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Pia14
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Does VMware Fusion require a CPU supporting Intel VT-x?

I am interested in buying a new Mac mini. I also want to run VMware Fusion on it. I can choose either a 2.0 GHz CPU, or a 2.26 GHz CPU when I order my new mini. However, I found out that the 2.0 GHz model does not support Intel VT-x, only the 2.26 GHz version does.

I wonder what the implications are as far as running VMware fusion is concerned. Is it possible to run it on the 2.0 GHz version at all? If so, is it considerably slower then because of the lack of VT-x support?

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admin
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Thanks etung. So do I understand correctly, that VMware Fusion runs just as well on the 2.0GHz version of the new Mac mini as it does on the 2.26GHz model, the explanation being that the version of the 2.0GHz CPU Apple uses actually indeed includes support for Intel VT-x?

It should, and that's what Apple has told us. I don't think we've actually gotten our hands on one to verify this, but we've remotely examined some and they seem fine.

So Intel made a special version of the P7350 for Apple, which includes VT? And is the VT support of this special version the same as for the P8400?

That's my understanding.

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oreeh
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VT is required to run 64bit guests / VMs

Pia14
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Do you have a reference for that, e.g. a specification in PDF or something?

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In addition to what oreeh said, the last time I saw a thorough study comparing our binary translation monitor to VT, they were roughly equivalent - of course, that's two years out of date and hardware implementations will have improved, but even with the improvements, I would not expect a large difference (e.g. definitely less than 100% speed difference in normal use, maybe on the order of 10%).

We were in a panic for a few days when we heard the P7350 did not support VT (which according to Intel's documentation and user reports on non-Macs, it doesn't). We asked Apple about this, and their response is that the specific package subset they use does support VT (and the few systems we've been able to examine supports this claim). You should be fine with the 2.0 GHz model.

Message was edited by: etung to clarify study results

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64-bit guests requiring VT (at least on Intel processors, which is the case for all Macs) is a basic architectural requirement for virtualization (just like requiring a 64-bit processor for 64-bit guests). If you're interested in the gory details, I can explain further, but oreeh is correct.

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oreeh
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My reference: lots of posts in the different product forums and the document

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oreeh
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FYI: according to some posts from jmattson VT / SVM / RVI nowadays enhances performance for different guests (even 32bit guests) and is the default for these guests if available. You need however the "newer" VT implementations.

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FYI: according to some posts from jmattson VT / SVM / RVI nowadays enhances performance for different guests (even 32bit guests) and is the default for these guests if available. You need however the "newer" VT implementations.

Right, for example, the nested page table feature of the new Nehalem Mac Pros should be nice, less cache loss on virtual machine worldswitch. I don't know of a comprehensive study comparing it to our binary translation monitor, though, and I don't know how new of a VT implementation the mini that the OP was referring to has.

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oreeh
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http://communities.vmware.com/message/1187256#1187256

can't find the other posts right now

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Pia14
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etung wrote:

We were in a panic for a few days when we heard the P7350 did not
support VT (which according to Intel's documentation and user reports
on non-Macs, it doesn't). We asked Apple about this, and their response
is that the specific package subset they use does support VT (and the few systems we've been able to examine supports this claim). You should be fine with the 2.0 GHz model.

Thanks etung. So do I understand correctly, that VMware Fusion runs just as well on the 2.0GHz version of the new Mac mini as it does on the 2.26GHz model, the explanation being that the version of the 2.0GHz CPU Apple uses actually indeed includes support for Intel VT-x?

So Intel made a special version of the P7350 for Apple, which includes VT? And is the VT support of this special version the same as for the P8400?

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admin
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Thanks etung. So do I understand correctly, that VMware Fusion runs just as well on the 2.0GHz version of the new Mac mini as it does on the 2.26GHz model, the explanation being that the version of the 2.0GHz CPU Apple uses actually indeed includes support for Intel VT-x?

It should, and that's what Apple has told us. I don't think we've actually gotten our hands on one to verify this, but we've remotely examined some and they seem fine.

So Intel made a special version of the P7350 for Apple, which includes VT? And is the VT support of this special version the same as for the P8400?

That's my understanding.

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Pia14
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etung, thanks for all the information. If I wanted to verify Apple's claim myself before I buy my Mac mini, what would I do?

Do you happen to know of any diagnostic utility that will detect whether or not the CPU installed supports VT-x? Or is there some other way to find out (some configuration window/file somewhere)?

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Pia14
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I've just found this post on forums.macrumors.com:

The 2.0GHz appears to have VT-x - even though the Intel Spec sheets for the P7350 say otherwise.
The Intel processor tool and CPU-X both report VTX is enabled on my 2009 Mac mini.

See

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miniature
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So a month later, moving beyond theory... has anyone got Fusion installed on the P7350 mini (Early 2009 2.0GHz) with a 64-bit Windows OS guest running on it?

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miniature
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bounce...

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