Parallels 3 to support 3d graphics

[swiftaw]

I did a quick search but didn't find anything.

I just got an email from Parallels detailing the upcoming release of Parallels 3.0 for Mac. Among the new features listed is 3D graphics support.

[Nightkrawler]

http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/upgrade
PARALLELS DESKTOP 3.0 FOR MAC DELIVERS:
Completely Seamless User Experience:

* Cross OS application & file integration with Parallels SmartSelect
* Offline access to virtual machine files with Paralles Explorer
* Coherence 2.0, including shared folders and UI enhancements
* Linux Tools for seamless integration betwen Mac OS X and Linux

Native Hardware Experience

* 3D graphics support to play the hottest games and run the most popular applications
* Expanded support for USB 2.0 devices
* USB connection assistant quickly connects you to your OS of choice
* Shared printers for cross OS printing
* Significantly enhancements performance and audio quality

Protection against Mishaps

* Hit a problem? Quickly and easily go back in time to a clean VM state
* Bulletproof your VMs with SnapShots
* Control the levels of integration and isolation with Security Manager
* Make your virtual machine read-only
* Get virus and spyware protection with a FREE 6-month Kaspersky subscription trial

SmartSelect
* Cross OS File & App Integration
* Assign files to any application
* Set 'on the fly' or as a default

Snapshots
* Bulletproof your VM
* Store the VM state and custom intervals
* Rollback when needed

3D Graphics
* OpenGL and DirectX support
* Support for graphics hardware
* Vista Aero coming soon


in short: DO WANT :D

-update-
The german it-news site golem.de says that OpenGL works now on the rc1 and directx has yet to be added. Vista on Bootcamp will be supported. The final version should be done in the following weeks. It seems to be an closed beta.
http://golem.de/0705/52596.html
Unter anderem wird auch Boot Camp in Verbindung mit Windows Vista unterstützt....Bisher wird zwar nur OpenGL unterstützt, so dass etwa Quake 4 schon läuft, DirectX soll aber bald folgen....
....Die finale US-Version der Software wird für die kommenden Wochen erwartet.

[Steve1496]

I'm assuming there is an RC/beta. Anyone got a mirror?

[swiftaw]

http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/upgrade

Thanks for posting that. I did a quick search on their site to try to find the info but I am at work so didn't have time to dig that far.

[LimeiBook86]

This would be an awesome addition to Parallels. I look forward to hearing more information on this. :D :D

[MacRumorUser]

Got the email and pre-ordered mine :)

Linux tools. Deadly..

3D even deadlier.

:)

[Chaszmyr]

Hey, so long as it actually works, even if it doesnt support the newest games i'm in!

[~Shard~]

Wow, that's great news! I am definitely considering buying Parallels when I purchase my MBP this summer and it's great to see that there will be a major update available. I can't say I care about the Vista features, but 3D graphics support and the other integration features sound great.

When is the GA date?

[psychofreak]

Hey, so long as it actually works, even if it doesnt support the newest games i'm in!

I doubt it will support m/any more than VMWare's Fusion...

Linux users will be happy...

[Chaszmyr]

I doubt it will support m/any more than VMWare's Fusion...

Linux users will be happy...

The Mac version of VMWare Fusion only supports like 5 games. It doesn't even support WC3 (which yes, i realize is available for Mac.. but i have more than one reason for wanting to run the Windows version)

[psychofreak]

The Mac version of VMWare Fusion only supports like 5 games. It doesn't even support WC3 (which yes, i realize is available for Mac.. but i have more than one reason for wanting to run the Windows version)

I mean the final Fusion...

[~Shard~]

One word: w00t!

Actually, that's not a real word. :p :cool:

[zelmo]

Actually, that's not a real word. :p :cool:

I used to think your bastardly ways were just a put-on, but you have finally convinced me...:D

Parallels looks to be progressing nicely. Will definitely add this to my next Mac purchase [and take back that copy of XPP my daughter has on her MB and never uses].

[~Shard~]

I used to think your bastardly ways were just a put-on, but you have finally convinced me...:D

Thanks, glad to hear it - that means a lot to me! :D :cool:

Parallels looks to be progressing nicely. Will definitely add this to my next Mac purchase [and take back that copy of XPP my daughter has on her MB and never uses].

I agree, it really is progressing well and the developers seem to be listening to the users in terms of feature requests, short-comings, etc. - the end result is an excellent, powerful app.

