Parallels Desktop 15 & Windows 10 Pro

[MalagLagoon]

I've been using Parallels Desktop for 5 years now (first with Windows 7 then Windows 10). I'd like to make Windows 10 run faster/smoother - it can be slow at times. I've always installed Windows onto Parallels using a disk purchased from a computer store. Recently, I installed Ubuntu through the Parallels app - and that's when I noticed you can purchase Windows 10 through the Parallels app as well. This made me wonder if Parallels sells an optimized version of Windows 10 (optimized for Parallels).

Here's my question:

Is there such a thing as an optimized Windows 10 that runs smoother in Parallels? And, if true, can an optimized version of Windows 10 be purchased through the Parallels Desktop app store?

 

[Boyd01]

Sorry, I don't know about optimization, but I setup Parallels on my 2018 Mini in June and used the built-in option to download Windows 10. It was a real no-brainer and runs much better than I expected, Windows boots in about 10 seconds and I've never noticed any slowdowns. Have used it heavily for the past 4 months with no crashes or other issues and my legacy GIS app runs much faster than it ever did on my 8-year-old dual core i5 HP desktop system.

Of course, I don't know how you use Windows or what kind of Mac you have so that could make a big difference. I have a 2018 six-core i7 Mini with 64gb RAM, 2tb internal SSD and am using a dual-core virtual machine with 16gb memory. I tried switching to a 4-core VM but did not see any difference in performance. You need the Pro version to use more than 8gb memory or dual core VM's.