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Fix poor Retina Macbook Pro graphics performance

Some Mac users are finding that some of the latest MacBook systems from Apple are sometimes showing drastic drops in graphics performance, which are particularly notable when playing graphically intensive applications like video games.

While at first launching the game will show the expected smooth performance, it may suddenly drop to a very low frame rate and be essentially unplayable. Usually when systems drop to low frame rates it suggests they are being overworked for some reason and are struggling to make the computations necessary for smooth gameplay, and as a result will usually be relatively hot as the graphics … Read more

Apple sends out EFI Firmware Update 2.0 for MacBook Air

Apple has released an update, the EFI Firmware Update 2.0, to the new, razor-thin MacBook Air. "This update resolves a rare issue where MacBook Air boots or wakes to a black screen or becomes unresponsive."

The update is recommended for users that have either the new 11-inch or 13-inch MacBook Air. EFI Firmware Updates are different than other updates from Apple. Follow these steps to ensure the update is successfully completed.

Be sure your MacBook Air is plugged in to a working power source. After downloading, your MacBook Air will restart to a gray screen. Be sure … Read more

Apple releases Boot Camp 3.2, MacBook EFI firmware updates

Apple has released a couple of updates today pertaining to Boot Camp as well as MacBook and MacBook Pro systems. The update for Boot Camp addresses some critical bugs, and adds support for the Radeon 5870 GPU, Apple USB Ethernet adapter, and the MacBook Air external superdrive.

Apple recommends that all Boot Camp 3.1 users apply the update to address the bug fixes (currently undocumented).

There are two versions of the update, one for 32-bit Windows operating systems, and the other for 64-bit operating systems. Apple's software update utility in Windows should detect the proper version for your … Read more

Apple releases Mac Pro EFI firmware update 1.5

Apple has released an update for the firmware on Mid 2010 Mac Pro models. The update addresses issues that prevented the firmware password prompt from being displayed when a firmware password was enabled and corrects a problem where the Boot Picker would not be presented when connected to a network that did not use DHCP.

The update is a 1.96MB download and requires OS X 10.6.4 to install. It should be available via Software Update for your system, but if not then you can download it from the following Web page:

Mac Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.5… Read more

Apple stabilizes new Mac notebooks

Apple has released several new firmware updates aimed at solving problems with its latest batch of notebooks.

Updates are available for all three Mac notebooks released in October: the new MacBook Pro, MacBook, and MacBook Air. In usual fashion, Apple didn't provide a whole lot of detail about the issues that are corrected by the EFI firmware updates, other than to note that they "improve the stability" of those new systems.

The company also released firmware updates for the SMC (system management controller) chip inside Mac notebooks, which helps regulate power consumption among other things. Those updates &… Read more