Install Parallels on Macbook Pro or iMac?

K

KC3Dogs

Bit poster
Hello.
I am interested in purchasing Parallels, but would like to know which of my two Apple Mac systems I should install them on? I have a mid-2012 Macbook Pro w/ Retina (2.3 quad-core i7, 8GB RAM). I also have a late-2013 27" iMac (3.5 quad-core i7, 32GB RAM).

I am wondering which Mac I should install Parallels? Should I install on the Macbook Pro and use the 27" iMac monitor as an extended screen? Or should I install on the iMac (which does have beef-ier specs)? That said, I do not believe or am not able to have the Macbook Pro monitor act as a secondary screen to the iMac unit (please advise if that is possible).

My goal would be to parallel Windows 8.1. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
KC3Dogs
 
I personally use Parallels on both my iMac 27" and my Macbook Pro. It really depends upon where/when I need to fire up and do some development. If I am in the comfort of my office then the iMac gets used. More screen real-estate and more memory makes for an easier "beefier" VM's. I run under 16GB vm partition on the iMAC and a 8GB partition under the Macbook pro. Your 8GB of ram should be doubled (in my opinion).

You did not mention which system has SSDs (or if they have them). Any system with a SSD would be the best host for a VM. Of course the VM takes a lot os space so you have to have a huge SSD. My Macbook is 100% SSD now so it is a bit cramped but works well. On my iMac I have more space so I have the luxury of mounting an extra 500 GB disk in my VM. That makes loading customer datasets into a database so much easier.
 
+1 Lensman.
8GB is an absolute minimum. I run 16Gb on a 2014 rMPB i7 with SSD, and set up as 8/8 when running a single VM. Some linux distros (Debian, BSD) are OK with 4GB, but Windows 7 onwards and Ubuntu do much better in 8GB and of course OSX is a dog with less than 8GB to frolic in. HDD -> SSD makes a huge difference, even with an i7.

Some people say running your VMs on an external disk via thunderbolt or USB3 is a decent solution as well, but I haven't tried it.
 
Actually, I have used VM's from a thunderbolt WD exterior drive. The performance was respectable. It however is surpassed by SSD's. I now use SSD for my primary VM drives and thunderbolt storage for those VM's needing large space.
 
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