MacBook Pro M4 Max performance drops and crashes during simulations

Question

Level 1

4 points

MacBook Pro M4 Max performance drops and crashes during simulations

I recently bought a Macbook Pro M4Max (64Gb ram) to replace my MBP M2Max (32gb ram), I also bought a Mac Mini M4 (24gb ram) to replace my Mac Mini M1 (8Gb ram). I work as a visual effects artist doing FX simulations so I decided to upgrade so I can have more Ram to play with.

In general the M4Max it's almost twice as fast as my Windows PC (Ryzen 9 3900x , 128Gb Ram, RTX3090), but I found that when I'm pushing a bit more some simulations , for example increasing the resolution of a fluid simulation to get more detail, the M4max starts to slow down and even reboots my Macboock Pro, the same simulation that the M4 does in 35 minuts, the M4Max does it in almost 2 hours, wich makes no sense.

Anyone have found issues with the M4 Max?

It's been 16 days since I bought the laptop so I can't return it, and I trade in my M2Max that at least was working well.. now I have an expensive machine that can't do the job. I contacted the software developer, but it looks like it's a hardware issue.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Pro 16″

Posted on Jan 17, 2025 1:09 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Jan 17, 2025 3:47 PM in response to German_BCN

Consider downloading and running this little "discovery" utility, Etrecheck. It changes NOTHING. Etrecheck was developed by senior contributor here, and uses system calls to collect often-needed information.

it contains little tests for speeds of devices, CPU utilization, memory usage, energy usage and a digest of recent problems, in one easy to use package. it does not even need to be Installed. Because less can be learned when your Mac is running great, best time to run is when your problems are actually occurring, if possible.

if you follow the directions faithfully, its report (pre-laundered of all personally-identifiable information) can be "Shared" to the System ClipBoard, then Pasted into an ‘Additional Text’ window in a reply on the forums.

Use Etrecheck Pro for free:

http://Etrecheck.com

the start a reply on the forums, click the additional text icon in the reply footer, and PASTE

Reply

Answer 2

German_BCN Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 17, 2025 7:38 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

EtreCheckPro version: 6.8.7 (68068)
Report generated: 2025-01-17 22:25:41
Download EtreCheckPro from https://etrecheck.com
Runtime: 1:41
Performance: Excellent


Problem: Computer is restarting
Description:
Computer it’s rebooting when using a 3d software for fluid simulations
.


Major Issues:
    Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.


    Kernel panics - This system has experienced kernel panics. This could be a sign of hardware failure.


Minor Issues:
    These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement.


    No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found.
    Heavy RAM usage - Apps are using a large amount of RAM.
    Apps crashing - There have been numerous app crashes.
    Apps with heavy CPU usage - There have been numerous cases of apps with heavy CPU usage.
    Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. These files could be old, incompatible, and cause problems. They should be reviewed.
    Limited permissions - More information may be available with Full Disk Access.


Hardware Information:
    MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2024)
        Status: Supported
    MacBook Pro Model: Mac16,5
    Apple M4 Max CPU: 16-core
    64 GB RAM - Not upgradeable
    Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 6


Video Information:
    Apple M4 Max
        Color LCD 3456 x 2234


Drives:
    disk0 - APPLE SSD AP1024Z 1.00 TB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)
    Internal Apple Fabric NVM Express
        disk0s1 [APFS Container] 524 MB
            disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 524 MB (Shared by 4 volumes)
                disk1s1 - iSCPreboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (6 MB used)
                disk1s2 - xART (APFS) (6 MB used)
                disk1s3 - Hardware (APFS) (3 MB used)
                disk1s4 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (20 KB used)
        disk0s2 [APFS Container] 994.66 GB
            disk3 [APFS Virtual drive] 994.66 GB (Shared by 6 volumes)
                disk3s1 (APFS) [APFS Container] (11.20 GB used)
                    disk3s1s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) [APFS Snapshot] (11.20 GB used)
                disk3s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (6.84 GB used)
                disk3s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (1.04 GB used)
                disk3s4 - Update (APFS) (3 MB used)
                disk3s5 - Macintosh HD - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (192.54 GB used)
                disk3s6 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (20 KB used)
        disk0s3 [APFS Container] 5.37 GB
            disk2 [APFS Virtual drive] 5.37 GB (Shared by 2 volumes)
                disk2s1 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (992 MB used)
                disk2s2 - Update (APFS) (1 MB used)