Parallels is the type of app which I have no problem paying for as I feel it is definitely worth it. :cool:

[psychofreak]

Actually, that's not a real word. :p :cool:
Huh? (http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?Acronym=W00T&p=dict) It kinda-sorta-woulda-shoulda-coulda is :)

[Steve1496]

After getting to read the page, I'm inclined to believe its DirectX8. It says, Vista Aero Coming Soon. Doesn't Aero require DX9? If they had DX9 support, then Aero would already work.

Based on that, I'd also not expect anything higher than DX8 games to work--about the same as VMWare.

[xUKHCx]

After getting to read the page, I'm inclined to believe its DirectX8. It says, Vista Aero Coming Soon. Doesn't Aero require DX9? If they had DX9 support, then Aero would already work.

Based on that, I'd also not expect anything higher than DX8 games to work--about the same as VMWare.

The screenshot shows quake 4 which requires Direct X 9.0c


http://newweb.parallels.com/files/img/site_last/wwwupgrade/3d%20graphics-quake4b.jpg

[Steve1496]

The screenshot shows quake 4 which requires Direct X 9.0c


http://newweb.parallels.com/files/img/site_last/wwwupgrade/3d%20graphics-quake4b.jpg



Thanks for identifying that game. I'm glad I'm wrong! That does leave me to wonder why Aero would not work. The requirements are:
* a 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
* 1 gigabyte of system memory
* a DirectX 9 compatible graphics processor, with a Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver, and a minimum of 64 MB of Video RAM
* 40 GB hard drive with 15 GB free space
* DVD-ROM Drive
* audio output and Internet access

[xUKHCx]

Thanks for identifying that game.

Didn't really do anything it is the file name of the picture (of course parallels could have falsely named the picture)

As to why vista doesn't work who knows. Maybe there is a little bug with the way the graphics are handled.

[~Shard~]

Huh? (http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?Acronym=W00T&p=dict) It kinda-sorta-woulda-shoulda-coulda is :)

Nice try, but no. :p ;) Next you'll be telling me LOL is proper English and OMG is a proper word as well. :D :cool:

[Eric5h5]

The screenshot shows quake 4 which requires Direct X 9.0c

Quake 4 uses OpenGL for graphics, however. Direct X is a lot of things, of which Direct3D is a subset.

--Eric

[quigleybc]

I think this means I can trash my bootcamp partition and play games now on Parallels...nice

22 gigs back where they belong

Rebooting is for suckas

;)

[~Shard~]

I think this means I can trash my bootcamp partition and play games now on Parallels...nice

22 gigs back where they belong

Rebooting is for suckas

;)

Yeah, rebooting is definitely a pain in the ass at times. Looking forward to a much better experience thanks to Parallels 3 once I get my new MBP!

[Diatribe]

If this is true, tell me again why anyone would ever buy a Mac game again?

[xUKHCx]

Quake 4 uses OpenGL for graphics, however. Direct X is a lot of things, of which Direct3D is a subset.

--Eric

Well i didn't know which one it uses so i went to www.quake4game.com (via google) where it states Direct X9.0c, see the attachment.

[Carrot007]

There is more to directx than 3d gfx.

Quake 4 usues opengl for the gfx, the directx requirement is probably for sound/input/network.

[Bonked]

I didn't see support for both cores of dual-core chips in the list of additions. Anyone know if that's included? It's a big issue for me.

[Arnaud]

I got the email yesterday as well, as I own a copy of Parallel 2 - which I think is already really nice and handy; I don't feel like rebooting for my little use...

However, regarding the "upcoming" new version, I think it's funny that you have the options of:
- pre-buying blindly what you don't know yet for 50% discount,
- buying later an update for 30-ish% discount.

I mean, esp. when it comes to 3D, you might want to see how many fps you get under Quake, for example? That is, that the 3D is usable, accepted by 90% of the games/software, ... Not Quake with 5fps, and only 2 games.

But hopefully, the product will be as good as the previous versions, and holding to the promises. Maybe the Parallel company is afraid of what Leopard might bring in when released (like, any evolution of the Boot Camp beta), and they try to secure sales as much as they can.

[xUKHCx]

There is more to directx than 3d gfx.

Quake 4 usues opengl for the gfx, the directx requirement is probably for sound/input/network.

Fair enough didn't know that, just going on what i saw.

[majordude]

If this is true, tell me again why anyone would ever buy a Mac game again?

There are Mac games?! :eek:

[majordude]

Any word on an official release date? I don't see that on their site.

I'm stoked because I get the update for free! :D

[Diatribe]

There are Mac games?! :eek:

Hehe, yeah, a dying species.

[SiliconAddict]

I'm NOT happy that the UPGRADE price ends next week, since there isn't even a beta to test yet. Parallels is getting more and more arrogant as time passes.

