Here's the deal: I am planning on getting a Mac Pro after Leopard (10.5) comes out and after they release the dual quad-core processors (8 cores total). I am also planning on filling the machine with 16 gigs of OWC ram. This machine will be multi-purpose (work and personal use), which is why I want such a powerful machine. My main concern is, can I run multiple VMs on different cores? I've used Parallels successfully on an iMac, MacBook, and Mac Mini (all dual-core) and have enjoyed it, but I do have various technical questions about running on multiple cores: 1. Can I assign different cores and ram to individual VMs? For example, Windows XP VM could run on the first core, Windows Vista could run on the second core, and so on (not really "assign" cores but make sure each VM has it's own core, not a shared one). Also, would 2 VMs share a core if multiple available cores were available? I don't want to have 8 cores and then be running 2 VMs on 1 core rather than on 2 cores. 2. Is there any way to assign multiple cores to VMs? Windows XP Pro support 2 cores and I'm sure Vista will support at least that many. 3. Will Parallels be able to support the Windows Aero visual style on Windows Vista? Windows Aero is Vista's premier visual style and requires at least 64mb of video memory, depending on the resolution. I work in Publishing/IT and have a variety of needs to fill. If Parallels works out as well as I hope it will, I'll be able to consolidate my computers into a single powerful machine, the Mac Pro.
I am presently running my development environments for my team off of a Mac Pro running multiple Parallels instances. Aside from some instability in the 2.5 betas (which is to be expected), this has been a wonderful setup to administer. Answers: 1. AFAIK, that's how it works. Each VM gets it's own core (at least that's how it appears to work on my setup) - I'd love for the Parallels guys to confirm/deny this; 2. Not in 2.x. Parallels have stated that 3.x (due to be in beta in the next few months) will support multiple cores; 3. Again, not in 2.x. Parallels Desktop 3 promises to bring these features.
