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How much ram required to run VMFusion or Parallels
- Thread starter Abdulhaq
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Yes you can run a virtual machine with what you stated (2014 with 4 gigs) but you surely wont want to do so.
IF* one has to use a 2014 Mini, I would highly suggest at least 8 gigs of RAM so you can allocate an appropriate amount to the virtual machine. This might depend on which applications you tend to run and also simple overhead.
As for me, given my apps in OSX and in Win 7 virtual, I use a quad Mini with 16 gigs of RAM. Friends of mine use similar with 8 gigs and they are happy.
IF* one has to use a 2014 Mini, I would highly suggest at least 8 gigs of RAM so you can allocate an appropriate amount to the virtual machine. This might depend on which applications you tend to run and also simple overhead.
As for me, given my apps in OSX and in Win 7 virtual, I use a quad Mini with 16 gigs of RAM. Friends of mine use similar with 8 gigs and they are happy.
The question is how much memory will your VM's need? You can do some real basic stuff with 4GB, but if your needs are that basic try using Virtual Box before buying either Parallels or Fusion as it is free and may well suit your needs.
Personally I wouldn't consider any less than 16GB for running VM's plus my normal workload, but everyone is different.
Personally I wouldn't consider any less than 16GB for running VM's plus my normal workload, but everyone is different.
Virtualization always boils down to the resources you want your virtual machines to have. For a single virtual machine while running nothing else on your host (except fusion or parallels of course) you could use the following pattern to determine if you have enough RAM: 2GB + RAM of your Virtual Machine
Don't leave your physical machine with less that 2GB, and make sure there's always 1 CPU core left free for the host (e.g. for a 4-core CPU, assign 2 cores to the virtual machine, for a 2-core CPU, assign 1 core to the virtual machine).
The above recommendations are in order to ensure that your virtual machine will not suffer because of physical host is left without resources.
Don't leave your physical machine with less that 2GB, and make sure there's always 1 CPU core left free for the host (e.g. for a 4-core CPU, assign 2 cores to the virtual machine, for a 2-core CPU, assign 1 core to the virtual machine).
The above recommendations are in order to ensure that your virtual machine will not suffer because of physical host is left without resources.
8gb-16gb
I run 16 VMs on lots of different computers at work -- some iMacs and some cMPs. The iMacs we have are vintage 2008, and I fitted them with 16GB each. I should also say, they all run Win 8.1. If you are going to run Windows, use 8.1 or the new technical preview Win 10. Our experience with Win 7 has not been good -- Win 7 is hugely bloated, takes up a lot of CPU resources and hick ups even our 3,1 MPs outfitted with 32GB. Win 8 and Win 10 on the other hand, I was able to run side by side on a different 3,1 MP with 16GB without any speed issues.
So as the last post said, it depends on your needs. We run VM Ware Fusion because we need a nice commercial product which is solidly supported. Virtual Box is not that.
If you are memory limited, as some of our 3,1 MPs only have 8GB, then make sure the OS you are trying to run has a very compact code. Win 8.1 is precisely that as it can run on cheap tablets sporting 1GB of memory only. If you are going to run something like Win 7, I would suggest at least 8GB, but more likely 16GB. Even then, it will not run very smoothly if you are talking about day to day operations. I would steer away from an OS like that. Trust me, lots of experience with everything from Win XP, to Win 7, then to Win 8, and now finally Win 10.
I run 16 VMs on lots of different computers at work -- some iMacs and some cMPs. The iMacs we have are vintage 2008, and I fitted them with 16GB each. I should also say, they all run Win 8.1. If you are going to run Windows, use 8.1 or the new technical preview Win 10. Our experience with Win 7 has not been good -- Win 7 is hugely bloated, takes up a lot of CPU resources and hick ups even our 3,1 MPs outfitted with 32GB. Win 8 and Win 10 on the other hand, I was able to run side by side on a different 3,1 MP with 16GB without any speed issues.
So as the last post said, it depends on your needs. We run VM Ware Fusion because we need a nice commercial product which is solidly supported. Virtual Box is not that.
If you are memory limited, as some of our 3,1 MPs only have 8GB, then make sure the OS you are trying to run has a very compact code. Win 8.1 is precisely that as it can run on cheap tablets sporting 1GB of memory only. If you are going to run something like Win 7, I would suggest at least 8GB, but more likely 16GB. Even then, it will not run very smoothly if you are talking about day to day operations. I would steer away from an OS like that. Trust me, lots of experience with everything from Win XP, to Win 7, then to Win 8, and now finally Win 10.
