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Windows 10 in Parallels or Azure?

A

auroramoo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 29, 2012
6
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I'm using a MacBook Pro 2018 (15") 2.6Ghz stock configuration and have a use case to run Windows 10 on a regular basis for work (roughly 8 hours a day for a few days a week).

Should I run Windows 10 in Parallels or use a VM in the cloud (e.g. Azure)?

I find that the battery only lasts about 3 hours running Windows 10 in Parallels whereas with the running Windows Remote Desktop to connect to Windows 10 in Azure gives me about 6+ hours of battery life but can't do copy and paste between MacOS and Windows 10.

Has anyone went through this and found an optimal solution? Please share your experience.
 
I've used Parallels pretty much every day on mine, the integration is just way beyond that you can achieve with RDP. Hear you on the battery life though, it can ruin it. I try and avoid it when I'm just on battery.
 
MacRS4 said:
I've used Parallels pretty much every day on mine, the integration is just way beyond that you can achieve with RDP. Hear you on the battery life though, it can ruin it. I try and avoid it when I'm just on battery.
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I see you have the 2018 i9 rMBP. Do you observe any apparent improvements over the i7 2.6ghz processor when running VMs or daily use?
 
AFAIK, Microsoft won't license Windows 10 on an Azure VM unless you've either got an MSDN subscription or a dual use enterprise agreement so it might be a complete non-starter. VMs on Azure can also get pretty pricey for anything approaching decent specifications
Personally, I use virtual box for the occasions when I need to run Windows on my MBP as it does a good enough job and is free (I have an action pack subscription so the windows licenses don't cost me anything)
 
Phil A. said:
AFAIK, Microsoft won't license Windows 10 on an Azure VM unless you've either got an MSDN subscription or a dual use enterprise agreement so it might be a complete non-starter. VMs on Azure can also get pretty pricey for anything approaching decent specifications
Personally, I use virtual box for the occasions when I need to run Windows on my MBP as it does a good enough job and is free (I have an action pack subscription so the windows licenses don't cost me anything)
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I have access to a Windows 10 on Azure VM. It was configured by my company but I thought it's one of the standard Azure VM offering.

You are right that a decent specification can be costly, not to mention the fact that you are charged by the second so there is always that urge to quickly get my work done so I can shutdown the VM.

Anyway I have opted to use Parallels and Windows 10 on my MacBook Pro and it's working fine so far with 2 core and 4GB ram allocated to it. I mainly use Visual Studio for some light development work.
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MacRS4 said:
It's a bit quicker than my 2017 i7, yes. Startup/stopping, and snapshots are blazingly quick now.
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Does your MacBook Pro feels hot with the VM running?

My i7 feels quite warm, especially if plugged in to an external monitor.
 
Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise are both available in Azure.

I run Windows 10 locally via VMware Fusion on a 2015 MBP with a 2.5 i7. My fans kick up during the first few minutes of boot but settle down afterward. I found Fusion to be more friendly to the battery and generally faster than Parallels 13 Desktop, which had its performance degrade over time.
 
belvdr said:
Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise are both available in Azure.

I run Windows 10 locally via VMware Fusion on a 2015 MBP with a 2.5 i7. My fans kick up during the first few minutes of boot but settle down afterward. I found Fusion to be more friendly to the battery and generally faster than Parallels 13 Desktop, which had its performance degrade over time.
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Thanks for sharing.

I might try VMWare since I'm only running Parallels 14 on trial. I had both Parallels and VMware and Parallels a few years ago and felt that Windows 7/8 was snappier in Parallels. And with "Travel Mode" turned on (a feature of Parallels), I can get an extra hour or two compared to running it normally.
 
Newtons Apple said:
If you do a lot of Windows, I think BootCamp is the way to go. Mine is running AutoCad, Photoshop and the fans hardly run.
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How's your MBP in windows. I'm finding that it runs hot and the battery life is inferior to that of macOS.
 
maflynn said:
How's your MBP in windows. I'm finding that it runs hot and the battery life is inferior to that of macOS.
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Like I said, my fans hardly run. The most I have heard from my fans came when I installed the 2nd update.

I do not have much to compare too, as I only run Windows. AutoCad has failed to spin my drives up past where I can just barely hear them. While PS only runs warm while doing multiple image processing. If working on a single image the fans stay at a whisper or I do not hear them at all.

Can not help with the power consumption as 90% of the time I am plugged in. If yours is running hot and not on the mains, it has to be consuming lots of battery power.

What are you doing in Windows that makes it run hot?
 
Newtons Apple said:
What are you doing in Windows that makes it run hot?
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Nothing that's the issue, it was push 70c and easily spiking into the high 80s.

Maybe like macOS, I need to let it run for a day and then see how it settles in. Admittedly, I've not booted into windows much since getting the MBP
 
Newtons Apple said:
If you do a lot of Windows, I think BootCamp is the way to go. Mine is running AutoCad, Photoshop and the fans hardly run.
Click to expand...
Is there any chance you’re running it on a 2018 MacBook Pro?

I read somewhere on this forum that there are issues with BootCamp in the latest MBP, probably due to drivers issue.
 
auroramoo said:
Is there any chance you’re running it on a 2018 MacBook Pro?

I read somewhere on this forum that there are issues with BootCamp in the latest MBP, probably due to drivers issue.
Click to expand...

Yes it is a 2018 SG 15" 2.6 16gb.

I have had no issues running Windows under BootCamp on my new MBPro. My MBPro automatically boots up Windows when started as it is all I run on my MBPro.
 
I tried Parallels 14 and didn't like it at all - I wanted Windows 10 in a completely sandboxed VM. I didn't like the way Parallels inter-linked the Windows 10 VM to MacOS - ie, the extra 'Windows 10 Applications' folder, etc. I can see how it can be useful for some, but I wanted to keep my Mac as clean as possible, and only run Windows 10 in the VM as and when need be.
Hence I removed it all and now just use Teamviewer to connect to my Windows 10 work machine - keeps things clean and simple!
 
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