Issue:
Not exactly an issue, but for some reason, underclocking the Mac M1 GPU to 5-10% (and only this range) makes certain games run better (at the cost of frame rate). Is there a specific reason for this, and is there a better alternative that doesn’t risk freezing or crashing my game?
This seems to be specific to games that have intense 3D modelling in their regular gameplay, such as the game listed here, or Kirby: Planet Robobot.
Note that I am using the last build of Citra that works with Mac M1
System Information
- Operating System: Ventura 13.3.1
- CPU: Apple M1
- GPU: Apple M1
- Citra Version (found in title bar): Nightly 1782
- Game: Professor Layton & the Miracle Mask
- Screenshot of Issue (include the full Citra window including titlebar):
CPU without underclocking:
CPU underclocked to 5%
Diagnostic Log
citra_log.txt (6.5 KB)
What exactly do you mean by “makes games run better but at the cost of frame rate”. If frame rate isn’t what you were referring to with the “better” part, what was?
Also, M1 MacOS devices are not supported. Never were. So that build you’re using is the last MacOS build that works properly. Even back then, M1/M2 devices weren’t officially supported at all. Once Vulkan gets merged, that will change though.
The “better” part was the speed. When I underclock, it drops the FPS to 10, but the game is running at 100% (for once), as is indicated in the screenshot. On average, 3D cutscenes tend to run at 60-70% (which I’ve tried to optimize with the last MacOS build to no avail), which makes playing the game frustrating sometimes. I’m just trying to figure out why this works. If you’re not willing to help, that’s fine, I’m well aware of the lack of MacOS support, I’m just trying to figure out why citra is funky lol
It’s “funky” because you’re on unsupported hardware. It’s not that I’m not willing to help, it’s that even if I try to help, that won’t solve the underlying issue that the code doesn’t support your hardware. So there’s no point in trying. We’re aiming to get Vulkan merged into Canary within the next 2 months.
