Macbook Pro 13 - What spec for running parallels 7

Hi
I am switching from Windows to Mac and need some advice abount my choice and whether its the right one.

My Current Spec
Ive just purchased a MBP 13" (late 2011)
Core i5 2.4Ghz
4GB
500Gb 5400 rpm

My typical usage
Mainly apps which aren't intensive,
Usage is more in terms og multiple apps running at the same time.
For example
- Mail, Calender etc
- spotify or itunes, or radio bia bbc iplayer
- 3-4 safari windows with multiple tabs
- Maybe some downloads
- iphono etc

In rare cases i would attempt more intensive things such as video/phot editing

Also want to run Parallels
I need to access windows apps
- MS Vista (Home basic or Business version)
- MS OneNote (not available for mac)
- Onenote is part of MS office, so i would rather now spend money on mac versions as I need to use OneNote anyway
- In rare cases for work i may need Visio or Project (tend to avoid if i can)

The Questions
- Has anyone got experience of running parallels 7 on a similar spec machine to mine? How Was the performance?
- Do I need to upgrade Ram? or Do i need to opt for core i7? I would rather not spend additional money on these if its not necesary
- Does the i7 suffer from load fan noise or heat?
- Does anyone have one of the new Macbook Airs with an i5 running parallels? Is the performance good?
- Any other advice?

Im a newbie to the mac world and trying to get my purchase decision right?
So any help is greatly appreciated

That spec will easily run those PC programs

But have a look at some OneNote alternatives as well

Mac OSX OneNote Alternative Software

I would bump the memory up to 8GB so that you can comfortably run Vista with at least 2GB allocated to it, while still maintaining ample memory in OS X.

cwa107 said:

I would bump the memory up to 8GB so that you can comfortably run Vista with at least 2GB allocated to it, while still maintaining ample memory in OS X.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I will definately get the Memory upgrade
Is it ok to buy after market memory from crucial for macbook pros?

Also, if i keep the core i5 processor, will i notice any slowdown for normal mac operations?

After market is the better route - it's considerably cheaper. Apple charges an arm and a leg for RAM upgrades.

I run Windows Server 2008 R2 in a VirtualBox virtual machine with a 2.1 C2D and 4GB of RAM (of which 2GB is allocated to the VM). It runs and it isn't terribly slow but there is a noticeable lag. That said, you'll have a much better processor and if you can allocate as much or more RAM, you should be okay.

louishen said:

That spec will easily run those PC programs

But have a look at some OneNote alternatives as well

Mac OSX OneNote Alternative Software

Click to expand...

Hey thanks for your comments. I have been tryoing out various note taking applciations for a while trying to remove my dependacy on OneNote, but so far havent found a winner. I heavily use the OneNote iPhone App syncing between the two. Evernote is the only other one i know of which has both.