Targetfox97

For a Windows application that does lots of complex or 3D graphics, there are two popular Windows APIs used by the developers of these applications: DirectX or OpenGL. Together with the graphics card in your Mac, these APIs determine the performance of these applications in a Windows VM running in Parallels Desktop® for Mac.

1. Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac release build 13.0.0 (42936) includes the following new features: Parallels Desktop® 13 for Mac is the simplest, most powerful solution for running Windows and Windows applications on Mac® without rebooting. For more information, see the Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac documentation.
2. Buy Parallels Desktop 16 for Mac. Run Windows, Linux, or Popular Oses on your Mac. Buy New License or Upgrade Now.
3. Parallels Desktop 13 integrates the Windows 10 Insider Preview’s People Bar, a Windows 10 feature that allows users to pin contacts to the Taskbar. Although Windows you can only pin up to three People Bar contacts, the Dock on macOS doesn’t limit favorite contacts.
4. Parallels Desktop® for Mac is the fastest, easiest, and most powerful application for running Windows® on a Mac®—without rebooting. Brought to you by the world-class developers of the #1-rated Mac virtualization software. Note: It is not recommended that existing Parallels Desktop® for Mac users move to Parallels Desktop App Store Edition.

Since so many Windows CAD/CAM applications and Windows games use DirectX or OpenGL, we try to improve support for these two APIs in almost every Parallels Desktop major release. I focused on OpenGL in an earlier blog post, and here I will focus on DirectX.

DirectX

First a little background:

Parallels Desktop 13: Touch Bar wizard. If you own a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac is a must-have upgrade. That’s because key features of Windows 10 will now appear on.

“Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay, DirectSound, and so forth. The name DirectX was coined as a shorthand term for all of these APIs (the X standing in for the particular API names) and soon became the name of the collection. …

“Direct3D (the 3D graphics API within DirectX) is widely used in the development of video games for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox line of consoles. Direct3D is also used by other software applications for visualization and graphics tasks such as CAD/CAM engineering. As Direct3D is the most widely publicized component of DirectX, it is common to see the names “DirectX” and “Direct3D” used interchangeably.”

[from Wikipedia]

There is a fascinating book about the behind-the-scenes story of the development of DirectX: “Renegades of the Empire: How Three Software Warriors Started a Revolution Behind the Walls of Fortress Microsoft” (Michael Drummond, Crown Publishers, 1999). DirectX is widely credited with being the single most important reason that Windows became the dominate gaming platform (prior to consoles like Xbox and PlayStation).

DirectX Versions

You might be wondering about DirectX versions. While there have been versions from 1.0 (in 1995) to 12.0 (in 2015), the only versions really in use today are 10, 11, and 12. Typically, DirectX versions are tied to a particular Windows release. DirectX 10 was in Windows Vista (or later), DirectX 11 in Windows 7 (or later), and DirectX 12 in Windows 10. A game written with DirectX 10, for example, will usually run in a version of Windows later than Vista.

Here are some of the games for DirectX 10, Direct X 11, and Direct X 12:

Parallels Desktop and DirectX Versions

DirectX 10 is enabled by default in Parallels Desktop 13. (This includes DirectX 9 support, too.) There is a DirectX setting you want to use in the Configuration dialog for your VM, but this is primarily used for troubleshooting. (See figure 1.) As you can see, the DirectX versions supported are 9 and 10. There is no option for DirectX 11.

Figure 1

Why isn’t DirectX 11 supported in Parallels Desktop?

One of the mandatory DX11 features is called “compute shaders.” The name “shaders” usually refers to graphical functions that calculate the appropriate color and brightness for an image, but “compute shaders” are quite different. Compute shaders help the programmer to more easily take full advantage of the many processors on today’s graphics cards, primarily by broadening shader capabilities beyond pure graphics to more general calculations, which can be done on a graphics chip.

Parallels implements DirectX emulation by translating it to the equivalent OpenGL function, since OpenGL is implemented in the macOS®. Unfortunately, the version of OpenGL in the macOS does not have compute shaders. There is nothing for Parallels Desktop to map DirectX shaders to in the OpenGL framework in the macOS.

The macOS does support another style of compute shaders in the OpenCL framework. (Don’t let the similarity in the names “OpenGL” and “OpenCL” make you think they’re similar. They aren’t. In fact, they are competing “standards.”) Unfortunately, however, OpenCL on Mac isn’t as robust and doesn’t cooperate well with OpenGL.

