Is it just me or does VMware fusion DRINK the battery on the 13" MBP?

[mcs37]

I fire up VMware fusion to run Outlook 2007 -- I originally thought this was the greatest thing since sliced bread. What I've noticed, however, is the MBP gets noticeably warmer on the back left quadrant, and battery levels drop significantly. As soon as I close the VM, I can tell the machine cooling off and battery performance looks better. Is this just me or are other people noticing this? I do think the overall VMware fusion + outlook integration is awesome, but I think it might just have to hold out until Snow Leopard.

 

[MacDawg]

It does require a lot of memory/processor usage, and what you are experiencing would be normal

Woof, Woof - Dawg

 

[CalMin]

Think about it. It is more than just a program - you are running a SECOND operating system within the OS X environment. That's going to use up some juice!

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

Vmware fusion does tax my batteries, but only by about 1-2 hours.

On my mid-2009 mbp with 100% battery health, I get around 6-7 hours of batteries without vmware and it knocks it down to 5-5.5 hrs with vmware running thunderbird and ms onenote (avg virus + nvidia driver control panel in the background)

I don't have the heat issue with VMware fusion. Are you sure you aren't just noticing the heat when your computer is plugged in?

I know that when i am using my computer when it is plugged in, when I switch to the 9600m gt, or when I play youtube videos (or run flash programs on facebook) the top left quadrant gets REALLY hot (along with the space between the hinge and the top of the keyboard).

Interestingly, when I just go in to use the VMware windows (in unity view) my battery life goes up (by 0.5-1 hr) compared to when I am just in OSX. Don't really know why that is.