The above command began with pmset c, which tells the machine you want to adjust power management settings for situations when you’re charging. You can adjust the power management settings while you’re on battery ( pmset b), while you’re charging ( pmset c), and all at once ( pmset a). This command adjusts the power management settings for the laptop’s chipset using something called pmset. You’ll be asked for your password ( sudo tells the machine you’re the administrator), and then you’re done.įor people who are new to the command line, here’s an explainer of how this works. Here’s what you want to type in the command line (in the Terminal app): sudo pmset -c gpuswitch 1 a 15” or 16” MacBook Pro), then you need to use the command line. If you want better laptop performance while plugged in, and your laptop has a discrete GPU (i.e. That being said, there is no setting to change this in System Preferences.

It makes the machine run much more smoothly, and removes any scrolling or keyboard or lag I experience in regular use.

When I’m on the go, I want to optimize for long-lasting battery above almost all else.īut when I’m plugged in and charging the laptop, I always want to use the discrete graphics card. The solution is to use the machine’s discrete graphics card instead.īecause the discrete GPU uses more energy, I don’t want to use it when I’m on battery power. You may experience similar issues with your machine it’s not uncommon. It’s much faster, runs hotter, and uses way more power.Īfter some googling, I figured out that my lag problem is related to the laptop’s integrated graphics card. The discrete graphics card is the machine’s isolated GPU it runs separately from the onboard CPU. One is the integrated card, which is part of your machine’s regular CPU. Many people who read this will likely already know, but 15” and 16” MacBook Pros have two graphics cards. It’s not just the terrible keyboard (although that’s a big part of it), it’s also the consistent feeling of lag I experience whenever I’m using the device. Now that I’m used to the consistently excellent performance of my iMac Pro, using my MacBook Pro is an exercise in frustration. This includes modern 15” and 16” MacBook Pros. Note: This is only relevant if you are using a MacBook with a discrete graphics card.

Macbook pro gpu test