M1 Parallels Desktops users—what's your experience been like with Windows 11?

[izzy0242mr]

I'm interesting in getting an M1 Mac laptop and running Parallels on it and installing Windows 11. My company uses various Windows apps for work and I was curious what people's experiences have been like with regards to stability, usability, compatibility with Win10 apps, etc.

@anyone who says "Win11 Insider Builds shouldn't be relied on for work"—I know. I'm just asking for people's firsthand experiences so far.

 

[bobcomer]

For the most part workable, some apps don't work, but they're rare. Speed is okay, but not stellar.

As for @anyone, make sure your IT people know what you're doing as it is a concern.

 

[jsamuels]

No problems here but I run a limited number of Windows apps and no games. For me, the speed is very good.

 

[Internaut]

Mixed but mostly positive for the ARM build. I've yet to manage a fresh installation where I could get the Windows Store. At the moment, the Windows store simply isn't there. I suspect this is possibly due a bit of a chicken and egg situation where Windows can't see a network until the Parallels Tools are installed, forcing a minimal installation. Nothing I've tried; no advice I could follow would get me the App Store. I depend on it for just one, single solitary thing!

OTOH, I backed up and upgraded my existing Windows 10 installation and that works great and, fires up quickly and performs better than Windows 10. The only complaint I have is that if I need to run anything with elevated privileges, I takes a good while for the dialogue to appear.

 

[nobullone1964]

I did a full install via Parallels onto a Samsung SSD and purchased a Win 11 Pro key online and got activated. All is functioning well except for some games. That was my whole point for the installation. Batman Arkham Asylum and Origins run fine. Arkham City throws up a warning about system requirements and still runs despite the warning. I'm about to install NBA 2k22. We'll see how that goes. My Xbox X series controller won't connect via Bluetooth, but works fine wired.

You can Google for a download of Arm that is an ISO full install. Microsoft store runs with no problems. I tried the VHDK insider preview and that sucked. It had no Store and was buggy. Look for the full ISO and get activated.

 

[CWallace]

I have only just installed the Windows 11 ARM Insiders Edition VHXD on my base 14" MBP as a VM using Parallels 17 and it was a painless install and it does seem to work well enough at accessing my corporate resources and running Office 365.

This is my personal machine so do not need Windows support and therefore will likely not keep it as I would need to spend another $100 a year on a second Parallels license for this machine.

 

[defmc]

I did a full install via Parallels onto a Samsung SSD and purchased a Win 11 Pro key online and got activated. All is functioning well except for some games. That was my whole point for the installation. Batman Arkham Asylum and Origins run fine. Arkham City throws up a warning about system requirements and still runs despite the warning. I'm about to install NBA 2k22. We'll see how that goes. My Xbox X series controller won't connect via Bluetooth, but works fine wired.

You can Google for a download of Arm that is an ISO full install. Microsoft store runs with no problems. I tried the VHDK insider preview and that sucked. It had no Store and was buggy. Look for the full ISO and get activated.

Oh, Im very interested in hearing how NBA 2k22 fares in parallels. Anything to report?

 

[nobullone1964]

NBA 2K22 sucked. What amazes me is I can run it with no problems through Apple Arcade. I have the standard license with no upgrades from Parallels, so memory is limited to 8GB and CPU 4 cores. Maybe the Windows side needs more. From what I read, Linux can be installed natively to the machine without using a VM. I'll try exploring that soon. I mostly like the Feral Interactive games, anyway. They make them for MacOS and Linux.

 

[bobcomer]

Maybe the Windows side needs more.

I doubt more RAM would help at all. Virtualization/emulation is just not going to be as fast as on real hardware. Why virtualization got so popular in the windows world is so you could run a bunch more instances at a time on the same hardware, or run instances totally separate from each other.

It's not to run another OS in a virtual machine like it's on real hardware -- that just is not going to happen. Your biggest bottleneck would be the GPU, but that's not the only one!

I was a Microsoft MVP in the Virtualization/Hyper-V category for years so I've always been real heavy in to running VM's for various reasons, but not once to play games. (I'm way to impatient for that!)

 

[nobullone1964]

I doubt more RAM would help at all. Virtualization/emulation is just not going to be as fast as on real hardware. Why virtualization got so popular in the windows world is so you could run a bunch more instances at a time on the same hardware, or run instances totally separate from each other.

It's not to run another OS in a virtual machine like it's on real hardware -- that just is not going to happen. Your biggest bottleneck would be the GPU, but that's not the only one!

I was a Microsoft MVP in the Virtualization/Hyper-V category for years so I've always been real heavy in to running VM's for various reasons, but not once to play games. (I'm way to impatient for that!)

Hence, the Windows side needs more. I will try the straight install of Linux to the same SSD in time to test the games that are supported. In the long run, I'm getting an Xbox X-Series once the profit pirates are done buying and selling them way above the $499.00 retail price allowing the regular customer some stock to pick from. Besides, I have a Mac Pro that I can utilize with Windows 10 to run games easily.

 

[bobcomer]

Hence, the Windows side needs more. I will try the straight install of Linux to the same SSD in time to test the games that are supported. In the long run, I'm getting an Xbox X-Series once the profit pirates are done buying and selling them way above the $499.00 retail price allowing the regular customer some stock to pick from. Besides, I have a Mac Pro that I can utilize with Windows 10 to run games easily.

Windows needing more doesn't necessarily follow, but whatever. Virtualization/emulation is a huge balancing act.

I do games with my XBox Series X, I got lucky eventually and didn't have to buy it from a profit pirate.