Starcraft II Framerate Issues

[Parks]

Hello!

I'll cut right to the chase: starting today, every time i've opened up Starcraft II on my 15" core i7 MBP, it ran perfectly for a few minutes, then the fans would go into full swing and the frame rate suffered horribly, rendering the game unplayable except on low settings. I don't know why this is happening; obviously i don't know that much about computers, but I figure the CPU/graphics card (or something) is overworking?

maybe a driver problem?

I know that this should not be happening, being that I can play it on ultra upon starting up the game. I usually play it on a mix of high and medium settings.

Any help is appreciated. I always turn off all background applications, with the exception of time machine, so really, this shouldn't be happening.

Thanks!

 

[Nethfel]

If it seems like the game is stuttering,

Try pressing Command+m which will pull it out of full screen (or windowed depending on which mode your currently in), then press Command+m again.

I have a problem on my Mac Pro that after certain graphics sequences it'll start stuttering something aweful (makes it seem like the framerate drops to like 5 fps) and forcing it to windowed mode then back to full screen seems to fix it. I also usually have to do that between rounds in multiplayer too.

 

[Parks]

Didn't work it works fine on low...just a little disappointing. hopefully apple will come out with another graphics update soon.

 

[Nethfel]

That sucks, at least it was worth a try - also means your problem is different from mine (although from what I understand mine is a nvidia related driver issue, it must be different).

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Quite frankly, the "ultra" settings are more than that GPU can handle to begin with. Pushing it as hard as you are is also likely creating a lot of heat, forcing the machine to slow down to avoid burning up. You need to understand that you are on a laptop, and high performance with max details on a cutting edge game like SC2 simply isn't going to happen. You should do well with "medium" settings. More than that and you'll either see continued poor performance, or burn up your machine.

 

[Parks]

It is a Nvidia graphics card, so that's probably what's causing the problem.

It's just frankly quite strange. It would run okay-ish on high settings before, but still lagged, so i dropped everything back down to medium. But now, when I start it up, i swear the settings can get boosted all the way up to ultra for like 3-4 minutes and then it starts lagging. but when they're on ultra, it runs perfectly - a little bit of lag, but otherwise quite well.

however, i learned not to do this after i tried it the first time - i was just messing around. i'm quite positive i'm not burning up my machine, haha i'm not completely computer retarded. It's just annoying the game performs so differently than it used to. I think what caused it is because my laptop ran out of batteries mid game, and os x "saved" the desktop or whatever. I've been having problems ever since then, now that i think about it.

i also set a limit on the game's framerate, so hopefully that will prevent any ridiculous mac-exploding/cpu melting/graphics card frying problems. i just play it on low now.

 

[EndlessMac]

I think what caused it is because my laptop ran out of batteries mid game, and os x "saved" the desktop or whatever.

I've a had a similar problem when my batteries ran to near empty. The performance slows down and can't handle the higher settings I have in Starcraft II.

I now only play it with my laptop plugged in but unlike you my problem only happens when my battery is close to empty. Out of curiosity are you playing with your graphics card manully switched to better performance or are you relying on the default auto graphics switching? If you are then your computer might be switching to the integrated slower graphics to save battery life.

 

[Parks]

i usually use it when it's plugged in. i've turned automatic graphics switching on/off, and neither helped; i also messed around with the divx controls, which didn't help either.

 

[EndlessMac]

I'm assuming you have the latest Starcraft 2 update and there was also an Apple update that dealt with Starcraft also. If both are true then you should contact Blizzard's support. I do notice that SC2's animation can get choppy at times for simply things like the opening animation as the menu screen comes up so it could be a software bug.

It happens randomly for me but most of the time it runs pretty smooth. My Mac can't handle the highest settings though. I have it set to medium but my Mac is slower than yours.

 

[Parks]

i got the graphics update, my version of sc2 is 1.0.1.0. it says there aren't any updates, i can play online as well...

 

[Parks]

actually, it says 1.0.1.0 in "about starcraft 2" in windowed mode, but in the game itself, it reads version 1.0.3.16291

when i load the blizzard updater, i says "no patch to apply" or something like that.

 

[EndlessMac]

Well it comes down to if by turning down the settings your game runs smoother then your Mac can't handle the high settings. As pointed out you are using a laptop which aren't great for gaming to begin with. If your problem is fixed by going to a lower setting then it looks like you might have to just live with it. I would like to use the highest settings too but I'm realistic about what my computer can do. On your laptop you should probably stay with medium settings which is what I do.

You should also keep in mind that games like SC2 demand more performance as you go along in the game because your army and base gets larger. My MBP can play on higher settings too at the beginning but it quickly goes downhill as SC2 demands more processing power. You also might want to try disconnecting Time Machine because when it's doing backups it will access the hard drive while you are playing which might effect the performance.

If nothing solves your problem then contacting Blizzard should be your next step. Apple will probably say it's a software issue which is why I think you should contact Blizzard first.

Lastly I would like to restate what lifeisabeach said about heating up your computer. Playing at the highest setting is very demanding on your computer and it could possibly be causing your laptop to overheat which means that it might be causing it to reduce performance to help it cool down. Try playing at medium settings from now on.