First of all, the specs:
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)
- OS X 10.9.1 (Mavericks)
- 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7
- 8 GB RAM
The Problem
Recently, my battery randomly died and I had to disconnect it, otherwise, my computer would not properly turn on (MacBook Pro was restarting itself and turning off over and over again).
Now, every time I plug-in the power cable, it starts straightaway (even without pushing the power button), turns off after a few seconds, and then starts normally. Weird.
Nevertheless, the main problem is, after some time, the laptop becomes VERY slow. By "VERY slow" I mean - games become unplayable (FPS drop from 60 to 6) and kernel_task starts using more than 500% of the CPU. Moreover, the mouse speed significantly increases.
I tried the interrock's (the 10th post) guide but it does not seem to work correctly and caused me a kernel panic related to the SleepEnabler.
P.S. I have read somewhere that Apple does this "underclocking" intentionally, for safety or marketing (to buy a new battery) reasons. Please correct me if I am wrong.
OS X will intelligently throttle CPU based on certain conditions in an effort to a) prolong battery life and b) avoid system damage (through excessive heat). Apple does not "sabotage" machines in an effort to get customers to buy new batteries. – cksum
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Solution (That Worked For Me)
https://web.archive.org/web/20190507215911/http://www.rdoxenham.com/?p=259