Parallels Desktop for Mac computers with Apple M2 chips

Discussion in 'Parallels Desktop on a Mac with Apple silicon' started by Mikhail Ushakov, Jun 8, 2022.

  1. AaronL15

    AaronL15 Bit poster

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    Did that through Time Machine restore but no context menu at all.
     
  2. AdedejiO

    AdedejiO Bit poster

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    Hi, I currently have this question too and i specifically need to run windows 10 for me to be able to run a particular driver I use for work. Did you get any solution to this? Are you able to install windows 10 on your m2 by any chance?
     
  3. MichaelH63

    MichaelH63 Most valuable person

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    The only way to use Windows 10 on an M2 is to build an iso from an expired Insider Preview that hasn't been updated for two years. Running that is obviously a massive security risk. Also, unless your driver is an ARM driver, it won't work. You can't use Intel drivers.
     
  4. Mikhail Ushakov

    Mikhail Ushakov Parallels Team

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    Hello @harryordinary ,
    Would you reproduce the issue again and collect a technical report at the moment of reproduction, please? For this click the Parallels icon on menubar > Help > Send technical data > check "Attach screenshots..." > press Send Report) and send the report's 9-digit ID in reply to this post.

    Looking forward to hearing from you.
     
  5. harryordinary

    harryordinary Bit poster

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    424035768
     
  6. harryordinary

    harryordinary Bit poster

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    Did you see my answer with the 9-digit ID. We're a week in now and I still cannot run my VM..
     
  7. Mikhail Ushakov

    Mikhail Ushakov Parallels Team

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    Hello @harryordinary ,
    Our engineers have sent you a response yesterday. Kindly check your inbox.
    If you have any questions, reply to the email, please.
     
  8. jturn00

    jturn00 Junior Member

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    Question. For most folks gaming are they using the Standard Edition or the Pro Edition? (planning on Running Parallels on a 14 inch MBP (M2 Max with 96 GB Ram) Just trying to see which to get that would be best for games like starwars battlefront II (and some other EA Origins games). Thanks! Jeff
     
  9. MichaelH63

    MichaelH63 Most valuable person

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    In your case I would recommend Pro. Standard only lets you assign 4 CPU cores and 8 GB RAM to the VM, Pro 18 cores/62 GB. And you can upgrade to Parallels 19 when it gets released (probably in three or four months).
     
  10. AlexanderG5

    AlexanderG5 Junior Member

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    Hello all!
    Hoping to get some advice on RAM.
    I am preparing to purchase an M2 MacBook Air. I plan to run Dragon Professional 16 in Parallels 18 under Windows 11 for ARM.
    I am tempted to get the maximum 24GB of RAM so that I can allocate at least 8GB of RAM to the VM and possibly more if necessary, and because I plan to keep the machine for many years. (I am replacing a 2014 MacBook!) Is this sound reasoning? Or do you think I should just go with 16GB?
    Thanks!
     
  11. BobW11

    BobW11 Member

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    Max out your ram if you are able. When using VMs it will be worth it. That said I have a 16GB MacBook Pro M1 that runs fine with multiple VMs running.
     
  12. AlexanderG5

    AlexanderG5 Junior Member

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    Thanks, BobW11!

    I'm actually torn at the moment between the MacBook Air with 24GB of RAM and the 14" MacBook Pro with 16GB. I plan to get a 1TB SSD, and with those specs the machines are almost exactly the same price. Given my use-case, what would you recommend?

    I will be using the vm almost exclusively for dictation, running Dragon in conjunction with Word under Windows 11. Meanwhile, I'll be doing pretty much everything else on the Mac side (Office for Mac, Safari and other browsers with multiple tabs open, iTunes, etc.). It would be nice to be able to do normal, casual stuff on the Mac side (Safari with 20-30 tabs, iTunes, Mail, etc.) while simultaneously running Dragon and Word in the vm.
     
  13. AlexanderG5

    AlexanderG5 Junior Member

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    Oh, and would there be any advantage to having the MBP fan in this case, or is the risk of overheating the MBA low?
     
  14. MichaelH63

    MichaelH63 Most valuable person

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    The risk of overheating the MBA is basically zero. A MBP will be able to run at full power longer due to the fan, but you don't need to worry about overheating and it doesn't sound like you even need to run on full power. I think for your use case a MBA will be the right one. Check out Gruber's thoughts on MBA vs. MBP in his M2 MBA review here.

    Since you plan to keep the MB for many years, I'd recommend maxing out the RAM. I'm using a 2020 M1 MBA with 8 CPU cores and 16 GB RAM with half allocated to the VM and that's still more than enough, but more RAM never hurts, especially if you want to use it for a long time.

    You might want to postpone your buying decision until next week, though. There are rumours about new Macs being announced at WWDC including a new MBA.
     
  15. AlexanderG5

    AlexanderG5 Junior Member

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    Thanks, MichaelH63!

    OK, that settles it; I'm going to go for the 1TB/24GB MBA.

    I can't imagine spending more for a 15" MBA if one is announced at WWDC, but maybe I'll wait to see if the price of the existing line goes down in the wake of any announcements. :)

    Thanks for the guidance, folks--it's much appreciated!
     
  16. AlexanderG5

    AlexanderG5 Junior Member

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    Thanks for the tip on WWDC! I'm not tempted by the 15" MacBook Air, but I appreciate the price drop on the 13".

    I've been checking Activity Monitor on my current 2014 MacBook Pro which has 16GB of RAM, and to be honest my memory pressure stays in the green even when running Dragon Professional 16 in Windows 10 under Parallels while simultaneously running a bunch of stuff on the Mac side (30 Safari tabs with a video running in one of them, Mail, Messages, Word, etc.). It's tempting to save money by going for 16GB on the new MBA too, but do you think I'd regret it in the long run?
     
  17. MichaelH63

    MichaelH63 Most valuable person

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    In the long run you might regret it. There's no way to add RAM later. 16 GB are still more than enough for me, almost three years after buying my M1, but I'm glad that I chose the max RAM option at the time.
     
  18. AlexanderG5

    AlexanderG5 Junior Member

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    OK, thanks!
     
  19. dwmreg

    dwmreg Bit poster

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    Hello. Does anyone have performance feedback about using Windows 11 Pro on a MacBook Air with Apple M2 processor? Does it run efficiently? Does the MacBook get hot?
     
  20. MichaelH63

    MichaelH63 Most valuable person

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    I only have an MBA with M1 (16 GB RAM, 8 assigned to the VM) and Windows runs much better than it ever did on an Intel Mac (and apparently better than on an actual Windows PC). The Mac doesn't run hot at all. Windows boots super fast. Obviously it all depends a bit on what you are using Windows for. AAA games or 4k video editing software probably won't run as well as less demanding software, but the performance of the M1 is great. Really no comparison to Intel Macs where just booting Windows caused the fans to roar.
     

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