Macbook Pro Retina for .NET development

[lisj123]

New on forums but have been reading here for a long time, hi all

My main work tasks consists of .NET development - From complex CRM websites to different Windows Applications and API Services. Lately, i have also started developing a lot of apps in Xcode. Usually, I write the API in .NET paralell to developing apps in a virtual machine running OS X. Using a HP Elitebook as my main machine today.

I have really started to like OS X, and the hardware is simply amazing. I have thought a lot about making the switch to using a Macbook Pro where I would run OS X as the primary operating system, and Windows 8 in Parallells running Visual Studio.

Anyone has any thoughts about this? Experiences?

I am looking at the Macbook Pro Retina 15" with 512 GB SSD and 16 GB ram (lots of storage and memory for virtualization). Any thoughts about this machine? The 13" would be much more portable but I am under the impression that a Quad Code would be better for running a virtualized Windows machine > 50% of all time.

 

[asvob]

New on forums but have been reading here for a long time, hi all

My main work tasks consists of .NET development - From complex CRM websites to different Windows Applications and API Services. Lately, i have also started developing a lot of apps in Xcode. Usually, I write the API in .NET paralell to developing apps in a virtual machine running OS X. Using a HP Elitebook as my main machine today.

I have really started to like OS X, and the hardware is simply amazing. I have thought a lot about making the switch to using a Macbook Pro where I would run OS X as the primary operating system, and Windows 8 in Parallells running Visual Studio.

Anyone has any thoughts about this? Experiences?

I am looking at the Macbook Pro Retina 15" with 512 GB SSD and 16 GB ram (lots of storage and memory for virtualization). Any thoughts about this machine? The 13" would be much more portable but I am under the impression that a Quad Code would be better for running a virtualized Windows machine > 50% of all time.

You shouldn't have any troubles virtualizing Windows with those specs. I run a windows 8 VM on my Macbook Air for .NET development(dual core, 1.7GHz, 8gb ram) and still have RAM and CPU to spare. I gave my W8 VM 1 vCpu, and 2GB of ram, on a 40GB vDisk, but I used shared folders to keep the data on the OSX partitions. If you're just using Windows for running Visual Studio you can get by with low specs like these, as soon as you finish the install and wait a while for the Windows Updates to install, performance will increase quite a bit.

Keep in mind the next version of ASP.NET (ASP.NET vNext) is cross-platform and will run on OSX. You won't need Windows to develop it and you could look into a .NET IDE like MonoDevelop.

If you're looking into the VM side of things, I'd recommend taking a look at Parallels, I got great performance from it in comparison to VMware fusion.

 

[jjahshik32]

You shouldn't have any troubles virtualizing Windows with those specs. I run a windows 8 VM on my Macbook Air for .NET development(dual core, 1.7GHz, 8gb ram) and still have RAM and CPU to spare. I gave my W8 VM 1 vCpu, and 2GB of ram, on a 40GB vDisk, but I used shared folders to keep the data on the OSX partitions. If you're just using Windows for running Visual Studio you can get by with low specs like these, as soon as you finish the install and wait a while for the Windows Updates to install, performance will increase quite a bit.

Keep in mind the next version of ASP.NET (ASP.NET vNext) is cross-platform and will run on OSX. You won't need Windows to develop it and you could look into a .NET IDE like MonoDevelop.

If you're looking into the VM side of things, I'd recommend taking a look at Parallels, I got great performance from it in comparison to VMware fusion.

Good to know that we have options in the future with .NET development. Sadly, I can't use my own laptop at work but have to use the one that is issued to me. Either way for work, I like to keep it separated from my home/personal machines. For .NET development I like to stay within the Microsoft environment with Windows 7.

 

[asvob]

Good to know that we have options in the future with .NET development. Sadly, I can't use my own laptop at work but have to use the one that is issued to me at work.

Absolutely, it's exciting. If you're interested in ASP.NET vNext check out this preview post (shows it running on OSX as well):

http://www.hanselman.com/blog/IntroducingASPNETVNext.aspx

 

[glenthompson]

I have really started to like OS X, and the hardware is simply amazing. I have thought a lot about making the switch to using a Macbook Pro where I would run OS X as the primary operating system, and Windows 8 in Parallells running Visual Studio.

Anyone has any thoughts about this? Experiences?