Before I drop that kind of money on a product I dang well want to test it. 3D support is one thing...good 3D support is another.

[island]

I will be beta testing or I will get the full version another way...

[Arnaud]

I'm NOT happy that the UPGRADE price ends next week, since there isn't even a beta to test yet. Parallels is getting more and more arrogant as time passes.

Before I drop that kind of money on a product I dang well want to test it. 3D support is one thing...good 3D support is another.

I agree with you. However, the full price is $79.99, the limited-time-blind upgrade is $39.99, and the normal update price after that date is $49.99. I think it's worth 10$ just to wait and see whether it's a good update...

I thought the upgrade from Toast 7.x to 8.x for registered users at $79.99 instead of the full $99.99 was more of a rip-off. I'm still not convinced the "new features" were worth 80% of the price :(

[MacRumorUser]

I thought the upgrade from Toast 7.x to 8.x for registered users at $79.99 instead of the full $99.99 was more of a rip-off. I'm still not convinced the "new features" were worth 80% of the price :(

I agree. Utter waste for me. Its like toast gets the tiniest little extra update and a crapper interface with every update.

In fact the best thing about Toast8 is the tray icon which says a lot ;) :D

[murfle]

If this is true, tell me again why anyone would ever buy a Mac game again?

Easy... Better performance... You won't get the same kind of performance in a VM (which parallels is) than in the native OS. Which is why you'll get better performance booting straight into XP from bootcamp rather than parallels.

That being said, I haven't tried parallels yet for a few reasons, and maybe there won't be that much of a performance hit... My Mac is due here in the next couple of days, and I noticed that if you buy the current version of parallels, (any time after May 1st) you get a free upgrade to v3, so I'll definately be ordering it right away... I wasn't going to pay for an upgrade... Really glad I didn't order it with my machine like I was planning.

[4np]

Parallels has been one of the most-preferred solutions for running Windows on your Mac for some time now, but with today's announcement of the release candidate for Parallels Desktop 3.0, it looks like it's going to get a whole lot better.

http://media.arstechnica.com/journals/apple.media/200/parallels_quake.png

The big new feature is, of course, 3D graphics support (that's Quake 4 in the screenshot). Parallels 3 will soon support both DirectX and OpenGL games in the virtual machine, so you can get your gaming fix in without having to reboot into Windows. Ars Orbiting HQ testing of the private beta on a Core 2 Duo iMac has revealed that the 3D support offers decent speed for Counter-Strike; however, there were a few texturing issues here and there. That said, the news is still good for all the Mac gamers out there, and we expect there to be vast improvements to the software by the time the first public beta comes out.

Rounding out the new features are SmartSelect and Snapshots. The first of these, SmartSelect, works with Coherence and allows you to choose any Mac or Windows application as the default for a file type. So if you like Excel under Windows better than on the Mac but still want your links to open in Safari, you'll be able to do that easily. It even handles mail attachments gracefully. The last big feature, Snapshots, lets you save the state of your virtual machine and roll it back to an older state whenever you want, just in case something goes wrong. It's not necessarily a marquee feature like 3D graphics support, but it's still nice to know it's there.

The Parallels team is promising 50+ features in the new release, along with 100+ new fixes. Speaking of release, Parallels 3.0 won't be out for public consumption for another few weeks. However, the release candidate is ready as of today, so we know it's coming soon. If you're just too excited to wait, you can buy the upgrade for $40 until June 6th. After that, it'll $50 to upgrade from previous versions. It's a worthy software buy if you use Windows a lot. Or like 3D games.

More big news about Parallels Desktop 3 will be available at WWDC, so hang in there, folks.


source: http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/05/31/parallels-desktop-3-0-coming-soon-with-3d-graphics-support

Some other links about Parallels Desktop 3:
Yes, you heard right...PARALLELS DESKTOP 3.0 IS ALMOST HERE! (http://parallelsvirtualization.blogspot.com/2007/05/yes-you-heard-rightparallels-desktop-30.html)
Parallels 3.0: Another Compelling Reason To Buy A Mac (http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/06/01/parallels-30-another-compelling-reason-to-buy-a-mac)

And the Quake 3 screenshot somewhat larger:
http://www.techcrunch.com/wp-content/parallels1.jpg

And two screenshots of Half Life 2 in Parallels desktop 3:
http://bp3.blogger.com/_7AoZzKX0OWc/RmC4zVv09yI/AAAAAAAAADM/TrXtqyMtqYM/s400/Half+life.jpg
http://bp3.blogger.com/_7AoZzKX0OWc/RmC4pVv09xI/AAAAAAAAADE/PwkZySvzxqo/s400/Half+lifea.jpg

[murfle]

I just realized something... How many people play games in windows? I really hope you'll be able to do full screen 3D... I imagine if you have the whole VM open in full screen, its more likely to work, but I'm hoping for coherence mode full screen capabilities... That being said, the screenshots are done windowed to show its running in a VM. Its not as convincing to take a screengrab of a game and post it without showing what the host O/S is.

