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iomatic · Nov 4, 2006, 10:59 PM

Does anyone have any experience with Parallels performance on the new MacBook Pros? I ask here because there are probably more C2D users here with real world info than people who would categorize themselves as Parallel users who happen to have the new MBPs.

Clear enough?

Toyin · 01:36 PM

I've been using Parallels with my C2D for the last week.

Windows XP is as fast as any PC I've used. The PCs we have at work aren't anywhere top of the line. The fastest PC is probably a 2.4ghz P4 with 1gb of RAM. The laptops are 1.8ghz Pentium Ms with 1 gb of RAM.

Windows XP Pro used at home is blazingly fast. Rebooting is faster than suspending the virtual machine. However once IT got a hold of my machine and added it to our network it's takes much longer to reboot. I now suspend the machine which takes exactly 40 seconds (resume takes 37 seconds).

I'm usually running a bunch of OSX applications at the same time (mail, Safari, iTunes, Camino, text edit, preview) These applications work well though they can be sluggish if Windows is restarting, updating, or any other disk dependent activity.

You won't be disappointed.

iomatic · Nov 5, 2006, 02:13 PM

Thanks! Subjective measurements are fine. Do you all prefer to use Parallels vs. Boot Camp to do testing and other tasks, and Boot Camp for gaming? This seems to be a popular configuration, though I'm not a fan of partitioning and dual-booting.

a) Which C2D do you have, and how much RAM?
b) How much space does a typical WinXP+Parallels install eat up?

Thanks again. (and happy birthday

)

ghporter · Nov 5, 2006, 02:24 PM

Let's take this to the Alternative OS forum where all things Parallels belong.

iomatic · Nov 5, 2006, 03:21 PM

Cool. Just wanted to make sure the laptop owners get a chance to see it.

SierraDragon · 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by iomatic

Cool. Just wanted to make sure the laptop owners get a chance to see it.

Thanks. I for one appreciated seeing the (important to me) Parallels info on the MBP Forum because I am setting up C2D MBP Win emulation for others.

-Allen Wicks

ghporter · 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by SierraDragon

Thanks. I for one appreciated seeing the (important to me) Parallels info on the MBP Forum because I am setting up C2D MBP Win emulation for others.

-Allen Wicks

That's why I left the redirect in the MBP forum. But ANYONE interested in Parallels should look in THIS forum, because by definition Parallels is there to run an alternative OS on a Mac, right?

Mrjinglesusa · Nov 5, 2006, 08:52 PM

Parallels (running Windows XP) runs great on my 17" MBP w/ 2 GB RAM. As fast as any any PC. Doesn't work great (if at all) for DirectX based games (i.e. games downloaded from Yahoo and MSN). Other than that, things like Office, Photoshop, etc. run fantastic. Vista runs OK, although it is a pain trying to get all the drivers working right. Once they are, it's pretty sweet. I prefer to run Vista in Boot Camp and XP in Parallels.

iomatic · Nov 5, 2006, 09:14 PM

So the recommendation is XP over VIsta, yes?
Can anyone get a beta of Vista, and if so, can you run multiple versions of IE? (I can get XP from a relative who works there for relatively cheap.)

Less important questions: Can you run either Boot Camp or more importantly, Parallels on a second hard drive? Does it run off an image like VPC, and can that itself run off an external? Why I would want to do this, I don't know. It just seems so icky to have Microsoft's OS on my MBP.

ghporter · Nov 5, 2006, 11:04 PM

Boot Camp can boot of of any INTERNAL drive in version 1.1.2, the latest version I'm aware of as of today. It has to be an INTERNAL drive (did I mention 'internal'?) so you can't boot off of an external drive connected to your MBP. You CAN make the Windows partition pretty small and put all the programs and data on an external drive if you want-it's more fiddle work to set up, but it will work.

iomatic · Nov 5, 2006, 11:40 PM

Ugh. Partitioning is so... 90s.

Alas. Would that have been cool?

Toyin · Nov 6, 2006, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by iomatic

Thanks! Subjective measurements are fine. Do you all prefer to use Parallels vs. Boot Camp to do testing and other tasks, and Boot Camp for gaming? This seems to be a popular configuration, though I'm not a fan of partitioning and dual-booting.

a) Which C2D do you have, and how much RAM?
b) How much space does a typical WinXP+Parallels install eat up?

Thanks again. (and happy birthday

)

I have the 2.33ghz model with 2gb of ram, 160gb drive. All I need in the WIndows world is IE with Active X controls and some VPN software.

My disk image at this point is 3.93gb. I've also got a .sav file which is 1.01gb.

Some hints.
-Don't allow Windows to change resolution of OSX.
-Virtue desktops is a good way to keep both environments seperate. However lately I've been using Parallels and OSX on the same desktop and in some ways it's easier.
-Customize and learn the hot keys, makes life much easier
-Don't forget to install Parallels tools.