Skyrim Lagging on Windows Partition of Retina Macbook Pro 15 inch (via Bootcamp)

[mklikemagickingdom]

Got my 15 inch retina display mac, couldn't WAIT to launch Skyrim and bask in the awe of the landscape (through Windows 7 Partition via Bootcamp)...but I'm having some problems. In full screen mode, most of the time, the game runs GREAT for about 10-15 minutes...then after that...starts lagging. Not horrible...but enough to be extremely annoying. Sometimes, it even starts out lagging. I have to switch to windowed mode, a window about a fourth of the actual screen, to get it to run with no lag. I've updated all the software, drivers up to date, tried changing quality settings...all that jazz. But I can't seem to figure out how to get it to run smoothly. It detects the quality as high quality for my video settings...so I don't see how I should have a problem.

Specs are as follows:
2.6 GHz Intel Core i7 Processor
16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Intel Graphics 4000 512 MB (NVIDIA)
2880x1800

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm getting super frustrated.

[ShocksVR #AirLink]

Sounds like your laptop is overheating and thus throttling performance to help cool the hardware. Might be time for you to clean out yoru fans/vents of any accumulated dust bunnies [use compressed air with short burts].

Also, the graphics chip you stated doesn't make sense. It's either an Intel 4000 OR nvidia [Geforce model?]. I understand your laptop probably has both, but Skyrim will only use 1 graphics card to run [if you have nvidia geforce optimus, make sure Skyrim is set to use it].

Lastly, I see you have the ultra high resolution retina. It may help with performance [and thus with heat], to lower your resolution to say "1920×1080".

Good luck

[gggg336]

Integrated grahpics are horrible for gaming, especially at that resolution. Also, Nvidia never made integrated graphics for Intel. If you are running both Mac and Win7, it will also be very taxing on the system itself as the computer will have to load both the operating systems into the memory, which is shared by the graphics memory and the game's as well. I believe you can run skyrim on Mac too, so I don't know why you need to run Win7 on a different partition.

[mklikemagickingdom]

Intel HD Graphics 4000
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory and automatic graphics switching

It's set to use the NVIDIA.

I'll try that out. Thank you!

[mklikemagickingdom]

How can you run Skyrim on a mac?

[BlackJackJoker]

I agree with UW_Shocks MD. I had the exact same problem with skyrim and any other game that would put a strain on my computer . Clean your computer of all dust . The cpu fan more importantly .Make sure you take the fan off (carefully the clips are easy to break) .Make sure when you put the cpu fan back on its pressed tight against the cpu , it makes the transfer of heat faster .Try to put your pc in a open area .Not in a corner ,dust builds up faster .

[Travis]

Try toning down your resolution to 1920 x 1080 and turn Anisotropic filtering down a notch you shouldn't really notice a difference in graphics really. This will help a little.

[mklikemagickingdom]

The retina display cooling system doesn't work that way, I can't remove the fan. It works by sucking in cool air into the side vents (very small slits), and cooling it that way.

Thank you, I'll try the resolution bit. I appreciate it!

[DesertFroggo🏜️🐸]

Most likely due to overheating, which is to be expected from a computer designed with practically no ventilation. Best thing to do is dial down the graphics settings and keep the Mac in a cool non-insulating environment. Otherwise, you could do the sensible thing and play Skyrim on a computer designed with sufficient ventilation. That would include almost any other computer than a Mac.

[Ninja 1^^]

Originally posted by fidelcashflow:

Got my 15 inch retina display

Specs are as follows:
2880x1800

I think you have to realize that 2880x1800 is a higher resolution than even 30" monitors typically use (2560x1440). People build multi-GPU setups for gaming at that kind of resolution and you're trying it on a laptop...