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2009 Mac Mini - Capable of running Parallels smoothly?

M

mattchiro

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 16, 2009
21
0
My mom has been using a 2009 Mac Mini and loving it since moving from Windows 3 years ago - from Snow Leopard and now Lion she is very comfortable using OS X.

She has to change to a new accounting package for work, and unfortunately it is Windows only. She cannot use bootcamp as she'll be moving back and forth between mac/windows throughout the day, often using software from both OS's concurrently.

Before I go and purchase a copy of Win7/parallels I would like your advise/comments please:

1. Is her current 2009 C2D 2.0Ghz Mac Mini with 3GB RAM and 320GB Hdd sufficient to run Win7 smoothly in parallels?

2. Would upgrading to 4GB RAM make a big difference?

3. Would it be a better idea to sell her current system and upgrade to the new core i5 Mac Mini?

Obviously the new system would be much faster running Win7 in parallels... From anyone with a C2D Mini, is her current machine is quite capable too? Just don't want a slow laggy system.

Any advise is much appreciated. Thanks!
 
My 2009 mini handles Parallels alongside the 2309487320 other things I keep open at any given time beautifully. Then again, I also have 8GB of RAM in it. If you bump up the RAM, there's no reason that it can't handle it just fine. Personally, if her current mini works fine for her, I'd suggest just bumping up the specs a little and getting more life out of it. It'll be much cheaper, and then when you decide to get a new one in the future, it'll be even better than the current new one. Ah, life in the tech lane.
 
Hi Matt,

Paralles loves memory - the more the merrier.

I use 8 GB as a minimum with 4 GB dedicated to Parallels (Win 7 x64). Of course 3 GB will also work but then a lot of swapping happens (which slows down the whole thing).

Looking at the costs of memory (especially for a 2009 model) I would say: pump it up.


Good luck,
Michel
 
Many thanks for the replies! Regarding memory - I didn't realise the 2009 C2D Mac Mini could go up to 8GB? I was under the impression it only went up to 4GB?
 
mattchiro said:
Many thanks for the replies! Regarding memory - I didn't realise the 2009 C2D Mac Mini could go up to 8GB? I was under the impression it only went up to 4GB?
Click to expand...

Officially it only goes up to 4MB as far as I'm aware. Technically it may support 8MB. That I am not sure of. The new 2011 Mini officially only supports 8GB but can technically support 16GB apparently.
 
4GB RAM chips cost roughly $215 *R1499 in South Africa.

Is this a good price?
 
mattchiro said:
4GB RAM chips cost roughly $215 *R1499 in South Africa.

Is this a good price?
Click to expand...

It's very expensive compared to the US and even to the UK. Then again I don't know how the general cost of living in South Africa compares to those two countries. It might just be relative.
 
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