Vmware Fusion and 2017 iMac

[BigBagaroo]

Hi all,

Anyone who has tested Vmware Fusion on the new iMacs running Windows 10 as the guest OS?

I use Fusion for Win10/Visual Studio and I really need a new desktop computer. I am trying to choose between the 27" i5 or i7.

Currently using an iMac 2009 as external screen for a mid 2015 MacBook pro, and the fan noise is driving me crazy.

Another option is to wait for the iMac Pro, it is only 6-7 months away.

 

[Robbo1]

Don't know about Fusion, but I did install Parallels 12 and Win 10 on my new 2017 i7 and it works fine for Quicken Win and MS Office Win.

 

[IHelpId10t5]

For a client I recently installed the latest Fusion and Win 10 Pro on the previous model of iMac 27", i5, 16GB RAM and it works extremely well with no problems whatsoever.

Note that I do set up Fusion with 8GB RAM, bridged networking, and I disable all unity mode, host/guest file sharing, and other integration features. I want any VM to run as a PC completely isolated from the guest macOS for networking, security, performance, and stability reasons. I also set up the VMs with only a 20GB preallocated boot disk that only contains Windows and applications. Users store all files on a NAS instead of on the VM (easier backup, maintenance, upgrades, and recovery). These settings make for a trouble-free and well performing VM even if it is running Windows.

 

[BigBagaroo]

Yes, with the exception of a shared folder I also do that. One VM pr customer is nice, I can install all their crazy VPN solutions without affecting my setup.

The i7 is attractive due to the hyperthreading.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[MRrainer]

Only the i7 offers Hyperthreading.
So, to get the most out of it (or if you run more VMs at the same time), the i7 is almost a must IMO.

But it really pushes up the price.

 

[Robbo1]

How many cores do you allocate to each VM?

 

[BigBagaroo]

I usually assign 2-4 cores to the VM. I haven't found any good guidance on this, but at least two cores makes VS and Resharper bearable. I'd love to hear what others do!

(And turn off automatic updates in Windows unless you want Windows to start chugging your CPU and fan when you are in Mac OS)

Edit: I only run one Windows VM at the same time. I sometimes have a Debian running along with Windows. Linux behaves nicely, so no issues there