Parallels 8 is cooking my Retina MBP!

Since installing Parallels 8, my CPU usage has gone through the roof!

All 8 virtual cores are running at over 50% and the temperature of my new Retina MBP (16GB RAM 756GB SSD) is so high that the fans are making a lot of noise trying to drive down the temperature. Previously this machine has been totally silent in operation...

I think I will have to revert to Parallels 7 until this issue is fixed - I cannot allow my machine to run this hot for long.

Anyone else seeing this problem since upgrading to 8?

 

No Overheating but Many Display Issues

I'm not seeing the problems you indicated - i have the same setup as do you, apparently: MBP retina with 16GB and 768GB flash drive - running Mountain Lion and Parallels 8. I'm not seeing any racing cpu conditions but windows apps can be really bad in coherence mode. They are more stable if I run the VM in full screen mode, but the windows are still sometimes way too small and sometimes a bit too large. I never had any problems with Parallels 7 on this machine - worked pretty well. With Parallels 8, the worst actor is Citrix - the windows are so out of whack that Citrix on Windows is unusable in coherence mode in Parallels 8. That arrangement worked fine in Parallels 7. I'm running Windows 7 64-bit in my VM.

I would try resetting your SMC and/or your PRAM - that may help.

But it may be something with the specific Windows app that you are trying to run. I saw another post with someone running a CAD app (Altium CAD) who was reporting similar race conditions on his CPU - or, at least, overheating. I think he reverted to Parallels 7. I'm considering doing the same. This new retina support is really buggy.

 

I reverted back to PD 7 and all working fine again now.

I was seeing the problems when running in Full Screen mode too...

Retina support was awful - ended up with normal sized windows with massive headings!

Sticking with PD7 until they sort this out!

 

RE: Retina Support

Retina support basically just enables 1:1 pixel mapping at the full native resolution of the screen.

After this it is really up to Windows to scale things so that they are readable. You can try unticking the box that Optimises Windows, and then you can manually set the scaling yourself (Rather than being forced to use 199% that PD8 configures).

I've found 150% - 178% scaling works best for me for the desktop in Windows 8 (Or Windows 7 as a whole), but the tiles on the start screen don't look right unless you go higher, close to 199% in Windows 8.

 

Hi All,

A hotfix has been released to address most Retina issues. If you are not automatically prompted to install the update, go to Parallels Desktop Menu - click Check for Updates... and install the fix.

This release was made available September 6, 2012.

Chris

 

Hi Chris,

Does the hotfix address the CPU / overheating issues on non-retina MBP? A couple of us have reported high CPU and temperatures when running parallels (even with guest OS has no apps open):

http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?p=639740#post639740

I created a support ticket for this, I'm a new user to parallels (and MacBook pro is new) so still within my 30 day phone/chat support

Hardware: Macbook pro 15 mid 2012, OSX 10.8.1, 4GB RAM, i7 quad core
Software: Parallels Desktop 8, guest OS is windows 7

Soon will be upgrading to 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD, however debating to run Windows in bootcamp due to overheating/CPU/battery life issues when PD8 is open

Many thanks,

 

Mine is on fire as well.

 

Is the problem with the CPU or GPU? There's an app called gfxCardStatus which can tell you if an app (such as Parallels) is using the integrated or discrete graphics. It can even force it to use integrated or discrete. Integrated uses less power but it less powerful. If forcing integrated graphics fixes the problem, then maybe there's a setting in Parallels that can also fix the problem. Is 3D acceleration enabled or disabled?

 

Hi Steve,

Exact same issues.

Im on 15" Mac Pro Windows 8.1 parallels 8 16GB 2013 model

Im running AutoCAD 2010 and Rhino 5 3d Modelling, and its running super hot. Also issues with screen resolution mainly during CAD applications but have adjusted the resolution slider and windows icon sizes. I have increased the memory usage for Parallels and that has cooled thing down slightly but am concerned I don't what to overheat my MAC.

I have everything set up so I can work. Ill download the parallels release mentioned by Chris, but don't want to make any changes that will effect my workflow.

Should I revert to Windows 7? Parallels 7? Or check the designation of the graphics cards?

P

 

Hi DBWilliams,

We recommend you to follow the steps as suggested at http://kb.parallels.com/112091

Thanks,
Manoj.