Mounted Volumes:
    disk1s1 - iSCPreboot [APFS Preboot]
        Filesystem: APFS
        Mount point: /System/Volumes/iSCPreboot
        Used: 6 MB
        Shared values
            Size: 524 MB
            Free: 504 MB


    disk1s2 - xART
        Filesystem: APFS
        Mount point: /System/Volumes/xarts
        Used: 6 MB
        Shared values
            Size: 524 MB
            Free: 504 MB


    disk1s3 - Hardware
        Filesystem: APFS
        Mount point: /System/Volumes/Hardware
        Used: 3 MB
        Shared values
            Size: 524 MB
            Free: 504 MB


    disk3s1s1 - Macintosh HD [APFS Snapshot]
        Filesystem: APFS
        Mount point: /
        Read-only: Yes
        Used: 11.20 GB
        Shared values
            Size: 994.66 GB
            Free: 782.84 GB
            Available: 785.66 GB


    disk3s2 - Preboot [APFS Preboot]
        Filesystem: APFS
        Mount point: /System/Volumes/Preboot
        Used: 6.84 GB
        Shared values
            Size: 994.66 GB
            Free: 782.84 GB


    disk3s4 - Update
        Filesystem: APFS
        Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update
        Used: 3 MB
        Shared values
            Size: 994.66 GB
            Free: 782.84 GB


    disk3s5 - Macintosh HD - Data [APFS Virtual drive]
        Filesystem: APFS
        Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data
        Encrypted
        Used: 192.54 GB
        Shared values
            Size: 994.66 GB
            Free: 782.84 GB
            Available: 785.66 GB


    disk3s6 - VM [APFS VM]
        Filesystem: APFS
        Mount point: /System/Volumes/VM
        Used: 20 KB
        Shared values
            Size: 994.66 GB
            Free: 782.84 GB


USB:
    USB 3.1 bus
        <Empty>


    USB 3.1 bus
        <Empty>


    USB 3.1 bus
        <Empty>

Reply

Answer 3

German_BCN Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 17, 2025 7:39 PM in response to German_BCN

Network:
    Interface en4: Ethernet Adapter (en4)
    Interface en5: Ethernet Adapter (en5)
    Interface en6: Ethernet Adapter (en6)
    Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge
    Interface en0: Wi-Fi
        802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax


System Software:
    macOS Sequoia 15.2 (24C101)
    Time since boot: About an hour


Security:
    Gatekeeper: App Store and identified developers
    System Integrity Protection: Enabled
    Secure Boot: Full Security

    Antivirus software: Apple


Unsigned Files:
    Apps: 2


System Launch Daemons:
    [Not Loaded] 43 Apple tasks
    [Loaded] 198 Apple tasks
    [Running] 167 Apple tasks
    [Other] 2 Apple tasks


System Launch Agents:
    [Not Loaded] 24 Apple tasks
    [Loaded] 213 Apple tasks
    [Running] 209 Apple tasks


Launch Daemons:
    [Running] com.sidefx.sesinetd.plist (Side Effects Software Inc. - installed 2025-01-14)
        Command: /Library/Preferences/sesi/sesinetd -D -l /Library/Logs/com.sidefx.com/sesinetd.log -V 2


User Launch Agents:
    [Loaded] com.google.GoogleUpdater.wake.plist (Google LLC - installed 2025-01-12)
        Command: ~/Library/Application Support/Google/GoogleUpdater/Current/GoogleUpdater.app/Contents/MacOS/GoogleUpdater --wake-all --enable-logging --vmodule=*/components/update_client/*=2,*/chrome/enterprise_companion/*=2,*/chrome/updater/*=2


    [Not Loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Not signed - installed 2025-01-12)
        <Empty>


    [Not Loaded] com.google.keystone.xpcservice.plist (Not signed - installed 2025-01-12)
        <Empty>


User Login Items:
    [Not Loaded] PasswordsMenuBarExtra (Apple - installed 2024-12-07)
        Modern Login Item
        /System/Applications/Passwords.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/PasswordsMenuBarExtra.app


    [Not Loaded] WeatherMenu (Apple - installed 2024-12-07)
        Modern Login Item
        /System/Applications/Weather.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/WeatherMenu.app


Applications:
    778 Apple apps
    71 3rd party apps
    15 x86-only apps
    One unsigned app


App Extensions:
    QuickLook Previews:
        [Loaded] EtreCheckQuickLook - ~/Downloads/EtreCheckPro.app
            com.etresoft.etrecheck4 *.etrecheck


Backup:
    Time Machine information is limited without Full Disk Access


Performance:
    System Load: 9.59 (1 min ago) 9.30 (5 min ago) 9.43 (15 min ago)
    Nominal I/O usage: 0.11 MB/s
    File system: 5.51 seconds
    Write speed: 6482 MB/s
    Read speed: 3876 MB/s


CPU Usage Snapshot:
    Type Overall
    System: 2 %
    User: 2 %
    Idle: 97 %

Reply

Answer 4

German_BCN Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 17, 2025 7:41 PM in response to German_BCN

Top Processes Snapshot by CPU:
    Process (count) CPU (Source - Location)
    WindowServer 16.48 % (Apple)
    EtreCheckPro 11.64 % (Etresoft, Inc.)
    houdinifx 8.02 % (Side Effects Software Inc.)
    kernel_task 5.96 % (Apple)
    Google Chrome Helper (Renderer) (5) 2.00 % (Google LLC)


Top Processes Snapshot by Memory:
    Process (count) RAM usage (Source - Location)
    houdinifx 21.37 GB (Side Effects Software Inc.)
    EtreCheckPro 2.09 GB (Etresoft, Inc.)
    Google Chrome Helper (Renderer) (5) 894 MB (Google LLC)
    com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (2) 726 MB (Apple)
    Google Chrome 425 MB (Google LLC)