I am looking at the Macbook Pro Retina 15" with 512 GB SSD and 16 GB ram (lots of storage and memory for virtualization). Any thoughts about this machine? The 13" would be much more portable but I am under the impression that a Quad Code would be better for running a virtualized Windows machine > 50% of all time.

As others have mentioned that machine is more than capable of handling a VM with .net development. Only item I would add is a good sized external monitor. I used to do development on a Lenovo laptop with 2 external displays. Makes the task much easier. Handling problems when on-call with a 14" screen wasn't too bad but I like a big screen for the IDE.

 

[Altemose]

New on forums but have been reading here for a long time, hi all

My main work tasks consists of .NET development - From complex CRM websites to different Windows Applications and API Services. Lately, i have also started developing a lot of apps in Xcode. Usually, I write the API in .NET paralell to developing apps in a virtual machine running OS X. Using a HP Elitebook as my main machine today.

I have really started to like OS X, and the hardware is simply amazing. I have thought a lot about making the switch to using a Macbook Pro where I would run OS X as the primary operating system, and Windows 8 in Parallells running Visual Studio.

Anyone has any thoughts about this? Experiences?

I am looking at the Macbook Pro Retina 15" with 512 GB SSD and 16 GB ram (lots of storage and memory for virtualization). Any thoughts about this machine? The 13" would be much more portable but I am under the impression that a Quad Code would be better for running a virtualized Windows machine > 50% of all time.

That is the perfect machine for the task. Plus you can run up to three monitors without daisy chaining (Thunderbolt only). The rMBP is hard to beat and the keyboard is quite up there with the ThinkPads.

 

[lisj123]

Thanks for all replies!

I went to a Apple store yesterday and spent some time fiddling around with the different macs. To be honest I really felt that the 15" is too big to carry around. I commute to my work and carries around the computer for quite a time every day so size and weight is pretty important.

How much worse is the 13" performance wise (same specs otherwise, 16 gb ram, 512 gb ssd)? Is the dual core cpu able to handle virtualization or will it be too much?

I should also add that I use two external 24" monitors at work and a single 27" at home so screen estate on the laptop is not my number one priority.

 

[asvob]

Thanks for all replies!

I went to a Apple store yesterday and spent some time fiddling around with the different macs. To be honest I really felt that the 15" is too big to carry around. I commute to my work and carries around the computer for quite a time every day so size and weight is pretty important.

How much worse is the 13" performance wise (same specs otherwise, 16 gb ram, 512 gb ssd)? Is the dual core cpu able to handle virtualization or will it be too much?

I should also add that I use two external 24" monitors at work and a single 27" at home so screen estate on the laptop is not my number one priority.

There is a decent difference in performance (15" model having 2 more physical cores as well as possible dedicated GPU), but it may be overkill for your needs. Keep in mind the dual core CPU in the 13" does have hyper-threading so it will be treated like it has 4 cores on the OS level. We run a lot of windows VMs here at work on VMware and most of them just have 1 vCPU, they do just fine for the majority of applications we need to run.

The only benefit to virtualizing windows that you'd get with the 15" is the ability to provide more physical CPU cores to the VM itself, it won't benefit much from the dedicated GPU, unless you are using Parallels for some DirectX work or using using KVM with a video passthrough.

Keep in mind that you can always use bootcamp to create a Windows partition that will allow you to boot into Windows natively, if you need to take advantage of the full power of the machine for certain tasks.

The baseline processor in the 13" rMBP: http://ark.intel.com/products/75990
Baseline for 15" rMBP: http://ark.intel.com/products/76087

Some comparisons:
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-4750HQ-vs-Intel-Core-i5-4258U
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/93...-4258U_vs_Intel_Core_i7_Mobile_i7-4750HQ.html

 

[covertsurfer]

Dont forget about Mono. This will mean developing .Net natively in OSX without a VM via Xamarin Studio.

ASP.Net vNext will be released with full Mono support as well.

On a side note please checkout Nancy if you are developing anything web related in .Net http://nancyfx.org/

 

[0488568]

Hello,

Did you end up buying the 13? If so how is it?

I too am in you situation. I would like a portable device for development. iOS and .NET.

 

[foodmeanoff]

think so, I used to do development on a Lenovo laptop with 2 external displays. Makes the task much easier. Handling problems when on-call with a 14" screen wasn't too bad but I like a big screen for the IDE. thanks