Running Windows via Parallels on modern Macs

[MR_Boogy]

I am looking to get a new laptop but I need the ability to use Windows for certain applications. My desktop Mac is one of the last Intel iMacs and obviously a new laptop would be running Arm - currently M4.

I separately need to figure out if all the Windows apps will actually run on Arm hardware, but what specs do I realistically need - RAM primarily since I can't install more later? I use Windows mainly to access remote systems so it won't be running apps itself, but the OS still takes resources.

 

[Bigwaff]

I separately need to figure out if all the Windows apps will actually run on Arm hardware, but what specs do I realistically need - RAM primarily since I can't install more later?

At least 6-8GB RAM allocated to Windows Virtual Machine depending on version of Windows in use.

 

[MR_Boogy]

At least 6-8GB RAM allocated to Windows Virtual Machine depending on version of Windows in use.

Thanks.. And how little can MacOS cope with left over? It looks like 16GB is the minimum on newer MacBooks but that's unified across GPU as well. It sounds to me like it would probably be reasonable to opt for 24GB and 512GB SSD, or do I really need more than that?

 

[maflynn]

It sounds to me like it would probably be reasonable to opt for 24GB and 512GB SSD, or do I really need more than that?

VMs occupy space, so 512GB may be a little tight if you have other apps that you'll be installing either for macOS or windows. I'd opt for 1TB, and personally, I'd go for the next level and get 48GB of ram (the 36GB of ram is not available in the base model configuration)

 

[BigBlur]

I use Windows mainly to access remote systems so it won't be running apps itself

Are there no Mac apps you can use to access these remote systems? Microsoft has Windows App (previously called Remote Desktop). I use that to remote into my Windows machine. If you're connecting to Linux, you can use the built-in Screen Sharing app or some other VNC app.

 

[MR_Boogy]

Are there no Mac apps you can use to access these remote systems? Microsoft has Windows App (previously called Remote Desktop). I use that to remote into my Windows machine. If you're connecting to Linux, you can use the built-in Screen Sharing app or some other VNC app.

No. There are plenty of remote desktop apps, but the corporate security/VPN/firewall my client use is Windows only (well maybe Linux but I want to keep it simple).

 

[maflynn]

No. There are plenty of remote desktop apps, but the corporate security/VPN/firewall my client use is Windows only (well maybe Linux but I want to keep it simple).

The thing with my company is that if you want to connect to the corporate network, your computer must have certaint settings, configurations and software. For the PC, its stuff like crowdstrike (yes that crowdstrike), but for Macs, they want to load a MDM profile, and I'm not comfortable them restricting admin access on my personal device.

 

[zayanhani]

I am looking to get a new laptop but I need the ability to use Windows for certain applications. My desktop Mac is one of the last Intel iMacs and obviously a new laptop would be running Arm - currently M4.

I separately need to figure out if all the Windows apps will actually run on Arm hardware, but what specs do I realistically need - RAM primarily since I can't install more later? I use Windows mainly to access remote systems so it won't be running apps itself, but the OS still takes resources.

If you have not already, test your key Windows software on a trial copy of Parallels + Windows 11 ARM. It’s the best way to confirm compatibility before locking in specs.

 

[tizeye]

If you have not already, test your key Windows software on a trial copy of Parallels + Windows 11 ARM. It’s the best way to confirm compatibility before locking in specs.

This! With my 2013 MBP (Intel) I went the Parallel/Windows route but when I upgraded to a 2024 MBP, didn't even bother. Technically, I only have 2 programs that are Windows only (or biased with poor Apple performance in their "supports Apple" online browser only version.) I built a small PC dedicated to the Blue Iris software that runs the security cameras, and of course, can run any other Windows program. My experience with Parallels/Windows identified a huge shortcoming that presume would still be valid today. If the file is one the MacOS partition of the hard drive, Windows can find it because, not only can't it read MacOS, the drive doesn't even exist to later save it to. If the source file, such as a photo, is on the Apple side, you have to move it over to the Windows partition on the same physical drive for windows to access it, then move it back after you save it. The good news is that Apple can read files in both formatted partitions.. It just wasn't worth it and I 1) saved a lot of space, and 2) didn't have to buy an operating system.

 

[BriceApp]

I use VMware Fusion and Windows 11 Arm on my M1 8/512 MBA without issues. Granted I am not running anything intensive, I need it mostly for Bitlocker.

I have 4gb and 4CPU allocated to the VM and I have opened office apps in both Sequoia and Windows as well as just about any other app I can think of in Sequoia while the VM is running and I could not get anything to crash. The swap to disk was heavy during that test, but it functioned very well. The VM did slow down, but nothing crashed or complained.

With new Mac’s coming with 16gb ram I think it will be even better just with the entry specs.

 

[pshufd]

I am looking to get a new laptop but I need the ability to use Windows for certain applications. My desktop Mac is one of the last Intel iMacs and obviously a new laptop would be running Arm - currently M4.

I separately need to figure out if all the Windows apps will actually run on Arm hardware, but what specs do I realistically need - RAM primarily since I can't install more later? I use Windows mainly to access remote systems so it won't be running apps itself, but the OS still takes resources.

I size my Windows VMs at 8 GB and find that comfortable for moderate work that doesn't require a lot of RAM. It really depends on how much RAM your Windows programs need. If they are Intel-only programs, then you have to add some RAM for translation buffers.