[Espoir07]

the screenshots are done windowed to show its running in a VM. Its not as convincing to take a screengrab of a game and post it without showing what the host O/S is.

Right. **thumbs up**

So does that mean you can just click "full screen" and play it without having it windowed in OSX?

[flyingteddy]

Just wondering if Parallels or VMware would work with 8-core Macpro.

[majordude]

Just wondering if Parallels or VMware would work with 8-core Macpro.

Why wouldn't they? :confused:

[Arnaud]

Why wouldn't they? :confused:

...I'm more wondering whether you'll have the same Quake results with an iMac (like mine, Core Duo 2, 2.33GHz) as with an 8-core Mac Pro they will certainly use when showing their stuff around...

Regarding performances of Parallel 2: it runs really good, but there are some sluggish moments - you still run two systems with only one machine, there are some lags sometimes, esp. when you go from one software to the other one; maybe also the memory mapping -.
Oddly enough, I've felt the worst lags when having another OS X account running at the same time.

[majordude]

I'm assuming there is an RC/beta. Anyone got a mirror?

That makes two of us. Anyone?

[xUKHCx]

That makes two of us. Anyone?

It is a closed beta so this is against the rules of both the beta and this forum.

[AHDuke99]

i wish there were a beta... i guess that can explain why there havent been many updates to v2.5 recently.

[grafikat]

It is a closed beta so this is against the rules of both the beta and this forum.

Asking if there is a beta isn't against this forum, only promoting warez, etc.

[biturbomunkie]

the current //s is really awesome already. 3d support is certainly good news.

[majordude]

Asking if there is a beta isn't against this forum, only promoting warez, etc.

Thanks for the clarification and defending me.

Funny, xUKHCx isn't the Sysop or Moderator but had to chime in anyway. Everyone is trying to judge others. Don't be gay, don't ask for beta, don't have sex, don't be another race, don't be another nationality, don't don't don't.

I'm tired of everyone being a cop.

[majordude]

the current //s is really awesome already. 3d support is certainly good news.

I agree! The latest stable release is a "must-have" for the Mac... even if you don't use Windows, it is great because you can load Foxfire and IE and see what your sites look like to the 90% that haven't switched.

[xUKHCx]

Asking if there is a beta isn't against this forum, only promoting warez, etc.


Thanks for the clarification and defending me.

Funny, xUKHCx isn't the Sysop or Moderator but had to chime in anyway. Everyone is trying to judge others. Don't be gay, don't ask for beta, don't have sex, don't be another race, don't be another nationality, don't don't don't.

I'm tired of everyone being a cop.

I was stating that it is a closed beta and so providing a mirror is against the rules.

Also calm down Majordude.

[raleigh1208]

I've been running Parallels on my MacBook Pro with Windows XP. I don't play games on my Mac, and I don't intend to upgrade from XP to Vista. Parallels and XP are working well for me for a couple of programs that are Windows only. From looking at the list of new features in 3.0, I didn't see any "must have" features for the way I use Parallels. Am I missing something?

[psychofreak]

I've been running Parallels on my MacBook Pro with Windows XP. I don't play games on my Mac, and I don't intend to upgrade from XP to Vista. Parallels and XP are working well for me for a couple of programs that are Windows only. From looking at the list of new features in 3.0, I didn't see any "must have" features for the way I use Parallels. Am I missing something?
Increased sharing looks good, and speed improvements are always welcome :)

[majordude]

I've been running Parallels on my MacBook Pro with Windows XP. I don't play games on my Mac, and I don't intend to upgrade from XP to Vista. Parallels and XP are working well for me for a couple of programs that are Windows only. From looking at the list of new features in 3.0, I didn't see any "must have" features for the way I use Parallels. Am I missing something?

I wouldn't upgrade if I were you. If you needed to play a game or run Vista better I would do it. Frankly though, since v3 may not support dual core (anyone?) I don't even know if it it is a plus for Vista users.

[Malcster]

Theres now a vid up to show how well Quake 4 runs through parallels, not completely sure what hardware its on... he mentions he has a 2.16 core2 MBP so im guessing its running on that.

Its not bad, looks playable any rate.. should get better over time.

Linky (http://parallelsvirtualization.blogspot.com/)