I have been a PC user since the 8088 chip and I am done!
For now, the transition to APPLE is pretty scarry.
I have 2 routes. Create a windows partition ro do the parallels snapshot of my windows system.
How well does this snap shot solution work for most folks?
Are there better solutions?
DELL, Windows XP Pro
There is a Windows and a Boot Camp forum. I suggest you do some reading there. Parallels has there own forums at the Parallels website.
Hello,
If pure speed isn't a question but funcionality, thenn these are far better than Boot Camp in my opinion.
Parallels...
VmWare Fusion...
VirtualBox...
http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
No Mini here, but a lowly iMac7,1 with only 6 GB of RAM...
I use Parallels on a Mac mini and on a MacBook Pro for software testing and it works well. Both Macs have 8 GB of memory, which is the crucial factor. You will have performance issues with Parallels with less than 8 GB of RAM.
I run Windows 7 on the mini and Windows Vista on the MBP. I have Windows 7 installed in Boot Camp on the mini and I have a Parallels VM set up so that I can also run it directly from OS X. I use it in Parallels more often than in Boot Camp, but I have some Windows apps that need direct access to the hardware, thus don't work in Parallels. I don't use Boot Camp on the MBP, I use Windows Vista exclusively in Parallels on that one.
Parallels has a migration tool that will allow you to migrate a PC directly into a new Parallels virtual machine. It's probably the easiest way to get an existing PC installation onto a Mac, but there are some issues with it under Lion. Check the Parallels forums for information on their migration tool.
I have been using Parallels and Fusion for several
years and am quite happy with the performance.
Lately, however, been sticking with Parallels. It's
performance with Windows 7 is much better than
with Fusion. Fusion, on the other hand, seems to
have better support for Linux systems.
Currently using Win7 Pro/Parallels on a 2011 Mini Server
with 8 gig RAM (you will definately want that) and the
Apple Thunderbolt Display. I also use the combination
on my 2011 13" i7 Macbook Pro, which also performs quite
well.
As to my use of Windows, I am an electrical engineer that
develops all manner of hardware/software/firmware which
gave tools only available on the Windows platform. Everything
from embedded tools from Cypress/Microchip to heavier duty
tools from Xilinx to apps like Matlab for data analysis and
simulation. I even use the LinkInstruments DSO-8502 USB
based oscilloscope (500 Ms/sec) with out any hick ups in
the display.
However, most of the work I do is CPU intesive, which Parallels
manages to leverage quite well. But, if you require heavy duty
graphics, the virtual environments leave a lot to be desired. They
unfortunately cannot leaverage the Mac's GPU directly and have a
sort of emulation layer. So, for graphics intensive games for example,
the virtual environments will severely underperform.
Outstanding!
I am a photographer. I am invested deeply in ADOBE and being held for ransom so to speak with a (deadline).
I have the Adobe design Premium CS4 which has photoshop, indesign, dreamweaver etc.....; I also use ADOBE's lightroom. All these are indespensible programs for a photographer. I use these between my laptop in the field/studio for shooting tethered and back in my office/lab for the majority of POST production woork-on windows.
When I get my 2.7hz, 8gb, 500gb system according to ADOBE i need a cross platform MAC upgrade to CS5.5 at $650, then my previous version CS4 are magically deactivated on my laptop and PC. So I would need to buy (2) MACs to be able to run the upgrades. That isn't going to happen. To add insult, You as a loyal ADOBE user, can ONLY buy an upgrade (3) versions behind the currnet version and CS6 has already been released in beta. (deadline) the price then jumps for the CPU to in excess of $1000. ( full version is $1800).
So to buy time and save to replace my Toshiba laptop with a MBP my plan is as follows:
This will buy me time before CS6.5 or CS7 comes out years down the road to buy a MBP in a few months.
Am I seeing the general scheme of this process clearly?
I can "install" these windows programs on the mini and then just get on with my life right?
Thanks for you responses.... oooooooh-ooooooh ONE MORE QUESTION!!
I have seen some text here and there that the MAC MINI will support up to 16gb of memory. Can anyone confirm this?
As much as some like to bash Adobe, at least be thankful that they offer cross grades, not all companies do. I took an extra copy of Acrobat Pro I had and cross graded to Windows for a paltry sum, shipping I think and maybe a few bucks in fees -- it was pretty painless. You are correct that after the cross grade you're supposed to destroy the original.
Since mobility is key, then note that there isn't a major difference between the mini and some of the laptops, in fact some of the laptop have better CPUs. What and which mini is driving your decision to a Mini rather than a MBP as the first/main Mac?
We're it me I would go for a laptop since mobility is needed, and hook up an external monitor when working at home. In fact I've been doing that for 4-5 years. I only recently bought a Mini Server which was mostly to replace a noisy aging G4, some light server work, and occasional RAW batch processing.
I used Parallels early on, but there was one upgrade (v2 or v3) that totally hosed my Boot Camp partition. So I switched to Fusion I'm pretty sure at their first release/version. I found it way more stable than those early versions of Parallels, and have never looked back.
