[sktrdie]

Yes.
Since i've put panther on my 12" 867 pbook (1st generation) the only 2 games i have run quite slow!!! I had Jaguar and they both ran perfectly, my fps were like 50-60...great!!! i loved it!!
Since i put panther they're all slower, much slower!! Medal of Honor:AA and Ghost recon (the only 2 games i have) run at like 15 fps and all the graphics are down!!! i cant believe this..i spent lot of money on panther and on the games... i may think to go back to jaguar, but i mean, there has to be a way.or a problem...

Someone said that STuffIT 8.0 had some probs. please help me....

BTW the system itself with the finder seems faster than JAGUAR, but after i open lots of apps and use them alot the become choppy and the scrolling gets really slow..
thnx

[sktrdie]

anyone??

[effgee]

hmmm ...

BTW the system itself with the finder seems faster than JAGUAR, but after i open lots of apps and use them alot the become choppy and the scrolling gets really slow..

If you haven't already done so, try the following: Recreate the situation you described above, meaning use your machine until the slow-down you mentioned becomes noticeable. Then go to "Applications" > "Utilities" and open "Activity Monitor" and check if there's a background process and/or an application that gobbles up all the processor cycles and/or the RAM. If the information in Activity Monitor doesn't make sense to you, simply take a screenshot post it here and we'll take a peek

If there's nothing in Activity Monitor that points to the guilty app/process, create a new (temporary) user account, reboot the machine, log in as the new user and see if the slow-down occurs with this account as well. If it doesn't, you most likely have a system add-on (drivers, haxies etc.) and/or corrupt preferences that cause the problems in your original account.

Try these two options and let us know how it went

Cheers,

eff

[sktrdie]

ok..i will do that..give me a sec..
ill post the activity monitor pic too...

[sktrdie]

because the real problem comes with games....the finder seems always kinda fast...
dunno...maybe its jsut like this...the real difference from jaguar comes with games...
and that the problme i guess

[sktrdie]

http://www.sktrdie.150m.com/maaan.jpg

here it is

right now the scrolling bar is kinda not smooth anymore..and slow..
but i just gotta exit the window or app..go back in it and its back to normal..u know what i mean:??

i dont need a reset..just a reboot of the app..and its fine


whats the problem ??
thnx

[Angus_D]

Have you tried updating to 10.3.2? I think the updated nVIDIA drivers fixed a few speed issues.

[effgee]

sktrdie,

right now the scrolling bar is kinda not smooth anymore..and slow.. but i just gotta exit the window or app..go back in it and its back to normal..u know what i mean:?? i dont need a reset..just a reboot of the app..and its fine

That is very odd indeed. You should create a new, temporary user account and see if the same thing happens there as well. With a new account, you start with fresh preferences and will be able to see if that's what causes the problem. Here's a few more questions

• What system version are you running? 10.3? 10.3.x?
• How much RAM does your machine have?
• In your screenshot, click in the "% CPU" column header to sort all processes by that. Is there a process/app that uses an unusual amount of processor cycles?
• After checking the "% CPU", do the same for RAM by clicking in the "Real Memory" header. Anything unusual in there?
• Are you using any third party drivers (Haxies from Unsanity, mouse/printer/scanner or other device drivers)?

[sktrdie]

thancks for all ur help!!
ill try reinstalling panther and doing a clean install..instead of creating a new ACCOUNT..i really gotta reinstall anyways...
here's the answers to ur questions:
�10.3.1
�640 mb ram
�the highest with CPU is actually the activity monitor, but i told you that the finder is pretty fast, the scrolling in iChat (for example) after that stays open a while it gets really slow and choppy.....
�the highest in REal Memory was SAFARI, with 53, then Windows Server with 44....22..and so on.
�i dont use anything else...only some speakers...nothin else other then my computer..o and ipod..no drivers installed

thnx 4 ur help...what should i do?

[melman101]

Ok I had the same problem with iChat. If any of your buddies have an animated icon as their buddy icon, apparently ichat gobbles up 90% of my cpu cycle. once i determined who they were i changed their icon and my system is back to normal

Mel

[effgee]

sktrdie,

if you have the time and don't mind the hassle, reinstalling is probably your best option - just make sure you backup all your documents, email, calendars, etc.

Also, as mentioned by another poster upthread, you should really upgrade the machine to 10.3.2 after the reinstall - the new graphics drivers included with the update really are better.

My tip:

• Backup all your important stuff as mentioned above
• Wipe the drive
• Reinstall Panther
• Do the upgrade to 10.3.2
• Use Carbon Copy Cloner to create a bootable disk image of that clean system (always handy to have around)
• Then move/reinstall your documents, apps etc. back onto the machine

Good luck + let us know how it went!

