What's the Latest Thinking Around MacOS Install Options?

ThomasHendrichThomasHendrich Traveler
edited November 2021 in Community Support

Hi, all -

I'm thinking about buying Crossover and installing CC3+, DD, CD and FT on my MacBook. I've checked out a couple of Forum posts regarding what to do but wonder if there are any new bugaboos that I need to watch out for or consider.

I've got a MacBook 2018, w/ 32GB RAM, running Monterey 12.0.1.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Tom

Comments

  • The more I read, the more I'm thinking Parallels, actually.

  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 39 images Cartographer

    Hi Thomas - welcome to the forum :)

    If you want to ask any of the people who took part in those other threads you've been looking at, it is ok to ask the question on that thread. You can also tag people who have said things that really interest you by using the 'at' sign, like this @ThomasHendrich

    ThomasHendrich
  • @Loopysue - Thanks for the guidance. Didn't think about that. Appreciate it!

  • KenMKenM Newcomer

    Hi @ThomasHendrich , I've been running CC3+ on my 2015 MacBook (High Sierra) w 8GB of RAM via Parallels/Windows 10 for about 3 months, but found it to be rather frustrating... so I ended up using BOOT CAMP to install windows 10 natively.

    It may have been a glitch with my Parallels installation, but I was having user interface issues with the mouse and keyboard, most notably with symbol modifier keys (SHIFT, CTRL, ALT, etc,) when scaling or rotating a symbol. I would have to hold a modifier key, then tap a different modifier key again briefly to get the first key to work. Another frustrating problem I was experiencing was related to phantom mouse clicks. I would get random additional clicks when using any of the vector based drawing tools, giving me phantom nodes in places I didn't want. After switching my setup to boot with Windows natively instead of using Parallels, the problems with the keyboard/mouse went away. So I would suggest using BOOT CAMP if it's a viable option.

    I've been contemplating a hardware upgrade, for my old 2015 MacBook really struggles with some of the maps I've been trying to make that involve a lot of fractal paths and sheet effects. With Apple's switch to ARM, I'm in a bit of a quandary as to what to do about my need for Windows compatibility. At this point I'm starting to realize I'll probably be needing two laptops like the old days before Apple switched to Intel processors. Sigh...

    Please share your results with whatever method you use... I'm interested to see if the problems I had were unique to my tired old MacBook.

    ThomasHendrich
  • @KenM - Thank you for your detailed response!

    I will try Crossover first, and if that doesn't work, Bootcamp or Parallels w/ Win10. I'll ping you when I do this. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next weekend.

    Have a great weekend,

    Tom

  • ThomasHendrichThomasHendrich Traveler
    edited November 2021

    @KenM - Hi, I've done limited testing with Crossover. It's not bad. There is a very small latency issue, but it's hardly perceptible. I haven't tried working on a map (skillwise, I'm a CC3 beginner) but I've loaded some samples and they perform okay. What's nice about it is I don't need to reboot.

    I'm using the Crossover trial version, but will end up buying it based on my limited testing. I give it a tentative thumbs up.

    Off Topic: I am excited to get into this as I've been impressed by some of the maps I've seen produced with CC3 lately. I've tried learning CC3 a couple of times, but was put off by the learning curve, but I'm going to invest time in the tool this go around. I think the quality of maps you can build with this is impressive.

    Let me know if you have questions about my Crossover experience. I'll report back again soon.

    KenM
  • ThomasHendrichThomasHendrich Traveler
    edited November 2021

    Hello, @KenM -

    Okay, more testing happening. The issue is I'm getting an Out of Memory error from Crossover. I have 32 GB of RAM so I'm doubting there's an actual memory issue. I monitor my memory usage and my system is using 7.5 GB. So... I've investigated this and there doesn't seem to be a solution. I'm on to Parallels trial and a Win10 license at this point. Kind of disappointing, but it is what it is.

    And... if that doesn't work, then I'll be with you in Bootcamp.

    KenM
  • I’ve been using VMware Fusion on my Macbook Pro for a while now and it works quite well. It’s free for personal use (https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion.html) although you will need a Windows 10 license. I haven’t noticed any issues other than VMware not making it super obvious how to install the free personal edition - although looking at the Fusion web page now it does seem to be more prominent than it was last year.

    While using FT3 and CC3+ in the VM, my laptops fans do get pretty loud, but I don’t notice any obvious slowness in the applications.

    Cheers,

    Brian

    ThomasHendrichKenM
  • Crossover works well enough, watch out though. I bought Crossover19 when my iMac was running OS Catalina, when I upgraded to Big Sur, Crossover needed to be upgraded - at additional cost, of course. I wasn't about to spend another $400+ dollars for the lifetime upgrades when CC3+ is the only Windows software I use. I ended up installing in a Bootcamp partition running an un-activated install of Windows 10 and it seems to work mostly OK, the odd crash here and there but nothing major.

    I'm seriously considering refurbing my old Mac, it's a 2007 model, 32-bit with a 75gb SDD and 5gb RAM (I bought a new one in 2020, not the M1, the standard 27" Intel version that I'm currently using) as a dedicated Windows machine specifically for CC3+. I don't think the 64 bit OS like Bootcamp...the new machines performance is decidedly lackluster, whether it's due to Bootcamp or other stuff I've no idea... I've got to clean up some stuff and see if that improves things.

    ThomasHendrichKenM
  • @jmabbott @Brian Stormont - Thanks for sharing your experiences. It helps me formulate a plan for what to do next.

  • Hi, @KenM @jmabbott @Brian Stormont - Okay, the quest for ProFantasy on MacOS continues. I've installed the trial version of Parallels and it works well. It lets me use a trial version of Win10 (for now, I assume).

    The Crossover solution just wasn't working for me as I couldn't install large sized install packages with it. I did some research and couldn't find a solution.

    I've done a bit of test driving of CC3+ on Win10/Parallels and its performance isn't bad. It's comparable to my previous test with Crossover.

    We'll see what happens next. I'll report back what I learn.

    KenM
  • Hi, @KenM@jmabbott@Brian Stormont - Okay, I think I can say Parallels will work for me. I configured Parallels to run on six cores with 16GB of RAM devoted to Win10. I went ahead and purchased the Parallels for Mac Pro and Win10 Pro. I found that if keep the MacOS apps that are open to a minimum, it helps the performance on Parallels.

    I'm happy with this set up because it prevents me from having to go down the Bootcamp route.

    Anyway, thanks to each of you for your insight and willingness to help!

    Have a great day!

    Tom

    KenM
  • Your welcome mate. If you don't mind me asking, how much was Parallels and the Windows Licence?

  • Sure, @jmabbott. Yes, the Parallels 17 for Mac Pro license was $99, and the Windows 10 Professional license was $200 (US Dollars). Parallels has a trial which i tried first to get a feel for how they work. The trial Windows 10 license, if I understand correctly lasts for 3 months, the Parallels trial ends after 2 weeks. The downside is it uses a Windows 10 Home license, not the full Pro. I wanted the Pro for its greater security features. But if you do the trial and end up doing what I did, you can enter the Windows 10 Professional license code in the Parallels instance and it will automatically update the OS to Windows 10 Pro.

    Hope that makes sense.

    If you have questions, don't hesitate to reach out!

    Take care,

    Tom

    jmabbottKenM
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