Best machine to run Windows Vista via Fusion

[macforum727]

Hello,

I'm currently looking to replace my white MacBook (3GB RAM) with either a new 17" MBP or the 8-core Mac Pro. My inclination is to buy the MBP because it lets me take everything with me - however, I'm concerned about whether or not it will run Windows Vista (in VMWare Fusion) at close to native speed.

My current MacBook is not nearly up to the challenge (although it appears to be more memory bound than CPU) and unfortunately its a requirement for my daily work requirements.

Does anyone here have experience running Fusion/Windows Vista on the 17 MBP? Will it run with the standard 4 GB or do I need to shell out for 8 to get decent performance?

Thanks in advance!

 

[neiltc13]

The only reasons to buy the MacBook Pro over the MacBook are the screen and the graphics chip. If you don't play games or edit movies, you won't see any performance difference between the 2.4GHz MacBook and 2.4GHz MacBook Pro.

4GB will be MORE than adequate for running VMWare Fusion, although for a good Windows experience you really should look into Boot Camp. I've been testing the Windows 7 RC all this week and it's incredibly good, try looking into that as well since it's a free copy of Windows for you until June 2010.

 

[darkcurse]

He's comparing a MBP to a Mac Pro though. Like seriously, since you already have an MB, just get a Mac Pro. It will probably run at near native speeds for everything except 3d-acceleration. So you can't get things like the aero effects etc. Plus with the 8-core MP, you could allocate 2-core's to it and just make sure you bump up the RAM and allocate at least 1GB to the Vista VM.