Macbook Pro vs. Mac Air?

#1 RooseveltG

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 05:38 AM

I currently have a mid 2011 Macbook Air with 4GB RAM and a 256 GB SSD. The computer works well, except when I have to run Parallels to use Quicken for Windows. I receive low memory messages and the screen sometimes looks like a checkerboard. I usually have to shut down any Mac programs that are running.

I like the small form factor, but 80% of the time the machine is connected to a Thunderbolt display. I am also just starting to import home movies into iMovie so I am not sure what the performance of that program will be.

My question is, will the new Macbook Air with 8GB or RAM and the upgraded Intel 4000 graphics fix my problem or do forum members think I need to step up to a Mac Pro with quad core processor and a discrete graphics cards?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Roosevelt.

#2 Typhoon14

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 05:44 AM

If portability isn't a concern and you're doing "heavier" work, it sounds like a MacBook Pro would be a good option for you.

That said, you shouldn't be getting memory issues with Parallels on your existing system. I have the exact same system, and happily run a Windows 7 VM with lots of other stuff going on with no issues at all. How much memory have you allocated to the VM?

#3 RooseveltG

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 06:28 AM

I can't answer that question but how do I adjust the virtual memory to avoid the problem?

Roosevelt.

#4 Typhoon14

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 10:18 AM

RooseveltG, on 25 June 2012 - 06:28 AM, said:

I can't answer that question but how do I adjust the virtual memory to avoid the problem?

Roosevelt.

In the virtual machine list, right/ctrl-click on the VM name and select "Configure." Click "General" and adjust the memory slider. Recommended settings on a system running Windows 7 with 4 gigs of physical RAM would be 1GB (1024 MB) of RAM allocated to the VM, and 1 CPU core. Also make sure Parallels is fully up-to-date ("Check for updates" from the Parallels menu), make sure Parallels Tools are up-to-update (Click the Virtual Machine menu. If it says "update Parallels Tools" instead of "reinstall", then your version is outdated). Also, if you're not running the latest major version of Parallels (Version 7), consider upgrading, as it has significant performance improvements.

These are actually conservative settings. I run Parallels with Visual Studio 2010 and 2 GB of RAM allocated on the same model of MacBook Air, and it works great (the SSD is very forgiving of paging to disk). even with lots of other stuff running.