). The only other game I've tried is Dota 2, but I didn't play for more than 5 minutes on max settings, so I probably would have had to play longer for the frames to start dropping.

Needless to say, this sucks. It kills all my ambition for PC gaming when all I'm trying to do is get into a game. All of these games are relatively old and not notoriously graphics-intensive (except Far Cry 3, of course). The only pattern I've noticed is that the longer I have my game on, the more likely it is for me to start having fps problems. I even thought it had something to do with when my fans came on/heats levels getting high/CPU throttling, and that might still be an option. I played around with ThrottleStop and SpeedFan but to no avail. Basically, I just want my new MBP to play old games the way it should. Should I try installing Windows 7? Should I play my games off an external SSD? Do I need to figure out how to ventilate my MBP better? Any and all advice is welcome. Thanks so much in advance!

(PS: Already tried reseting the SMC and PRAM)

 

[Dustman]

The lack of a graphics card will do that. It can do the occasional game on the lowest settings.

 

[c00kays]

The lack of a graphics card will do that. It can do the occasional game on the lowest settings.

I have trouble accepting that. TF2 even says that it is compatible with the Intel HD 3000, 4000, and 5000, yet that games lagged almost as badly as Far Cry 3. Do you think this has anything do to with the fact that doubling the amount of RAM my computer has didn't even change the amount of VRAM the Intel HD 4000 has access to? It should be 1GB, not 512MB.

 

[Dustman]

I have trouble accepting that. TF2 even says that it is compatible with the Intel HD 3000, 4000, and 5000, yet that games lagged almost as badly as Far Cry 3. Do you think this has anything do to with the fact that doubling the amount of RAM my computer has didn't even change the amount of VRAM the Intel HD 4000 has access to? It should be 1GB, not 512MB.

The HD 4000 scales between 384 MB and 512 MB depending on your ram. Not sure if its exclusive on the OS X side but its maxes out at 512.

Ram beyond 8 GB doesn't help games, and the listed compatibility is simply saying it will run as oppose to refusing to load at all. No machine will go beyond casual gaming on integrated graphics, saving AMD's integrated graphics (which still struggle)

 

[53kyle]

I have the same model except WITHOUT an SSD and 16 GB ram. I can play lots of games even on medium to high settings, although I don't really play any graphically intense games. It is a huge improvement over my old GMA 950 MacBook. What I don't get is why you would buy ANY computer with an intel HD 4000 and except any good gaming. When I got mine I did lots of research on how well my games would run.

 

[c00kays]

I have the same model except WITHOUT an SSD and 16 GB ram. I can play lots of games even on medium to high settings, although I don't really play any graphically intense games. It is a huge improvement over my old GMA 950 MacBook. What I don't get is why you would buy ANY computer with an intel HD 4000 and except any good gaming. When I got mine I did lots of research on how well my games would run.

I admit it was stupid of me to buy what I bought and expect as much as I did. What kinds of games do you run well at medium-high though? I'm curious.

 

[NewbieCanada]

Hey guys! Long time acount-less lurker, first time poster. Go easy on me if I come off as long-winded or nubile,

If you're going to come off as nubile you're going to have to upload pictures.

[noo-bil, -bahyl, nyoo-]
1.
(of a young woman) suitable for marriage, especially in regard to age or physical development; marriageable.
2.
(of a young person, usually a woman) sexually developed and attractive: the nubile girls in their bikinis.

 

[cgk.emu]

I have trouble accepting that. TF2 even says that it is compatible with the Intel HD 3000, 4000, and 5000, yet that games lagged almost as badly as Far Cry 3. Do you think this has anything do to with the fact that doubling the amount of RAM my computer has didn't even change the amount of VRAM the Intel HD 4000 has access to? It should be 1GB, not 512MB.

If you can't accept it, good luck. That machine is NOT for gaming. Increasing your RAM has nothing to do with the vRAM available to the integrated video chipset. Let me just stop here before saying something to get me placed in a "time-out".

----------

 

[Huntn]

I bought this computer less than a week ago for college

Now you can concentrate on your studies. If I had the chance, I would have suggested the 1GB VRAM MBP. See my signature. My 2011 circa MBP handles everything I want to play, including GW2 and WoT. I have yet to see game that my hardware can't play on moderate settings.

 

[pppppenguin]

yep you should have done your research

you could also take a stab at understanding the basics of what the GPU / CPU / VRAM / RAM / SSD do in terms of how they run your game.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-4000.69168.0.html

 

[Consultant]

All versions of 2013 MacBook Pro actually have NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M, and should use that games.
http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/

The post saying that it's running on only "Intel HD 4000 512mb" is questionable.

 

[cluthz]

All versions of 2013 MacBook Pro actually have NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M, and should use that games.
http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/

The post saying that it's running on only "Intel HD 4000 512mb" is questionable.

Nop, only the 15 inch has 650M.

 

[53kyle]

I admit it was stupid of me to buy what I bought and expect as much as I did. What kinds of games do you run well at medium-high though? I'm curious.

