Performance on Late 2016 13" MacBook Pro

Discussion in 'Windows Virtual Machine' started by Jeff7, Dec 6, 2016.

  1. Jeff7

    Jeff7 Junior Member

    Messages:
    12
    I have a fully upgraded 13" MacBook Pro w/ the Intel 550 graphics. Prior to this I was running parallels on my mid 2015 15" model and the performance was fine. However, it seems like I'm having a lot more trouble with the new MacBook Pro when hosting Win 10, particularly in coherence mode. I'm running Parallels v. 11 and am wondering if I've got something misconfigured for Win10 or if people on the same hardware are also having problems.

    System config:
    Model Name: MacBook Pro
    Model Identifier: MacBookPro13,2
    Processor Name: Intel Core i7
    Processor Speed: 3.3 GHz
    Number of Processors: 1
    Total Number of Cores: 2
    L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
    L3 Cache: 4 MB
    Memory: 16 GB
    Chipset Model: Intel Iris Graphics 550
    Type: GPU
    Bus: Built-In
    VRAM (Dynamic, Max): 1536 MB
     
  2. PaulChristopher@Parallels

    PaulChristopher@Parallels Product Expert Staff Member

    Messages:
    3,158
    Hello Jeff7, please check out this article to improve the performance of your Windows virtual machine.
     
  3. JonathanM7

    JonathanM7 Bit poster

    Messages:
    1
    I feel like I have also been seeing issues with the performance since I bought a new MacBook Pro 2016 today also. The performance is slower than my 2013 MBP. Are there known issues with the latest MacBook performance and Parallels?
     
  4. georgengan

    georgengan Bit poster

    Messages:
    2
    This link doesn't work? "Hello Jeff7, please check out this article to improve the performance of your Windows virtual machine."
    Pls advise
     
  5. GabrielM1

    GabrielM1 Bit poster

    Messages:
    1
    My MAC is overheating. The both using a lot of CPU. How can I improve that. I have:
    Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015
    2.7 GHz Intel Core i5
     
  6. Dinesh@Parallels

    Dinesh@Parallels Guest

    Messages:
    333
    Hello @georgengan ,
    Please check out this article to improve virtual machine performance on your Mac.
     
  7. Dinesh@Parallels

    Dinesh@Parallels Guest

    Messages:
    333
    Hello @GabrielM1 ,
    Please follow the instructions outlined at and update us with the results.
     
  8. MicheleK

    MicheleK Bit poster

    Messages:
    1
    Hi!
    I'm also experiencing laggy performance with parallels. I'm on a MacBook Pro 13 Late 2016 with Parallels 12.1.1 (newest version).
    Weird thing is: Sometimes everything runs fine, other days it's a day in hell for me, because Powerpoint freezes for minutes and that several times.
    I followed that kb article, so far nothing helped. Maybe other experience the same?
     
  9. NicholasC1

    NicholasC1 Junior Member

    Messages:
    11
    I'm on a 15" 2016 MacBook Pro and the performance is pretty terrible, seems to be all video related issues; screen/apps not painting properly, etc. I am pushing a lot of pixels (dual external 4K monitors running windows 10 full screen in high DPI mode) but this should be enough considering the dedicated GPU. I may need more VRAM allocated but Parallels only allows 2GB max, but ultimately not sure. CPU / processor / Disk I/O performance seems fine.
     
  10. PaulChristopher@Parallels

    PaulChristopher@Parallels Product Expert Staff Member

    Messages:
    3,158
    Hi NicholsaC1, switching between integrated and discrete video cards is pretty simple - the main thing is to send appropriate parameters when creating an OpenGL context (and react to switching events by recreating contexts), there is nothing else we do 'manually'. Please note that this technology has no similarities with SLI/Crossfire whatsoever.
    To switch between the adapters, go to virtual machine configuration window -> Options -> Optimization - Power
    * For integrated graphics (CPU) set 'Longer battery life'
    * For discrete video card set 'Better performance'
    You can also choose "No limit" for Resource usage.
    Under virtual machine Configuration->Hardware->Graphics->Resolution-> Best for exeternal disaplays.
     
  11. NicholasC1

    NicholasC1 Junior Member

    Messages:
    11
    Thanks Paul. All of those are set/have been set. One 4K (using built-in display and even another 1080p monitor) is fine ... two 4Ks (using nothing else, just the external displays with MacBook in clamshell mode) does not work well. It's starved of something.

    ETA: I've switched to "scaled" mode for graphics ... not as sharp and a bit hard on the eyes, but workable and much smoother performance. I'll have to live with this until a fix is released.

    ETA2: Nevermind. Scaled mode made my brain hurt pretty quickly.
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2017
  12. DavidP11

    DavidP11 Bit poster

    Messages:
    1
    Experiencing a similar problem . I have No Limit set for resource, but when changing between applications or performing most actions in Windows 10, there is a significant lag.
     
  13. KorkyPlunger

    KorkyPlunger Hunter

    Messages:
    130
    I encountered the same thing when upgrading to a 5k display, and switching back to a lower resolution reduces the issue. This sounds like the resolution-dependent performance issue I've been discussing with Parallels support (I've sent them data, which they have told me over PM they will be prioritizing and sending to their dev team).

    https://forum.parallels.com/threads...-10-au-parallels-12.338065/page-2#post-816531

    I encourage you to send data to Parallels (Help menu > Send Technical Data...) when using your problematic configuration, describe the issue when sending it and, if possible provide a DropBox or other link to videos showing the problem in action. Please post the resulting issue ID in the thread I've linked above so that the Parallels dev team has all the information in one place.
     
  14. DrB

    DrB Junior Member

    Messages:
    12
    Why do I get the sense that I'm doing the evaluation of a software that isn't tried by the designers themselves? 13" new MBP No limit set for resource, 512 megs for video and going into coherence "completely black". Help or more agony?
     

Share This Page