I have now configured my new 13 inch 2.13Ghz 4GB "Ultimate" MBA so that its programs are nearly identical to those on my old MBP. This includes running Windows 7 in Fusion's Unity mode. Based on a few hours of use today, I am encouraged to believe that my 4GB of RAM is going to be enough. My MBP, which has 6GB of RAM, routinely has no Page Outs. Although I can't claim zero Page Outs for the MBA, it has had less that 5,000 of them, compared with 2.4 million Page Ins. Better yet, the MBA's lightning fast flash storage makes the whole machine seem to run faster. If the kinds of performance I have observed so far holds up over time, I will be a happy, happy camper.
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Initial impressions using Win 7 in Fusion Unity mode on 13" ultimate MBA
- Thread starter gwsat
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Not to mention that "page outs" have a much lower impact on performace with solid state storage in the equation.
Where did "Ultimate" come from?
It's nothing more than a fully loaded MBA, just like a fully loaded MBP is not called "Ultimate" anywhere that Ive found.
Yeah, that was why I mentioned "the MBA's lightning fast flash storage" in my previous post.
I don't know who came up with the characterization "ultimate" for those MBAs equipped with the fastest chip and the greatest amount of flash storage but I like it. It is a lot faster and easier to type "ultimate" than it is to have to type "2.13Ghz 4GB."
Good to hear that you're enjoying your MBA. To my relative surprise, my wife's 11.6" "ultimate" MBA also runs Win 7 through Fusion without any issues whatsoever. Great experience thus far.
In my sig, I try to leave as little doubt as possible, even at the cost of extra typing....then you need to change your signature
I was hoping that the boost provided by flash storage might turn out to minimize the effect of Page Outs enough to let MBA owners with 2GB machines to have satisfactory results with Windows and Fusion.
To chime in, using the 13.3 ult MBA with Parallels 6 and win XP, lighting fast!
Can even set it up to use both cores without problems.
Can even set it up to use both cores without problems.
Yes would also be interesting in hearing how people are configuring their VMs on the new MBA. Windows 7 must also be configured with all the eye candy switched off. These stories of perfect performance sound a little far fetched to me.
Thank you for that information. If I could get over the lack of back light on the new models, I too would be getting the 11.4" 'Ultimate' model. I'm glad to hear it also will work well with Windows 7.
i'm thinking on getting one myself...it will be my first apple product....but tell me why do you people need windows for? It's a non ironic question....isnt the apple software enough and better suitable for the proposed hardware?
Some software only works on Windows (sad but true). Lots of the programs I use at work require a PC. It would be nice to have the freedom to use them on my MBA when traveling.
Some applications work only on Windows and not Macs. Most games are designed specifically for Windows.
ahhh.....i thought mac OS was already compatible with everything... im only using autocad and office to work and sometimes steam to play CS....all work on mac OS so i think ill pass on windows...lol....can you give me examples of usual programs that dont work on mac OS...just to know...
Eg. Visio is Windows only, MS Project, and various more specialized applications. Gaming IMO is better on a desktop anyways, but I'll definitely be trying out Civilization V once its released for the Mac.
My wife is a heavy Outlook user and her Inbox is 1+ GB. To make things snappy I gave her Win 7 VM 2.5GB of RAM. I'm trying to get her to switch from OneNote to Evernote. If she ever does, there won't be a reason to run Win 7 on her MBA anymore as the new MS Office 2011 includes Outlook.
No eye candy switched off; default Win 7 install.
MS Project, MS Excel (due to its support for some more advanced statistical functions), ExpertChoice, @Risk, etc.
Where can I determine the page outs, I checked activity monitor but i cannot find a specific area that shows it.
I monitor page outs with iStat Pro. It is a free download and I recommend it highly. I run Windows 7 with most of the whistles and bells engaged. I do, though, run the 32 bit version because it would take a lot more memory than I have to dedicate to Windows for 64 bit to be an improvement. I have 2GB of my RAM and one core of my processor dedicated to Windows. The first 18 hours of use of this setup have left me giddily happy. I could not have asked for more.
Most of my Windows Experience Index scores are significantly faster on my MBA than they were when I was running the same setup on my MBP. The only slower score is the processor's calculations per second, which was 4.4, compared to 4.5 on the MBP. The memory, graphics, and hard drive scores, though, are higher on the MBA. The hard drive score was 5.9, which was higher than any score I ever achieved for any category on my MBP. That was to be expected because the inherent speed advantage of flash storage over a conventional hard drive.
Most of my Windows Experience Index scores are significantly faster on my MBA than they were when I was running the same setup on my MBP. The only slower score is the processor's calculations per second, which was 4.4, compared to 4.5 on the MBP. The memory, graphics, and hard drive scores, though, are higher on the MBA. The hard drive score was 5.9, which was higher than any score I ever achieved for any category on my MBP. That was to be expected because the inherent speed advantage of flash storage over a conventional hard drive.
I've mainly been using just Visio 2003 and Excel 2010 in unity mode and they are running flawlessly, look forward to utilizing access in this environment to see how well they all perform so far extremely impressed!!
I know. What a bummer! You can upgrade the Home and Student version for $99 per license....