Good spec to run Parallels 8

[JonL12345]

I am about to order my first ever iMac. However, like most I have some dilemmas on which 27" spec to get.

1. i5 or i7 - does it make a difference if you run Parallels, as presumably this will eat up some cores? Can you assign say 2 cores (4 threads) and Windows will pick up all of those?

2. GTX 675MX or GTX 680MX - when running Parallels, do you have to assign video RAM to Windows and if you do, will this cut down what is available to OSX? With 1GB of RAM on the 675MX, is this on the low side if you have to share it with Parallels?

Thanks,

Jon

 

[rkaufmann87]

I am about to order my first ever iMac. However, like most I have some dilemmas on which 27" spec to get.

1. i5 or i7 - does it make a difference if you run Parallels, as presumably this will eat up some cores? Can you assign say 2 cores (4 threads) and Windows will pick up all of those?

2. GTX 675MX or GTX 680MX - when running Parallels, do you have to assign video RAM to Windows and if you do, will this cut down what is available to OSX? With 1GB of RAM on the 675MX, is this on the low side if you have to share it with Parallels?

Thanks,

Jon

ANY Intel based iMac will work just fine. You don't say how you will use the computer so it's very tough to say which configuration might be better for your needs. Visit your local Apple Store and ask, they can also help steer you.

 

[Snarl]

With regard to CPU more Cores may have an Edge for VM's so I'd think a Quad Core i7 would be ideal.

Not so sure on the GPU however if your planning on running any games or GPU intensive Applications the better the GPU the better the experience. I am however ignorant as to how Parallels or VMWare handles Video RAM, I run my VM's full screen and flip back and forth so I've never had an issue that warrants investigation. The 650M in my MacBook pro has no problems with VM's using VMWare (And my understanding is that parallels has slightly better performance)