VT-x OFF on mac mini

[zzmad]

Parallels Speed Issue. It became SLOW!

Hi,

unluckily here the virtualization seem to be OFF.
I've put the mini to sleep and waked but going to Parallels menu then about, it says virtualization is OFF.
I've the latest version: release candidate.

Also my Maya tests are much slower than before ............ IT is really OFF.
I don't know what to do, but I need it on.
The reason for me to use Parallels is to have a fast render in maya (maya in ppc sucks, maya in ppc + rosetta sucks+sucks).

I have the latest Apple firmware and SMC firmware.

Actually after running Parallels and then checking the Parallels menu and about, now it says "Intel Vt-x".
The problem IS THAT I am having 35-40% slower renderings times with my tests files.
I don't know if this is the latest build or what .. but something happened here.

Help!!

 

[wesley]

It would say 'off' if the VM wasn't running. So you checked it while it was running and it said 'Intel VT-x'? Then it's on. The performance problem might be stemming something else. Have you tried uninstalling, then reinstalling Parallels Tools?

 

[zzmad]

Hi,

I run my usual tests in Maya to check Parallels speed.
Unluckily they are much slower than the first time I run them with beta 4

I have a mac mini core duo with latest firmware and OSX 10.4.6.
The windows image used for testing has always been the same: WinXP SP2
Virtualization is "ON" and in Parallels-about-more menu it says "Intel Vt-x"

I REINSTALLED ALL the 3 Parallels versions tested with their own Tools. also rebooting the mac mini.

I don't know when it started being slow, I realised today.

Maya scene 1 with software Render.
- Parallels Beta 4 68 sec. (tested ~ 1 month ago)
- Parallels Beta 5 83 sec. (tested today)
- Parallels Beta 6 83 sec. (tested today)
- Parallels RCandidate 93 sec. (tested today)
- Parallels RCandidate 93 sec. (tested today) WIN2000
- Maya WinXP (Bootcamp) 42 sec.(tested ~ 1 month ago)
- Maya OSX Rosetta 171 sec.(tested today - 178 ~ 1 month ago))

Maya scene 2 with mentalray Render.
- Parallels Beta 4 123 sec. (tested ~ 1 month ago)
- Parallels Beta 5 165 sec. (tested today)
- Parallels Beta 6 165 sec. (tested today)
- Parallels RCandidate 190 sec. (tested today)
- Maya WinXP (Bootcamp) 69 sec.(tested ~ 1 month ago)
- Maya OSX Rosetta 325 sec.(tested today - 340 ~ 1 month ago)

So the Mac Mini is running as fast, or even better than a month ago.
It is not my Image since a fresh Win2000 install is giving me the same result as my WinXP SP2.
Are you aware that Parallels is running very slow?
Can you replicate the problem?
If you look at the tests the speed I got time ago make sense. Since Parallels uses 1 processor I got slightly more than double compared to WinXP SP2 native with bootcamp.

If these are the results Parallels takes from 2.5 to 3 times Bootcamp.

Any Help or Light into this is welcome!!
PS: I use parallels to speed up Maya PPC which is very slow already on PPC machines, can you imagine with Rosetta?

 

[wesley]

Stuff like the addition and debugging of sound, USB support, or shared folders may be playing a role. I personally never run a heavy processor-intensive app within the VM, although I do use Win2k SP4. I do know that since around beta4 there was an uneasy feeling that something's been slowing down, but I never quantified it.