VMWare Fusion - help

[jon08]

I noticed that recently v. 2.0.5 came out so I decided I'd finally check it out. But before I get it, I'd like to ask a couple of questions:

1) I already have Win XP SP3 on Bootcamp, so how exactly do I go about installing VMWare?

2) Is it now possible to play games just as smoothly thru VMWare as if you were in Bootcamp?

3) Related to question no. 2: having 4GB RAM on my MBP, would 2 GB RAM assigned to VMWare be enough to play games without issues? (when in Win XP through Bootcamp, you get 3 GB RAM out of 4 GB, which is still 1 GB more than what VMWare would have).

Thanks

 

[ruinfx]

I noticed that recently v. 2.0.5 came out so I decided I'd finally check it out. But before I get it, I'd like to ask a couple of questions:

1) I already have Win XP SP3 on Bootcamp, so how exactly do I go about installing VMWare?

2) Is it now possible to play games just as smoothly thru VMWare as if you were in Bootcamp?

3) Related to question no. 2: having 4GB RAM on my MBP, would 2 GB RAM assigned to VMWare be enough to play games without issues? (when in Win XP through Bootcamp, you get 3 GB RAM out of 4 GB, which is still 1 GB more than what VMWare would have).

Thanks

i seem to remember it allowing you to choose your bootcamp partition to create the virtual machine with when you are setting it up. as far as gaming goes, i think you would have better luck with bootcamp. i was able to find this on vmwares forums: http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-1287

 

[mmulin]

1) I already have Win XP SP3 on Bootcamp, so how exactly do I go about installing VMWare?

Just install VMWare on your Mac and when creating a new VM, it will give you the option to choose your Boot Camp partition. It will install the VMWare tools on your BC's Windows. If you don't want to use your BC, you can create a VM with its own virtual hard disk. Your BC stays untouched. And please RTFM and we help you with real problems!

2) Is it now possible to play games just as smoothly thru VMWare as if you were in Bootcamp?

It will never be because virtualising always adds another layer to be translated between host & guest OS. With Apple's Intel move it became more efficient though as many system calls now can be passed on with a only slight modification. However, it is especially tough for gaming, high performance computing, video., etc as the GPU is not directly accessible, nor has it free control over CPU or bandwidth. VMWare & Parallels have become quite smooth running older games, YMMV, but forget most new games heavily using GPU.

3) Related to question no. 2: having 4GB RAM on my MBP, would 2 GB RAM assigned to VMWare be enough to play games without issues? (when in Win XP through Bootcamp, you get 3 GB RAM out of 4 GB, which is still 1 GB more than what VMWare would have).

See my answer of 2) and RAM is never so much an issue with games as is GPU & CPU though it is the next thing

 

[jon08]

Just install VMWare on your Mac and when creating a new VM, it will give you the option to choose your Boot Camp partition. It will install the VMWare tools on your BC's Windows. If you don't want to use your BC, you can create a VM with its own virtual hard disk. Your BC stays untouched. And please RTFM and we help you with real problems!


It will never be because virtualising always adds another layer to be translated between host & guest OS. With Apple's Intel move it became more efficient though as many system calls now can be passed on with a only slight modification. However, it is especially tough for gaming, high performance computing, video., etc as the GPU is not directly accessible, nor has it free control over CPU or bandwidth. VMWare & Parallels have become quite smooth running older games, YMMV, but forget most new games heavily using GPU.


See my answer of 2) and RAM is never so much an issue with games as is GPU & CPU though it is the next thing

Thanks for your help!

 

[Biolizard]

I have Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 running through Fusion

Though that is mostly written in assembly code and has isometric graphics, and the audio still stutters every minute or so.

Anything much more and it might run, but it'll be rubbish. I've seen vids of people running the Source engine on their 2.8 MBP and the lag is really bad. Rebooting is a PITA, though I'd do it to get the most out of a game.

 

[jon08]

Another quick question: when in VMware - Bootcamp partition Settings, there's this icon Processors & RAM.

Currently it's set on: The virtual machine is configured to use 1 virtual processor. Should I set it on 2?

 

[mmulin]

Another quick question: when in VMware - Bootcamp partition Settings, there's this icon Processors & RAM.

Currently it's set on: The virtual machine is configured to use 1 virtual processor. Should I set it on 2?

Depends how much power you need for VM and if the application or OS in the VM is capable of utilising two CPUs. Also note that giving the VM 2 processors on a dual core system, will leave you with limited overhead which needs to be shared between OSX & the VM. In some cases it may slow down your overall experience.

On a dual core system, I would generally recommend just using one CPU. If you have more cores available, you may add some more under the same regards as stated in the beginning.

 

[jon08]

Depends how much power you need for VM and if the application or OS in the VM is capable of utilising two CPUs. Also note that giving the VM 2 processors on a dual core system, will leave you with limited overhead which needs to be shared between OSX & the VM. In some cases it may slow down your overall experience.

On a dual core system, I would generally recommend just using one CPU. If you have more cores available, you may add some more under the same regards as stated in the beginning.

I've got a MBP with the specifications as listed below... So what would be the optimal solution?

 

[mmulin]

I've got a MBP with the specifications as listed below... So what would be the optimal solution?

C'mon, I gave you the answer above!

Besides, the optimal solution to anything in life, will always depend on the task at hand. My optimal solution, may not be yours.. and the only way to figure it out, is playing around with the options.

Sorry, but I don't like silver spooning. I think you can figure out a few things too. By doing so, you may learn how to find answers to anything. So, ask yourself a few questions as in the old greek tradition:

1) What CPU do I have? How many cores does it have?
2) What did the guy tell me about cores and VM?
3) Maybe he is wrong. Would it hurt if I just try different settings and see how it works?

 

[micsaund]

Let me say, and I have a certain level of VMware experience, that defining more vCPUs is **NOT** always better. The common line of thinking in many aspects of life is that "more is better". This is not true. Each vCPU you define uses additional RAM and other resources. Many times, someone will have a VM with 2+ vCPUs and it runs poorly and simply dropping it to a single vCPU makes it run completely normally.

More is NOT always better...

Also, there is not always a "best" answer as indicated above. Experiment. Think. Learn.

Try a single vCPU and see if it works for your needs. Then, try two vCPUs. Adjust as needed.