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Apple Silicon M1: Parallels 17 - Crossover

Parallels 17 (Pro)

I’m sure you’ve all heard of Parallels. It’s a program that can virtualize other operating systems on your Mac. On Intel Macs, I’ve actually used VmWare Fusion, which has served me well. Unfortunately, unlike Parallels, VmWare is quite behind in developing an M1 version. On my MacBook Pro 2021, I have to be able to install Windows programs, since Windows is used for computer science at school. The installation was very very easy and Parallels automated everything. There is no Windows to configure, no drivers to install, and nothing to set up. Compared to VmWAre Fusion on the Intel Macs, it’s really much faster and easier. The Apple Silicon M1 chips are ARM chips, which means that you can only install ARM OS in Parallels. Fortunately, Windows 11 ARM can also emulate x86. So you have almost no disadvantages compared to an Intel Mac. Parallels offers several versions. The Basic version is limited to 8GB vRAM and 4 CPU cores. With the Parallels Pro version, more is possible, so that you can really push the new MacBook Pros to their limits. I think for most things the normal version is sufficient. Unfortunately you can’t use the PRO version with a one-time payment, you have to pay 100€ per year. Before you can test Parallels for 14 days for free.

From my own experience, I can say that Parallels runs bombastically on the M1 Max. I was used to noisy running and a very warm Mac from my Intel MacBooks. The new M1 doesn’t even get lukewarm and I couldn’t hear any fan noise at any time. WOW!

It is also quite cool that there is the so-called Coherence-Mode. This way the Windows programs merge with the MacOS operating system. You no longer have a window in which the VM is running, but many individual windows. A very cool feature!

With my M1 Max 32 Core GPU and Parallels 17 Pro (version 17.1.1) I could reach 1550 points in the single core score and 5301 points in the multi core score. I configured the system with 4 CPU cores and 16GB RAM. The test was performed in battery mode and neither a fan was heard nor was the Mac slower than usual due to the VM. You can download a PDF file of my GB5 Score here.

Even though the results in Geekbench are pretty good, Parallels is only suitable for gaming on the M1 to a limited extent. Most games are for x86 computers and therefore have to run through different virtualization layers on the M1. Parallels is simply not designed for gaming.

CrossOver – true gaming on Apple Silicon

Apple has opened up new performance dimensions with the Apple Silicon processors. The M1 has exceeded all expectations and the M1 Pro and M1 Max are simply a performance miracle. A lot of performance. Little heat. Little space. Awesome! But since Apple’s M1 chips are ARM chips, gaming is not that easy. Well, gaming on MacOS has never been easy. There are few games that run natively on Apple silicon. However, many games still run on the Mac thanks to Rosetta. An alternative to Parallels in this case is CrossOver. If you still want to play the old x86 games on the M1, you can use CrossOver. CrossOver is much faster than Parallels for gaming and is quite simple to use.

How does CrossOver work in a nutshell?
CrossOver is a software based on Wine. Wine is a compatibility layer that allows Windows applications to run on Intel Macs. Unlike Parallels, Wine does not use the full Windows, but only the part that is needed for compilation. This makes CrossOver much faster than Parallels. So the guys from Crossover simply combined Apple’s translation layer Rosetta with Wine and created CrossOVer. In addition, CrossOver can install many programs automatically. This can save a lot of steps. For example, CrossOVer automatically installs the required files for games that require DirectX. Additionally you can install your own Windows programs via CrossOver. You just need to have the .exe file on your Mac.For more information you can have a look here and here.

The user interface of CrossOver is easy to use and very clear in my opinion. I have tried GTA V and Star Wars BattleFront II. Both I installed in a Winows 7 64bit bottle. GTA V ran very well even in online mode in native resolution at high settings. This game often doesn’t perform as well on high-end desktop computers. Star Wars Battlefront was a bit jerky and I had a few graphics bugs that didn’t make the game look any better. For tutorials on how to use CrossOver, I recommend this YouTube channel.

You can check out the AppleGamingWiki to see which games run best on the M1 and how.

Finally, everyone has to decide for themselves which software is better for them. Both providers offer a 14-day trial period. In my opinion, Parallels is suitable for complex programs, such as IDEs. However, if you want to quickly install a simple program, such as a messenger, which is only available for Windows, then Crossover is better. However, there is no doubt that CrossOver offers a smoother gaming experience.