Which is the fastest emulator?

[hajime]

Hi, I tried linux on virtualbox under MBP 2019 15". It was too slow for my purpose. Is Parallels noticably faster or much fastest? What is the fastest emulator for running linux and Windows 10?

 

[S.B.G]

If the VM is too slow for you, you either didn't assign it enough resources (RAM, CPU, Disk), or your host machine doesn't have enough of those same resources or powerful enough resources to run the VM efficiently. Changing from VirtualBox to another application won't make much if any difference.

 

[hajime]

For a 8-core i9 2.4GHz cpu with 32GB RAM, is assigning 4-core and 16GB to the vm the best? I wonder if it is better to get a 64GB configuration.

 

[S.B.G]

Chances are 8 GB will be plenty of RAM for it. Give it at least 2 cores of your CPU as well.

 

[hajime]

What do you think of this result? All 3 cores assigned.

Test1: 8GB. 8m34s to complete a task
Test2: 16GB, 9m11s
Test3: 24GB, 9m1s

Less RAM to VM is fastest? Does that mean Mac OS and Parallels need 24+GB ram to run effectively in this test?

 

[S.B.G]

What is the task that's running which takes that long?

 

[hajime]

I reduced the core number to two but keeps the RAM at 8GB. Now it took 13m8s to complete. So the more cores the better but I cannot understand wht less RAM caused better performance.

Some computer numerical simulations.

 

[S.B.G]

Aside from that task, how does the VM behave? Is everything else running smooth and quick?

If you're running mathematical stuff, I have to wonder if the math co-processor doesn't run well, or at all in a virtual environment.

 

[hajime]

Aside from that task, how does the VM behave? Is everything else running smooth and quick?

If you're running mathematical stuff, I have to wonder if the math co-processor doesn't run well, or at all in a virtual environment.

I need more tests to answer. Besides number of cores and memory allocation, what else can I adjust to potentially improve the performance?

 

[S.B.G]

That's about all I can think of to change that would make any significant difference.

 

[jdelgado]

What do you think of this result? All 3 cores assigned.

Test1: 8GB. 8m34s to complete a task
Test2: 16GB, 9m11s
Test3: 24GB, 9m1s

Less RAM to VM is fastest? Does that mean Mac OS and Parallels need 24+GB ram to run effectively in this test?

Maybe there is some setting in the OS that is related to RAM management? Writing to disk? VRAM?
You do not say much about your application, but sometimes compiler settings make a big difference too.

A long time ago I did some tests on a program I needed to run and compared bootcamp and VMs (Parallels and Fusion). I found that bootcamp and VMs were almost identical. I settled on Fusion.

 

[hajime]

About 15 years ago, it was generally agreed that Fusion was better at that time. I think it was more stable. As I recall, I tried both and also ended up with Fusion. If I recall correctly, Parallels offered big discounts for Fusion user to switch to Parallels. Over time, I think I heard Parallels became better. How about now?

Myprograms did lots of matrix computations.

 

[jdelgado]

About 15 years ago, it was generally agreed that Fusion was better at that time. I think it was more stable. As I recall, I tried both and also ended up with Fusion. If I recall correctly, Parallels offered big discounts for Fusion user to switch to Parallels. Over time, I think I heard Parallels became better. How about now?

Myprograms did lots of matrix computations.

Fusion and Parallels have free demos, so you can try if there is any difference.

 

[hajime]

Fusion and Parallels have free demos, so you can try if there is any difference.

I think Fusion was free in the past but starting few years ago, we have to pay.

 

[jdelgado]

I think Fusion was free in the past but starting few years ago, we have to pay.

Sorry for not being clear. Parallels and Fusion are paid.
I was referring to free evaluation trials.

This is link for Fusion

Fusion and Workstation | VMware

VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion desktop hypervisors are the industry leaders in local virtualization. Learn how VMware’s local virtualization solutions provide an easier way to build, test and deliver any app for any device or cloud.

www.vmware.com

 

[hajime]

Sorry for not being clear. Parallels and Fusion are paid.
I was referring to free evaluation trials.

This is link for Fusion

Fusion and Workstation | VMware

VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion desktop hypervisors are the industry leaders in local virtualization. Learn how VMware’s local virtualization solutions provide an easier way to build, test and deliver any app for any device or cloud.

www.vmware.com

I know. Many years ago, Fusion was free.