My hypothesis was that the computer "runs" better because of faster RAM and processor but because the system has 8GB, it can't be pushed __too__ much.
Testing:
1x headless Linux w/ 1 CPU core and 512MB RAM
2x MS Windows 7 with display, 2/ 1CPU core and 512MB RAM each.
IDE consuming ~987MB RAM
6x Chrome Tabs open
3x Safari Tabs open
Apple Mail.app
Other misc software running in the background.
Each VM being added increased SWAP. With one headless, SWAP was at ~50MB. Adding WIN7 VM with display brought it up to 251MB, adding a third VM with display brought it to 550MB.
CPU Usage peaked at ~70% when adding VMs with some delays in response when browsing simultaneously.
All VMs running, mocking around a VM and running minor tasks in background (comprising and decompressing junk data) brought usage to about 30%, CPU usage never peaked past 50% without additional load.
Conclusion: I'm actually really happy with the laptop. The whole dongle hell really doesn't exist, in fact I was able to remove cables from my desk. Before, I had to plug in 1 power cable, one thunderbolt/DP, one USB...now all three are going into a single dongle and one cable to computer.
For external HD, I've been using the Samsung SSD USB3 to USB-C for about a year so that made life easier.
Prior, I had to carry an ethernet adapter for remote work, which was replaced by an ethernet adapter of a different kind.
General USBs, thumb drives, etc are plugged into my monitor (which has a hub) just as before, no difference.
If this laptop started at $200 less, I'd say this is a very adequate laptop for work purposes, including running VMs.
Testing: 1x headless Linux w/ 1 CPU core and 512MB RAM 2x MS Windows 7 with display, 2/ 1CPU core and 512MB RAM each. IDE consuming ~987MB RAM 6x Chrome Tabs open 3x Safari Tabs open Apple Mail.app Other misc software running in the background.
Physical Memory 8GB Memory Used: 5.96GB Cached Files: 2.03GB
Each VM being added increased SWAP. With one headless, SWAP was at ~50MB. Adding WIN7 VM with display brought it up to 251MB, adding a third VM with display brought it to 550MB.
CPU Usage peaked at ~70% when adding VMs with some delays in response when browsing simultaneously.
All VMs running, mocking around a VM and running minor tasks in background (comprising and decompressing junk data) brought usage to about 30%, CPU usage never peaked past 50% without additional load.
Conclusion: I'm actually really happy with the laptop. The whole dongle hell really doesn't exist, in fact I was able to remove cables from my desk. Before, I had to plug in 1 power cable, one thunderbolt/DP, one USB...now all three are going into a single dongle and one cable to computer.
For external HD, I've been using the Samsung SSD USB3 to USB-C for about a year so that made life easier.
Prior, I had to carry an ethernet adapter for remote work, which was replaced by an ethernet adapter of a different kind.
General USBs, thumb drives, etc are plugged into my monitor (which has a hub) just as before, no difference.
If this laptop started at $200 less, I'd say this is a very adequate laptop for work purposes, including running VMs.