Quicken Classic Premiere for Windows on Macbook M3 via Parallels

RobHH

Hard to find updated information on the web about this so thought I would post for anyone searching for an answer.

I have run Quicken Classic for Windows on my Intel iMac via Parallels for 7 years and decided to upgrade to a new Macbook Pro M3 Max (16/40, 48GB).

I am successfully running Quicken Classic Premiere for Windows (R53.16) on the MBP using Parallels 19.1.1 (4 CPUs/8GB RAM) with Windows 11 Pro. No major issues except Quicken occasionally shuts down when backing up a data file and the PDF printer drivers I used on my Imac (Big Sur) were better than the new Microsoft Print to PDF driver (can't scale the output down), but I think this is a Sonoma thing and not an Apple Silicon thing. The software is snappy, even when using a very large (540MB) QIF data file.

Windows memory usage of the VM is hovering at ~ 50% (3.7GB) while Windows CPU usage is ~ 3% with occasional spikes up into the 30%s. Mac Memory usage is about 32GB, with a few apps open plus Chrome with 20 tabs. Mac CPU usage is <5%. The MBP is running at about 100 degrees F and the fans are not spinning.

Parallels now makes it very easy to install a full Windows 11 instance (no more having to get an unsupported Developers copy). Total time to set up Parallels, Win11 and Quicken was less than 30 minutes.

I'm glad I got a 48GB machine. 36GB would probably be fine, less than that would be tight. I think any of the M3 processors would be fine but the base M3 tops out at 24GB.

jfclague

Would be helpful if you could also post your experience on Parallels forums:

https://forum.parallels.com/forums/parallels-desktop-on-a-mac-with-apple-silicon.788/

jfclague

Nevermind, I saw you already posted there.

Thanks

jacobs

@RobHH That's a huge amount of added RAM just to support Parallels and to run Quicken Windows. You indicate that you've purchased the only high-end MacBook Pro which supports 48 GB of RAM: the ones with an M3 Max chip with 40 core GPU — a $3,700 computer. Most people don't need such a powerful Mac, and won't spend double the cost of a lower-end MacBook Pro or iMac. If you need such a computer for other software, then it makes sense; if it's just for Quicken, it seems like overkill. I think a base M3 Mac with 16 GB of RAM should work acceptably if someone is just using Parallels/Windows to run Quicken.

RobHH

@jacobs If you are going to give a Parallels Win 11 VM 8GB, a 16GB Macbook would only have 8GB for other Mac purposes, which probably isn't enough for anything beyond very light use (and even then will probably end up lagging due to swap file use). If you are not expecting to use other Mac apps while Quicken/Parallels is running then you could certainly make 16GB work. If not then I think 24GB would be the lowest I would go (avail on Macbook Air or Macbook Pro M3 base) or 36GB (avail on MBP M3Pro). As noted above, I think any of the M processors will be fine, no need to get a high end processor for Parallels/Quicken

Ps56k2

@RobHH - why such a huge beast .. what else do you do with it that demands 💰💰 for a M3 and all that RAM ?

jacobs

If you are going to give a Parallels Win 11 VM 8GB, a 16GB Macbook would only have 8GB for other Mac purposes, which probably isn't enough for anything beyond very light use

@RobHH Hmmm, I don't know about that. All Macs, including the new M3 iMacs, have a base configuration with only 8GB of RAM. Apple insists that their "unified memory" architecture makes 8GB with an M3 chip perform like it has much more RAM than 8GB in the older Intel chip Macs. Most pundits think Apple should increase the base Mac memory from 8 to 16GB, but Apple hasn't budged off the 8 GB in base models in years — and a large percentage of users are happily using M-series Macs with just the basic 8GB of RAM. So if you add another 8 GB just for Parallels running Quicken Windows, that should be enough for most users. (I personally buy 16GB in my Macs, but as much for future-proofing as immediate need.) Of course, if you're doing heavy-duty image/audio/video editing, you probably want more RAM than that, but a very small percentage of users need the horsepower of your top-of-the-line M3 Max chip and 48 GB of RAM.