MacBook Pro 15 2016 Touch Bar + Visual Studio on VMs

Discussion in 'Windows Virtual Machine' started by MihaiE, Jan 18, 2017.

  1. MihaiE

    MihaiE Member

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    Anyone using the latest MacBook Pro 15 (i.e. the 2016 Touch Bar model) to run Visual Studio (2015, 2017) on Windows 10 Parallels 12 VMs? If yes, how does the new machine behave in terms of heat/noise?

    I would be interested in the highest CPU config i.e. 2.9 GHz - it may make a difference in terms of (generating more) heat.

    Thank you!
     
  2. Raj@Parallels

    Raj@Parallels Guest

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    Please follow the steps outlined in the KB article resolves Mac heating issue and keep us posted the results.
     
  3. MihaiE

    MihaiE Member

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    Raj - thank you for your answer, but that does *not* solve heating issues with 2012 MBPrs (known to be prone to overheating).

    What I would be interested in is feedback from Visual Studio software developers using 15" 2016 MBPr with TouchBar, 2.9 CPU if possible. According to what I have read this hardware iteration is much better thought out from a heat dissipation standpoint, but hearing opinions from people having a usage patern similar to mine would be golden to me.
     
  4. KorkyPlunger

    KorkyPlunger Hunter

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    My daily workflow involves building in VS 2013 (and sometimes 2015) under a Windows 10 guest VM using the maxed-out (2TB SSD, 2.9 GHz CPU, 16GB RAM) 2016 MBP with TouchBar (using 2 external monitors). I have Parallels set to optimize for performance.

    I feel like the 2016 MBP stays cooler in general than the previous model. The fans still spin up during builds but generally quiet down quickly once the build stops. Also, the fans seem quieter than the previous MBP.

    I sometimes work with the laptop on my lap when I'm at home, and the heat hasn't bothered me.
     
  5. MihaiE

    MihaiE Member

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    Thanks a lot for the detailed reply, that's exactly the feedback I was looking for! Two more questions if you are so kind to reply:
    1. What is the "previous" model, i.e. the one you compare against?
    2. How many cores do you usually assign to the development Windows VM?

    Thank you!
     
  6. KorkyPlunger

    KorkyPlunger Hunter

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    It was a maxed-out mid-2015 MBP, model # A1398. I assign 8 cores to my VM and 12GB RAM.
     
  7. MihaiE

    MihaiE Member

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    Excellent, thank you! I also assign max CPU resources to the VM (8 cores) and enough RAM (8GB).

    Your former machine (2015) was much better in terms of heat management than my 2012 one, so if you saw a visible progress from a 2015 to the 2016 one, then clearly for me it will be a much bigger difference!
     
  8. KorkyPlunger

    KorkyPlunger Hunter

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    I would imagine so. Good luck!
     
  9. Vincnet

    Vincnet Bit poster

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    will max CPU resource slow down your Mac host?
     
  10. MihaiE

    MihaiE Member

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    From my personal experience, for VS performance in the VM this is the best setting. I did not feel any negative effect on the host.
     

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