Whatever program you decide for virtualization, the more the RAM you have the better since you can give the VM more RAM. Same goes for the CPU since you need to assign the VM cores and RAM. In my experience one of the most taxing situations is working off a single HD - there's a lot of additional disk activity running a VM off a single HD. It's much worse when you're virtualizing a separate Boot Camp partition on the same disk rather than having a virtual disk -- the heads really have to move. Best is when you can have the VM on a different fast HD.
All that's a way of saying that I'm not sure how well something like PS with scractch disks would run on a VM. Might be fine for light duty, but heavy editing might be an issue depending on your setup. I've never tried.
Yes the mini go to 16GB but it costs!
I am going to need both at some point a LT and desktop.
As a above, I need a laptop for the studio to shoot tethered and a mini (2.7 i7, 8-16gb RAM, 500gbHD to use on my office for editing, is because I have many peripherals, especially my NEC monitor that has a lot of life left...I am just SICK SICK SICK of Windows issues and Apple owners knowing something I don't. LOL!!!!
I won't be doing the cross platform upgrade for a while, because as above, I can't upgrade to a MAC version on my NEW mini because my laptop will still have the old version there on windows.
On higher end ADOBE products, the programs call home and if something is amiss, the programs will DEACTIVATE all on their own, You don't have a chance to be dishonest. LOL
SO, as above, I can't BUY 2 apple products: a Mac mini and a MBP to have the upgrades all on MACs, THUS the reason for this post about being able to run windows to run these programs until I can buy my 2nd MAC product ( a laptop).
POOF!!! ANOTHER QUESTION: If we run Windows OS on the MAC, do we still have WINDOWS issues on MACS? This is a question my wife just complicated my life with!!!! LOL
Thanks in advance EVERYONE!!!
If we run Windows OS on the MAC, do we still have WINDOWS issues on MACS
Yes, you still need protection from Malware.
I forget what all computers & locations you have, but one possible option is that you can run them remotely if you like...
http://www.teamviewer.com/en/index.aspx?cdsplit=C
https://secure.logmein.com/products/free/
vdotmatrix wrote:
I am going to need both at some point a LT and desktop.
As a above, I need a laptop for the studio to shoot tethered and a mini (2.7 i7, 8-16gb RAM, 500gbHD to use on my office for editing, is because I have many peripherals, especially my NEC monitor that has a lot of life left...I am just SICK SICK SICK of Windows issues and Apple owners knowing something I don't. LOL!!!!
On higher end ADOBE products, the programs call home and if something is amiss, the programs will DEACTIVATE all on their own, You don't have a chance to be dishonest. LOL
SO, as above, I can't BUY 2 apple products: a Mac mini and a MBP to have the upgrades all on MACs, THUS the reason for this post about being able to run windows to run these programs until I can buy my 2nd MAC product ( a laptop).
Yeah, I know about activation -- I have CS5.5. License should still allow one laptop, one desktop (or even just two computers) as long as they're not used simultaneously. But I understand your problem, you can't yet buy both the MBP and Mini now; you want both a laptop and desktop, so you can't crossgrade now.
Is there anything that stops you from "lugging" a laptop from studio to office? You can always set up hubs with the peripherals attached, so you can quickly hook up the laptop. I haul my MBP to work everyday, where it connects to an wide-gamut monitor and a FW/USB hub that in turn is hooked up to HDs, graphics tablet, card readers, etc. I connect wireless to the network, which saves me one cable.
Speaking of peripherals, since you're thinking of switching, make sure there are Mac drivers, etc. for them. You may still need virtualization software anyway if you can't get Mac drivers.
As BDAqua mentioned, if you go the virtualization route you're still running Windows; so protection is needed.
Have you considered instead of the 2.7 i7 Mini, the Mini Server instead? The mini server while clocked slower at 2.0GHz has a quad-core i7, and a 2d HD standard. Sticking the Virtual machine one the 2d HD (and more BTO options on dual drives), while giving it more cores will improve improve performance. (But you can always try sticking your Virtual Machine on an external HD for improved performance.) While it comes with Lion Server; Server is some added apps on top of client that you can turn off and throw away.
The 2.7Ghz i7 you're looking at is dual-core. Getting dual drives on that is more costly when you BTO -- you have one choice. While some have added a 2d HD themselves, Apple doesn't consider it a user serviceable, so adding a 2d HD yourself most likely will violate the warranty.
In favor of the Mini you're looking is the AMD dedicated GPU, while the Mini Server has the Intel integrated GPU. It's a bit of a conundrum. Were there an option for the Mini Server with the AMD, I would have paid for it.
You should be for warned, even though you will be
running Windows on a Mac, it is still Windows.
Running windows on a Mac does not solve any of Windows
problems.
As much as it may pain you, start the migration of the
Adobe stuff to the Mac sooner rather than later. It is
a cost of doing business (tax deduction?) and motivation
to get more work to pay for it.
Wow. I would think just one program might have made this whole thing worthwhile.
So is working from a dedicated partition more functional? will the Windows-7 64 think I am installing this OS on multiple systems if I try and do a partition?
A separate Bootcamp partition should work just like Windows. I don't think there'll be a Problem with Windows7, I have it installed on three separate Partitions on the same Mac so I can use it booted from 10.5, 10.6, or 10.7
How do Mac mini users like the parallel program?