Team Fortress 2 (I'm not sure why you had problems with that), Half Life 2, other light games. I have yet to play something from 2012 or 2013 though. Light and old games are fine but new and realistic games aren't

 

[Pakaku]

Ha ha, someone didn't research their stuff properly.

...I sure hope that doesn't reflect on your studies.

 

[Aaron from KY]

If you're wanting to play games, take back the 13" and get a 15". Even the base model 15" would work for you. What you need to play games on a Mac is a discrete graphics card, integrated is just not going to work very well at all. Never mind the fact that Apple hasn't upgraded the Macbook Pros to Haswell and its better HD 5000 graphics yet and this is the situation you're in. So take back the 13", and get a 15", refurbished ones straight from Apple that ought to suit your needs:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD103LL/A/refurbished-macbook-pro-23ghz-quad-core-intel-i7

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD322LL/A/refurbished-macbook-pro-24ghz-quad-core-intel-i7

 

[Dustman]

Team Fortress 2 (I'm not sure why you had problems with that), Half Life 2, other light games. I have yet to play something from 2012 or 2013 though. Light and old games are fine but new and realistic games aren't

OP This is the gaming the HD 4000 is designed for.

That being said, you do have an extremely fast, capable machine for what it can do. If you want gaming you might want to sell it and pay the difference for a 15" Macbook Pro with a discrete card.

----------

If you can't accept it, good luck. That machine is NOT for gaming. Increasing your RAM has nothing to do with the vRAM available to the integrated video chipset. Let me just stop here before saying something to get me placed in a "time-out".

----------

The amount of VRAM does scale depending on your ram config.

4GB or Less = 384 MB VRAM
8GB+ = 512 MB VRAM

GMA's have always done this. The GMA 950 correct me if I'm wrong scaled between 64 MB and 224 MB (although remained at 64MB regardless on the OS X side for whatever reason)

 

[Cougarcat]

Mavericks will increase the VRAM size so that'll help somewhat, but if you really want to game you should do what Aaron says.

 

[kingtj]

You guys pretty much have it covered, but ....

Just to add one more voice to the choir?

I've tried gaming on a number of different Macbook models, and assuredly the only reason your new 13" non-retina is having issues is the Intel graphics.

When you're booted into Windows, have you made certain you've got the latest Intel video drivers installed for the 4000 integrated graphics? That's pretty much the only other thing I could see holding you back, if there's a better driver to use than the one you're got loaded.

At the moment, I suspect the best gaming performance you can get from a new Mac laptop would be from a 15" retina model, where you select a scaled down, non-retina screen mode for the games. (The video card in it was pretty much the fastest mobile video chipset Apple could get their hands on at the time it was designed, because the retina mode with 2x the normal number of pixels making up the screen needs a lot of graphics power to push all of it around. If you drop the resolution using SwitchResX or another custom utility, you wind up with a video card capable of moving over twice as many pixels as you're requiring it to move when you play a game -- so it should have pretty decent performance that way.)

In default retina resolution though, it does struggle to keep up..... I suspect that's why you'll see a revised Retina come out later this year with a better video chipset in it.

 

[roadbloc]

Intel HD 4000 512mb

I think I've found your problem. Intel cards are trash for gaming.

 

[pppppenguin]

I think I've found your problem. Intel cards are trash for gaming.

wouldn't quite agree with that but it's not going to go far attempting crysis 3 @ max settings unless 1-3 fps lights your fire

alternatively dota 2 on lowish / custom settings might be quite playable as I used to play on low using my old macbook 2.4 c2d + 9400m

all depends on what you want the system to cope with but with that said you wouldn't win many races in a prius

If the OP is stuck with the system as I'm sure many aren't in the position to just go out and buy a more powerful system in the current climate maybe he could gain a few fps by being creative with custom settings in game. Turning off/down FSAA, Aniso, high res textures, shadows, particles and post processing effect should have a fairly significant effect on the mean fps.

 

[rockyroad55]

Return or resell the 13 and get a 15.

 

[blesscheese]

Just to add one more voice to the choir?

When you're booted into Windows, have you made certain you've got the latest Intel video drivers installed for the 4000 integrated graphics? That's pretty much the only other thing I could see holding you back, if there's a better driver to use than the one you're got loaded.
.

what he said. if you haven't exchanged it, make sure you download ( in Windows) the latest graphics drivers. Bootcamp drivers are always old and out of date.

 

[MathBunny123]

I agree, get the 15.4'', my 15.4'' can handle any game I throw at it with decent settings. TDU2 with 1920x1200 maxx'ed out, NFS Hot Pursuit on 2880x1800 (they both have the same GPU, r and c), Minecraft (obviously), DiRT 2, and more...

So if you want to play games just get a 15.4'', the 13.3'' was never designed for games.

 

[oplix]

Install boot camp and run the games on windows. You will get MUCH BETTER results

 

[SuperMatt]

The 13" Macbook "Pro" shouldn't really be called a "Pro" laptop in my opinion. You need to get the 15" MBP to get a discreet graphics processor. Even a year or two old MBP 15 will play games better than the 13" with the Intel integrated garbage.