SuzettN,
My question is does it have to be Win 7 Pro x64? I am not referring the "Pro" part, but does it have to be a 64 bit version, just to use as a vm?
I bring this up because when I was using the x64 RC version I ran into problems (as noted previously). Yet I ran quite well with the x32 RC version up until it kept shutting down every hour because I wouldn't (didn't) buy the required license.
Also, quite frankly, I am not sure there really is any "performance" advantage to running a x64 version within a vm. For sure, an x64 version running "native" will improve performance because because the os and apps can take advantage of the x64 architecture that provides the performance. I saw this performance gain on my laptop when I went from the installed x32 to x64. Big difference. (For the life of me, I can't figure out why they put an x32 version on top of 64 bit hardware. Maybe a x32 version is cheaper than a x64 version for a manufacturer. But for retail it is the same cost. But, I digress
Anyway, running a guest os in a vm really quite different. I notice that Parallels say they can run both x32 and x64 versions of guest os but do
not say that you need a 64 bit platform to do it. (Or did i miss something?)
If there is some sort of performance gain to be had running an x64 version within a vm, I certainly am not aware of it. In fact, as noted above, the x64 version gave me grief and the x32 version did not. I would think it is the vm that controls os performance because this whole thread is about os performance whether it be host or guest.
So, unless there is some compelling reason to run x64, I would go with the x32 version. From my experience PD5 seems more stable.
Also I noted you said you have 16GB memory. As I understand it, memory limits the number of simultaneous machines. With 16GB you probably could be able to start up 6 vm simultaneously (2G per machine) and your host would still have plenty to work with. (More memory so I can run simultaneous vm is the only reason I am being forced to "upgrade". This entry is already to long, so I am not going to explain why I NEED multiple simultaneous vm).
What I watch for is how long I "flat line" at %100 cpu usage (sometimes the host, sometimes the guest and occasionally, both). The longer the flat line, the slower things seem to run. That's where I start looking for resource hogs.
Well, that's my $20 worth. Good luck.
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