Top Processes Snapshot by Network Use:
    Process Input / Output (Source - Location)
    mDNSResponder 461 KB / 300 KB (Apple)
    apsd 49 KB / 171 KB (Apple)
    rapportd 168 KB / 28 KB (Apple)
    netbiosd 16 KB / 4 KB (Apple)
    homed 5 KB / 2 KB (Apple)


Top Processes Snapshot by Energy Use:
    Process (count) Energy (0-100) (Source - Location)
    WindowServer 5 (Apple)
    houdinifx 4 (Side Effects Software Inc.)
    sysmond 1 (Apple)
    Activity Monitor 1 (Apple)
    useractivityd 0 (Apple)


Virtual Memory Information:
    Physical RAM: 64 GB


    Free RAM: 6.84 GB
    Used RAM: 35.86 GB
    Cached files: 21.31 GB


    Available RAM: 28.14 GB
    Swap Used: 0 B


Software Installs (past 60 days):
    Install Date Name (Version)
    2025-01-12 macOS 15.2 (15.2)
    2025-01-12 Gatekeeper Compatibility Data (1.0)
    2025-01-12 MRTConfigData (1.93)
    2025-01-12 XProtectPayloads (149)
    2025-01-14 XProtectCloudKitUpdate (5285)
    2025-01-14 RosettaUpdateAuto (1.0.0.0.1.1733569445)
    2025-01-14 DaVinci Resolve Panels Installer v2.0.5
    2025-01-14 DaVinci Keyboards Installer v2.0.5
    2025-01-14 Fairlight Panels Installer v2.0.5
    2025-01-14 BlackmagicRaw_common (4.3)
    2025-01-14 DaVinci Resolve Panels Installer v2.3.0
    2025-01-14 DaVinci Keyboards Installer v2.3.0
    2025-01-14 Fairlight Panels Installer v2.3.0
    2025-01-14 BlackmagicRaw_resolve (4.3)
    2025-01-14 DaVinci Resolve Studio (19.1.2)
    2025-01-14 Disk Speed Test (3.4.2)
    2025-01-15 XProtectPlistConfigData (5285)
    2025-01-15 Alfred (1.2)


Diagnostics Information (past 60 days):
    2025-01-17 21:13:07 Houdini FX 20.0.896.app - High CPU Use


    2025-01-17 20:45:15 Kernel Panic (4 times)
        First occurrence: 2025-01-17 13:17:49
        Details:
            panic(cpu 1 caller 0xfffffe003886f7c4): Sleep transition timed out aft
            er 35 seconds while creating hibernation file or while calling rootDom
            ain's clients about upcoming rootDomain's state changes. Thread 0x1bc6
            9.
            Panicked task 0xfffffe1b765240f8: 0 pages, 775 threads: pid 0: kernel_
            task


    2025-01-17 14:32:05 Houdini Apprentice 20.5.478.app - High CPU Use (3 times)
        First occurrence: 2025-01-17 12:50:57


    2025-01-17 13:33:05 signpost_reporter - High CPU Use (3 times)
        First occurrence: 2025-01-15 20:16:01
        Executable: /usr/libexec/signpost_reporter


    2025-01-15 20:26:59 spotlightknowledged - High CPU Use (2 times)
        First occurrence: 2025-01-12 18:33:44
        Executable: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreSpotlight.framework/spotlightknowledged


    2025-01-14 19:01:45 LM Studio Helper - Crash
        Executable: /Applications/LM Studio.app
        Details:
            libsystem_c.dylib: abort() called


    2025-01-12 18:39:14 Podcasts.app - Hang
        Executable: /System/Applications/Podcasts.app


    2025-01-12 18:05:16 bluetoothuserd - Crash (2 times)
        Executable: /usr/libexec/bluetoothuserd


    2025-01-12 15:02:17 lsd - Crash (4 times)
        First occurrence: 2025-01-12 14:59:38
        Executable: /usr/libexec/lsd




End of report

Reply

Answer 5

Jan 17, 2025 7:53 PM in response to German_BCN

Google chrome is the biggest resource hog that is not obvious malware. its punishes performance on any Mac. some outspoken senior contributors suggest that the only proper way to run Chrome is on a Chromebook.

ANY other browser you choose will have a lighter footprint.

But wait, there's more...

on your system, that enormous resource hog is eclipsed by:

houdinifx

...eating up the most cpu, the most RAM and the most Energy of anything else by far.

¿Is that expected behavior? I thought that was a plug-in that ran under other image manipulation software, but I don't see any image manipulation software running.

Reply

Answer 6

German_BCN Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 17, 2025 8:08 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Yes, the amount of RAM used by Houdini is the expected. Houdini is a 3d software used mainly for visual effects (volumes, fluids, particles , rigid body , etc) so it uses a lot of resources, specially Ram and CPU.

Same software it's running normal on my Mac Mini M4 and 24Gb RAM , a bit of swaping when testing some mid size simulation But on the M4Max it start to slow down exponentially and some time crashing the machine.

Reply