Besides compute shaders, there are other features missing in OpenGL on macOS, which means there are additional “feature parity holes” with DirectX. There’s simply not enough functionality to translate DX11 to in the functions available in the macOS.

Apple® started pushing its own Metal API recently, which is universal for Mac computers. Only time will tell if Metal will give the Parallels Desktop programmers what they need to support DirectX 11. Stay tuned, but don’t get your hopes up for any major change in the near future.

Setting Expectations

I wish I could tell you that Parallels Desktop can magically turn your four-year-old MacBook Air® into a high-end PC gaming rig with a $3000, liquid-cooled graphics card, but that is never going to happen.

Parallels Desktop can enable your Mac to run most Windows applications, some games, and some CAD/CAM applications. But this comes at a cost. The more demanding applications you run in a VM, the more resources (CPUs and memory) that VM should be assigned—and the more powerful your Mac should be. The more graphics performance you expect, the more powerful the graphics card (or graphics processor GPU) in your Mac needs to be. Also keep in mind that graphics in Mac computers are predominantly integrated; only more expensive models sport discreet chips. Overall, Mac GPUs are low to middle range by Windows PC standards.

Success Stories

The hard work of the Parallels engineering team has resulted in a number of successes with Windows applications using DirectX. In particular, the DirectX work included in Parallels Desktop 13 resulted in some new applications running quite well in Parallels Desktop. Here are some videos of these successes, and a list of other DirectX applications that work well with Parallels Desktop 13.

Overwatch, a first-person shooter from Blizzard – Here is a short video of an Overwatch game session playing in Parallels Desktop 13 on a Mac. (See video 1.) There have also been other blog posts here about Overwatch.

Video 1

Batman: Arkham Origins, an action adventure game from WB Games Montréal – Here is a shortened video of a Batman: Arkham Origins game session playing in Parallels Desktop 13 on a Mac. (See video 2.) You can see the entire session at full resolution (1920 x 1080, 954 MB) here.

Video 2

Crysis 3, a first-person shooter from Crytek – Here is a shortened video of a Crysis 3 game session playing in Parallels Desktop 13 on a Mac. (See video 3.) The fact that Crysis 3 plays so well in Parallels Desktop 13 is a nice surprise, since Crysis 3 requires Direct X 11. Although Parallels Desktop 13 doesn’t support DX11, this particular game works. You can see the entire session at full resolution (1920 x 1080, 1.37 GB) here.

Video 3

Predicting the Performance of a DirectX Application

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to predict whether a particular Windows DirectX game or application will work well in Parallels Desktop. If you are already a Parallels Desktop customer, just try it.

If you are not yet a Parallels Desktop customer, we have a trial version that you can download and install. You can also get Windows 10 installed in Parallels Desktop 13 at no charge. So try out the application or game you are interested in and see if it meets your performance needs. If it does, great! You can then purchase both Parallels Desktop and Windows to use that application. If it does not, you haven’t spent any money.

In addition, we have a forum thread where people add the DirectX applications that they would like to see supported.

I hope this blog post explains the DirectX support in Parallels Desktop 13. Please let us know in the comments about your experiences with the performance of Windows applications in Parallels Desktop 13.

Want to try DirectX applications with Parallels Desktop 13? Download a free 14-day trial!

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Parallels^® (www.parallels.com/about), a global leader in cross-platform solutions and creator of the No. 1-selling software for running Windows^® applications on a Mac^®, today launched Parallels Desktop^® 13 for Mac (www.parallels.com/desktop), which provides macOS High Sierra readiness and support for upcoming Windows 10 features. Bringing together the best of both worlds, Parallels Desktop 13 makes it simple for MacBook Pro users to add Windows applications to the Touch Bar, and use Touch Bar within Windows applications. It is also the first solution to bring the upcoming Windows 10 People Bar feature to the Mac – including integration with the Mac Dock and Spotlight. The new version also features up-to 100 percent performance improvements for completing certain tasks.

“This year, for the first time ever, we are bringing the two hottest features from Mac and Windows into one place via Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac,” said Jack Zubarev, Parallels president. “This new release delivers our best-ever Windows on Mac performance, plus innovative and useful new features and tools to help users get more done quickly and efficiently.”