Cheers,

eff

edit: if iChat is the only problem app, try melman's tip first, of course update to 10.3.2 anyway, though

[sktrdie]

ok..ill do this today..thnx for ur help..

but the thing is that 10.3.2 has the FAN problem..kind of annoying :/o well...ill try anyway

[Shaddim]

try this.

open System Preferences/Energy Saver/Options and make sure your processor speed is set to "Highest" while you're running from an AC adapter.

open Terminal and type this (or just copy and paste it from here).

sysctl hw.cpufrequency

this will check to see if 10.3 perhaps "stuck" your CPU in low power mode. I've seen this happen to a couple people. If it says: 86666664, then you're ok. If it says 53333333, then you need to reset your Power Manager and zap the PRAM.

To reset Power Manager, you need to shut down the machine and then:

hold down ctrl-option-shift-power button for a couple seconds, then wait 5 seconds, hold down those buttons again for a couple seconds (just to make sure), then wait 5 seconds. Now press the power button to turn the powerbook on. While it's coming on:

hold down cmd(apple key) - option - P - R until you've heard two startup tones. That will "zap" the PRAM.

Once OS X has fully loaded open terminal again and type:

sysctl hw.cpufrequency

It should now say 86666664, and your games should be quite a bit faster (and everything else in OS X).

[sktrdie]

when i first wrote that in the terminal this number came out:
533333332
then i did what u said and the same number came out!
whats the prob
i did exactly what u said...

[sktrdie]

i think u are right!
my CPU is stuck to Reduced!!
WHAT DO I DO????
im gonna try again what u said..but i think it will be the same

[sktrdie]

nope..the number is still:
533333332

please help..thnx!

[WizOSX]

Did you try 10.3.2? My guess is that 10.3.2 will only make the "slowness" problem worse. But give us a report of its effect either way.

[sktrdie]

im on 10.3.2
i dunno..
does an app get slower after u use it for a while? like after 5-6 hours of the app staying open! does it get slower? like slower scrolling and stuff??
i really dunno whats the avarage performance of my machine and if its slower compared to that avarage..u know what a mean??
i get good scroes with Xbench anyways..if it does mean anything!

[WizOSX]

Did you notice that they were also slow when you were using 10.3 and 10.3.1?

[sktrdie]

yes...i just got 10.3.2 since u told me...

i remember jaguar didnt have this prob i think...
to go back to the normal speed of an app i just gotta quit it..and it gets back to normal speed!
is it a serious problem?

[effgee]

Guys,

"sysctl hw.cpufrequency" does not always produce accurate results! To see what I'm referring to, simply run XBench once or twice while your PB (supposedly) runs at a lower clock speed, save the results, reset your machine and then run XBench again ... the results will all be in the same ballpark,

There was a discussion going on about this very topic recently on another site (macosxhints.com? not sure) and in the end, the consensus was that the results of "sysctl hw.cpufrequency" are frequently a mess.

[kertong]

I have this same problem.

I have a 12" 867mhz pb, with 256mb ram. Things run amazingly at bootup, but after a day or two of use, I notice Safari and iChat slowing down to a crawl. I usually have to quit both applications and "restart" them to get decent performance again.

One other thing that was weird was that I downloaded and installed "Total Immersion Racing" - and the performance was about equivalent to it running on a 233mhz G3. I got maybe 5-10fps, the polygons were ripped and blocky (looked like it wasn't using *any* hardware accel.), and it was pretty much unplayable.

I don't play many games, so my inability to play total immersion racing doesn't irk me. What does bother me, is just knowing my system *could* potentially be faster. And it gets pretty annoying watching Safari slow down to the point where scrolling down a page has a 2 second delay before it refreshes.

I wonder how many other 12" pb owners are experiencing this?

[WizOSX]

kertong--are you using 10.3.2? My guess is that you are. Some very strange things with it.

[kertong]

Originally posted by WizOSX:
kertong--are you using 10.3.2? My guess is that you are. Some very strange things with it.

Yep, 10.3.2. What kind of strange things have people been reporting?

For me, I have the sound "popping", but that is probably more of a hardware problem than a 10.3.2. problem.

Sometimes, the battery gets stuck at 94%, and never gets above that when charging. Zapping the pram and resetting the powermanager seems to have helped a bit, though. This only started happening after apple's powerbook battery update.

Other than that, the laptop runs like a dream. I hope the issues of 10.3.2 are addressed by next update..

[WizOSX]

Originally posted by kertong

Yep, 10.3.2. What kind of strange things have people been reporting?.

Probably the most common is a huge increase in startup time. Mine was over 3 times as long in 10.3.2 as in 10.3.1.

[sktrdie]

Originally posted by kertong:
I have this same problem.

I have a 12" 867mhz pb, with 256mb ram. Things run amazingly at bootup, but after a day or two of use, I notice Safari and iChat slowing down to a crawl. I usually have to quit both applications and "restart" them to get decent performance again.

