So I have a 2018 Macbook pro , i9 processor , 32 gb's , and 1 TB SSD. It's been running pretty slow lately and throttling very easily. I am currenrty on Mojave because I have heard that it is pretty hard to get plugins on Sierra. What do ya'll think I should do ?

 

Just out of interest, what sort of protection do you have for when going online?
Also, did you ever turn on Firewall, which is off by default?
Because if your system is suddenly running slow, there could be a slightly sinister reason...
But all can be dealt with!

When you say "throttling very easily", is this when running lots of plugin instruments in your daw?
If so, just bounce cpu intensive plugin instruments to audio and carry on.
Sierra was obviously before Mojave, and yes it's fine for everything.
As was High Sierra.
Mojave is fine too, yet I have experienced issues very particular to the os.
Catalina is still the one to steer clear of for a while, imo.
Although lots of devs are up on it now, so it's changing.
But still not brilliant regarding warez.

edit: and Welcome to AS, @Mai Ankri!
Worry not, we will help you find the problem!

 

Last edited: Oct 7, 2020

You may also check if there’s something unusual in the CPU usage by checking the Activity Monitor
I’m using Mojave 10.14.6 in my 2012 MBP running flawlessly.
Did you install something lately before noticing this issue?
If so, could you use Time Machine to get back to a date before that?
I had similar issues last year and it was due to a motherboard failure and had to replace it but you’ve got a newer one so I think (and I hope) this is not your case.

 

It may be related to this issue: https://mrmacintosh.com/mojave-2020-005-security-update-causing-major-problems-updated/

How can I tell if my Mac is affected by this issue?

Very simple, just open up the terminal.app and run softwareupdate -l

If you get this error your Mac is affected.

Class AMSupportURLConnectionDelegate is implemented in both /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/EmbeddedOSInstall.framework/Versions/A/EmbeddedOSInstall (0x1130cec58) and /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/OSPersonalization.framework/Versions/A/OSPersonalization (0x112f31358). One of the two will be used. Which one is undefined.

 

Maybe it's your spelling? Have you checked your spelling?
Are you taking the Piss? YOU MUST BE... "YOU HAVE HEARD?"

Ok, I'll bite... Why, just why are you not running Catalina or Big Sur? that's a high spec Macbook?

 

Because warez?
I mean, Big Sur is definitely a no-no.

 

I believe Apple released another update last week to solve this problem. If the OP has updated it shouldn’t be the case.

 

Even some software developers are recommending to stay away from Catalina or Big Sur for now...

 

big sur would be a big mistake

 

Big Sur runs fine here (as the last 4 betas have). All my audio shit still works just fine. Had a couple plugins disappear until beta 9 came out but everything here is running just as it was under Catalina/Mojave/etc. But then again all of my stuff is legit so YMMV when it comes to [k]s.

 

Depends on what sw you are using, I.e. Soundtoys are compatible up to Catalina by now

 

Switch to Catalina if you dont use 32 bit plugins. It's a lot snappier and efficient than Mojave.

 

Soundtoys, Fabfilter, NI Komplete stuff has been fine on Catalina for at least 9 months as I've been running legit copies on a 2019 MBP. I've had zero plugin issues on Catalina. Obviously if you're running a ton of cracked stuff then you might not be quite so lucky.

 

That’s why I said up to Catalina, but not with Big Sur yet.
The only problem (for some users) with Catalina and newer OS is that they’re not 32bit compatible (ppl still run this kind of plugins/applications I’m 2020) and the fact that most warez is not up to date.
Cheers

 

Well that was nice.
Where the OP be?

 

For example I want to be able to stream with OBS on my mac, but even having it OBS open not even using causes it to start overheating and then I can barely navigate around my computer

 

I refuse to upgrade from Mojave to Catalina with my 2019 MBP as long as I have no guarantee my 350+ k'd plugins & librairies won't be affected by this move. I will probably need in the near future a new 16 inch 2020/2021 MPB running on the side to make sure starting from a fresh Time Machine backup with Catalina wouldn't fuck everything up. Without risking not being able to downgrade back to Catalina as well.

In terms of Mojave performance execute this in Terminal to reset launch services:

sudo /system/library/frameworks/coreservices.framework/frameworks/launchservices.framework/support/lsregister -kill -seed -lint -r -f -v -dump -domain local -domain system -domain user -domain network

This is a game changer, I only found out about it last month. Feels like a brand new machine! Do this maybe every month.

And keep as much space as you can on your SSD drive (I have like 150-200GB free out of 500) while keeping everything else on a large external drive (SSD if possible as well). Use OmniDiskSweeper to identify useless, large files that you can get rid of (be careful though, only non-system ones). Use AppCleaner to uninstall useless apps cleanly as well.

Remove as many running apps in the background as possible (I only leave Dropbox). Untick them in startup preferences.

Lastly, use TimeMachineEditor app to prevent your system from backing up your laptop during for instance day times (in fact whenever you're using your MBP), so that when you use Ableton for example it doesn't start and use CPU.

Turn off bluetooth and wireless while running Ableton (I don't do this but that might help if you have some online stuff running in the background).

 

Last edited: Oct 7, 2020

Thank you my man! I just have a question. With the specs I have on my machine , you think i'd be needing to do this much ? Like why can't I have anything else open with ableton, I do have 32 gb's ram. I just feel like for my specs i'm doing way too much.

 

Thank you my man! I just have a question. With the specs I have on my machine , you think i'd be needing to do this much ? Like why can't I have anything else open with ableton, I do have 32 gb's ram. I just feel like for my specs i'm doing way too much.

 

You specs are pretty dope actually haha just read them... found out mine is not even 2019, it's 2018 as well with 8GB RAM and i5 2.3Ghz... so you're way above mine, I don't see how come you could have a slow system since mine is running fine, I rarely hit 35%+ CPU unless I run 8 instances of Diva at once haha. Just keep it tidy and make sure nothing else is jamming your OS, and it should feel like driving a Rolls Royce