TekRevue

Parallels 11 Benchmarks vs. Parallels 10 and Boot Camp

By on at • @mggjim

big buck bunny

x264 Encoding

Although there are many apps available for OS X that can perform video encoding using the x264 codec, and therefore little reason to use a Windows-based encoder via a virtual machine, the x264 encoding process is extremely CPU-heavy, and serves as a good benchmark for measuring performance between VMs and native Windows installations.

Our x264 test is based on the popular Handbrake app and encodes a roughly 10-minute clip of the animated short Big Buck Bunny using the default “Apple TV 3” preset. The results are the average frames per second achieved during the encoding process, as reported by the Handbrake log file, with a higher number equalling faster performance.

parallels 11 benchmarks handbrake x264

There appears to be almost no disadvantage to using a virtual machine for single-pass x264 encoding with Handbrake, as Parallels 11 nearly matches native performance, clocking in at less than a single frame per second behind. Even Parallels 10 performs well, falling less than 5 frames per second behind Boot Camp.

These are encouraging results for users who need to use specialized encoding software that may only be available on Windows. You’re still not getting quite native performance, but it’s darn close.

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  • WillCroPoint

    Don’t you think that the Parallels 11 “graphics engine” may be optimized for Metal and might get quite better results on El Capitan?

    • It’s possible, but I think they would have pointed that out in either their marketing materials or press briefing. Either way, we’ll definitely test Parallels 11 further on the final version of 10.11 and publish results if they’re notably different.

  • batmobil

    Great feature, thorough and interesting. I have been using Parallels 10 for a long time, and I did notice the performance increase in Parallels 11 during regular usage (Windows 7/64 on MacBook Pro i7/16GB RAM early 2015), so the improvements translates to more than just numbers. 🙂

  • Bob Kresek

    WARNING BEFORE UPGRADING. In the past, Parallels would allow a limited number of activations on one license, such that you could install it on your desktop and laptop. They have changed that policy with Parallels 11, so that you only get one computer activation per license. So if you have multiple computers, you might want to hold off as long as possible before upgrading unless you want to purchase a license for each machine. I have heard that VMware allows three machines per license, so you might want to look at that before purchasing Parallels.

  • Simon Cook

    I’m not upgrading Parallels any more. I’ve always done it begrudgingly as they withhold updating old versions for new OS compatibility so if you stay current with your OS X installation you are forced to upgrade every two years. But now they have reduced the capability on Parallels Desktop 11 with only 8GB VMs to try to force users to an expensive subscription model, it is the last straw for me and I’ll be switching to VMWare. I run Revit for uni and it is useless with 8GB of RAM and as a student being forced to a pro subscription edition is outrageous.

  • Martin Pritchard
  • Yiannis Tsentas

    How to Install Windows 10 from iso on old MacBook running El Capitan

    http://tsentas.net/install-windows-10-from-iso-on-old-macbook-running-el-capitan/

  • wimver

    I’ve been a Parallels 9 user and was about to upgrade to VMWare Fusion 8 after reading several reviews. Also because I did not like it I had to pay to upgrade my Parallels license if I wanted to upgrade Mac OS to OS X El Captain… I don’t like this kind of “you have to”‘s. So I was holding my credit card ready in my hand, ready to pay for Fusion 8. Especially with their Parallels to VMWare upgrade offering. But I thought: let’s try it fist; so I installed the trial of Fusion 8… This was so disappointing for me… First I imported the existing Parallels virtual machine and converted it which went really smooth. But then… Starting up time: disappointing by all means. I first thought: OK, maybe VMWare tools have to be installed first; but no: even after rebooting several times: boot-up time kept on being disappointing. Then… opening a Visual Studio project: disappointing. I’m not even talking about compiling some code: very disappointing. It just took so much much much longer time then it did in Parallels 9! So now; I just upgrade to Parallels 11: I love it! Boot-up time, Visual Studio performance, … I love it. It’s even better than Parallels 9. The only thing I don’t love is that I had to upgrade. But for my point of view it’s obvious: Parallels beats VMWare Fusion.

  • Asheesh

    Hi Jim! Thanks for the detailed article however.

    I have bought a Macbook Pro (i7, 16 GB, 500 GB) and have got a Parallels free. I want to use MS Visio and Project which only run on Windows. I wanted to check if there would be considerable difference in performance if i were to use in MS Visio and Project on Parallels, instead of using Boot Camp?
    Also, i am planning to buy the Office 2016. Should i be buying the Mac Version or the Windows version (that has Access and a couple of other softwares at the same price ) and run it on Parallels?
    Much appreciate your guidance.

    • Jarrel Benedict

      Hi! I’ve used Visio on both Boot Camp and Parallels and there aren’t substantial performance difference although it appears to run a little (and I mean a little) faster on Boot Camp (probably because Boot Camp utilizes all of the Mac hardware-RAM, CPU-at its disposal. For the Office Suite, I recommend the Windows version. It comes with more software and features. You can search for a spec comparison of the different versions of Office 2016 to see the difference among them.