One other thing that was weird was that I downloaded and installed "Total Immersion Racing" - and the performance was about equivalent to it running on a 233mhz G3. I got maybe 5-10fps, the polygons were ripped and blocky (looked like it wasn't using *any* hardware accel.), and it was pretty much unplayable.

I don't play many games, so my inability to play total immersion racing doesn't irk me. What does bother me, is just knowing my system *could* potentially be faster. And it gets pretty annoying watching Safari slow down to the point where scrolling down a page has a 2 second delay before it refreshes.

I wonder how many other 12" pb owners are experiencing this?

ok..i think we've got the same problem!
did u test your games on Jaguar? cuz on Jagaur games run very smooth!!!!
i'm kinda pissed abt all these problems with my 12"!!! i spent lot of money on this machine!! i spent lot of money on panther, and on all the games i've bought!! and now none of them work GOOD together!!!
I HATE THIS!

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by kertong:
Yep, 10.3.2. What kind of strange things have people been reporting?

For me, I have the sound "popping", but that is probably more of a hardware problem than a 10.3.2. problem.

FWIW, the "popping" is a feature, and intentional.

The Powerbook switches off the sound circuitry to conserve energy (even when on external power, to accelerate charging), and it getting switched back on when needed causes the delay and popping sound.

I have an 867 MHz 12"er as well.

I get the lower CPU frequency reported - it happens after EVERY reboot, and I need to shut down and reset the power management unit. And it DOES seem to be reported accurately: Logic will fail to run properly due to "low processor speed" and ask me to set the Energy Saver setting to "maximum" - which it is!

Resetting the PMU works every time, though - Option (alt) + control + Shift + power button, held for a couple of seconds, then wait five seconds and boot the machine.

You can tell it worked if the clock is reset to Jan 1, 1970. If it is and the CPU is still slow, there's something else wrong.

-s*

[sktrdie]

OMG!!!
I GOT IT!!
I know why games were slower!!
EVERY GAME HAS TO HAVE THE MONITOR NATIVE RESOLUTION ON!!!
meaning that my 12" has to have 1024x768 on, and it runs perfectly!!
i had 600x800...and it was sooooo slow!! this is the problem..IM SOO hAPPY NOW!!

[WizOSX]

Originally posted by sktrdie

this is the problem..IM SOO hAPPY NOW!!

Glad to hear you solved the problem but even happier to hear that you're so happy! Hope it last right into the new year!

Happy New Year!

[sktrdie]

yes!
thanx a lot!
happy new year

[Shaddim]

Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:
FWIW, the "popping" is a feature, and intentional.

The Powerbook switches off the sound circuitry to conserve energy (even when on external power, to accelerate charging), and it getting switched back on when needed causes the delay and popping sound.

I have an 867 MHz 12"er as well.

I get the lower CPU frequency reported - it happens after EVERY reboot, and I need to shut down and reset the power management unit. And it DOES seem to be reported accurately: Logic will fail to run properly due to "low processor speed" and ask me to set the Energy Saver setting to "maximum" - which it is!

Resetting the PMU works every time, though - Option (alt) + control + Shift + power button, held for a couple of seconds, then wait five seconds and boot the machine.

You can tell it worked if the clock is reset to Jan 1, 1970. If it is and the CPU is still slow, there's something else wrong.

-s*

Real pain in the butt isn't it? Happens on my Rev A PB 12 after every update (because I have to reboot the machine). Now, I simply shut down instead of restart after an update (and reset PMU and PRAM). That way I know it's right every time. However, since it doesn't need to be done that often, it's not a huge deal... I'll usual save up updates for a while and do a few at once.

[Tek]

SO, i'm a little confused here. I'm new to the macworld as of about 1 week ago when i got my revA 12" powerbook from amazon. I haven't used any graphic intense applications and what not and have never noticed a speed deficiency - only what i thought would be normal for running a 867 g4 w/ only 256 MB of RAM.

Now if i do the cpu frequency thing, i get 533. If i reboot, is till get 533. If i set to maximum power and reboot i still get 533. I'm runnign Jaguar and have never gotten any processor speed errors or anything. Is it possible that the command is reporting a wrong CPU speed, or is there actually more power there? Right now i'm not too terribly worried about it, it runs quite fast and i can get nearly 4 hours out of it at 5 bars brightness...

But regardless... any info you can give the newbie on the subject would be much appreciated!

May God Be With You.
-Matt

[effgee]

Originally posted by Tek:
Is it possible that the command is reporting a wrong CPU speed (...) ?

As stated in my previous post - that is exactly what's going on - "sysctl hw.cpufrequency" does not report the CPU speed reliably on all machines. For addtl. information, check out this thread on macosxhints.com - especially the post by this fellow: "The Final Answer, Authored by: ahbe".

Cheers,

eff

[Tek]

Thank you very much, that thuroughly answers my question... now i can stop worrying about it!

May God Be With You.
-Matt