SIAP: Does Graphics Switching Work When Running Fusion or Parallels?

[UCF-ENG]

Hey guys,

I am thinking about getting a new 15" i7 MBP (currently a Win user) and I have been doing a little bit of research... I would still use Win 7 pretty extensively so I am concerned about battery life/ performance when I am using Fusion or Parallels...

I know that when you boot into Win 7 (using bootcamp) the graphics are defaulted to discrete... But what about when you are booted into OSX and you are running Windows using the virtualization software, does graphics switching still operate normally in those situations?

Outside of AutoCad, and video streaming, the most taxing thing I frequently come across is large, graphics heavy, PowerPoint presentations... I have a lot of friends with Mac's and they all have compatibility issues with Office for Mac, and as a result, use the Windows version, I intend to do the same... SO, my other big question is would a 4GB i7 MBP be able to handle a large PowerPoint file like that in Fusion or Parallels without noticeable screen lag, performance drop-off? If so is it something that could be reminded by upgrading to 8GB of ram?

 

[mikeo007]

I believe vmware fusion automatically switches to the discrete graphics, regardless of what programs the host machine is running.

 

[bigjobby]

Parallels also kicks in Nvidia automatically but you can use your favorite 3rd party tool to switch your MBP back to using onboard. Thats what I do when I'm running off batteries using any apps.