Vmware optimal settings

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15" MBP 2.53, 4gigs RAM, 250hd
I come to you guys since most of you have much more experience than i with VMware.

I currently run VMware 2.0 with Win7 on my MBP 15" 2.53/4gig/250hd
My settings are:
1 Processor
2528 RAM

I use AutoCAD, 3dsmax, and Revit (architectural drafting programs) that are Windows only. I like to move freely between mac and windows for the use of Illustrator and Photoshop. I create drawings and renderings in windows, and export them to PDF or EPS files to clean them up in illustrator for presentations.

I've played with the settings in VMware a little, and this is about as good as i've been able to get it. I need to be able to use windows and osx pretty much at the same time. So, i'd rather not slow one or the other down.

Also, is there any other settings i should change. ie. the network settings (i don't use the internet on the windows side) Will this improve things? or do i need it on for updates and such.
 
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You should really upgrade to Fusion 3. The perceived performance increase is good enough reason to upgrade. Also, VMware recently upgraded the graphics capability in Windows, so the programs you mentioned should see better performance in the area as well (especially 3DMax which uses Shader Model 3 I believe).

Otherwise, not much you can improve at this point.
 
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Thanks for the help. i'm looking into 3.0 right now. I'm in grad school, and i've got 2 weeks left in the semester. I think i'll upgrade when i get some free time.

Also, I know you can make a VM from a bootcamp partition. I was curious, can you boot to one of your VM's, bootcamp style, if you installed the VM's with VMware?

Sometimes, i only need to use the windows side and wouldn't mind booting to windows for performance.
 
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Nope. You can't go the other way around unfortunately. You'll have to make the bootcamp partition first, install Windows, and then run VMware which will automatically make a VM from the Windows partition.
 
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I have also found that other than moving the RAM allocation around, the VMWare settings don't have a big impact on performance. If your settings work for you, then great. I have not yet upgraded to Fusion 3 yet but I do hear it's better, just not sure for me that it's worth the $$$ since I don't use graphic-intensive software.

Cheers
 

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