With a single mouse click, the Parallels Installation Assistant will automatically install Windows 10 into a virtual machine (VM), which can be purchased at a later date without losing data or installed applications, making getting started in Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac simpler than ever. It also enables users to purchase and automatically install Windows 10 from Microsoft, add an existing copy of Windows, and simply move their PC to their Mac. From the beginning, users can choose to make Windows look like a PC (Full Screen) or make Windows invisible (Coherence mode), while launching Windows apps from the Mac Dock, Launch Pad or Windows Start Menu, enabling users to tailor the experience to their liking.

Best of Both Worlds

Parallels Desktop 13 provides Mac Touch Bar integration for Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint for Windows, as well as browsers including Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera. Additionally, when you are using the Windows Start Menu or Desktop, Parallels Desktop 13 features Taskbar pinned elements, along with Cortana, Task View and settings, in the Touch Bar for fast one-touch access. Thousands of other Windows applications that run in Parallels Desktop can quickly be added to the Touch Bar and customized with popular actions, if the default set of functional keys is not enough.

Parallels Desktop 13 enhances Mac features, such the Touch Bar, and brings new Windows features to the Mac. Parallels Desktop 13 integrates People Bar (from Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview builds 16232 and 16251.rs3), a forthcoming Windows 10 feature that lets users pin contacts to the Taskbar. Although Windows limits People Bar contacts to three, the Mac Dock doesn’t limit favorite contacts and enables their photos to be larger for easy viewing.

More Productivity Tools

New Parallels Desktop 13 innovations include Picture-in-Picture (PiP) View, a feature which creates windows of other active VMs, which users can select to always be visible on top for easy monitoring and access, even when a Mac app is in Full Screen mode. Now, it is easier than ever to monitor and simultaneously work in multiple operating systems (OS) and their applications on one screen, or watch a video while switching between macOS Spaces and applications. PiP View joins popular Parallels Desktop customization settings such as Coherence (Windows is invisible while using Windows apps on a Mac), Full Screen mode (just like a PC), and Window mode (Windows in a window in macOS).

New Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition features coming this Fall include the customer-inspired Single Application mode, which lets IT admins deliver, lock and secure selected Windows applications to a user's Mac Dock while making the Windows VM invisible. Mac users simply discover the Windows application in their Dock, then launch and use it just like a Mac app.

The latest version of Parallel Desktop provides a number of visual and display improvements for improved scaling resolution and better transitions. Owners of hi-res Retina displays will enjoy greatly improved sharpness of text and graphics in scaled mode.

More than 30 Single-click Utilities for Windows and Mac:

New and popular utilities include:

• Clean Drive – easily free up disk space
• Presentation Mode – Prevent embarrassing messaging notifications, desktop reveals of personal files, and screen saver lockout delays during presentations – in just one click. (Mac only)
• Download Video – In just one click, download video from YouTube, Facebook and other websites so you can enjoy watching it anytime
• Find Duplicates – Search any drive or folder to quickly find identical files (even with different names), and free up disc space
• Record Screen – Capture video of your entire screen, a window or select area – which can include audio from your computer microphone – in one click.

Significant performance improvements include:

Parallels Desktop 13 Key

• Up to 100 percent performance improvement for External Thunderbolt SSD drives (near native performance)
• Up to 50 percent faster Snapshot creation for VMs with a large amount of memory.
• Up to 47 percent faster working in Windows files in Windows on rotational discs
• Up to 47 percent faster working with Windows files on a Mac
• Up to 40 percent faster USB device performance in most scenarios
• OpenGL 3 support added for DIALux evo professional lighting design software and the popular strategy game Northgard

In addition to the overall improvements to Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac, Parallels has made upgrades to the Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro and Business Edition including:

Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac Pro Edition

• Assign up to 32 cores (vCPU) and 128 GB of vRAM per VM, so upcoming iMac Pro users can create super powerful VMs
• View, Set Resolution menu to immediately switch resolutions for podcast, video tutorial or web browser testing – including common 4:3, 16:9 and 16:10 ratios with resolutions from 1024 x 768 to 3360 x 2300.
• Quick Virtual Machine IP Address Lookup – simply check and copy IP address from GUI to the clipboard in one click
• Free pre-configured VMs in the Installation Assistant, which can be installed in one click, now include: Windows 10 Development Environment, Linux (Mint, CentOS, Debian GNU, Ubuntu and Fedora), Android and macOS.
• Analyze and optimize apps’ performance in Parallels Desktop with improved Intel VTune Amplifier, Linux ‘perf’ and Mozilla “rr” support
• Modern IE Test Environments in the Installation Assistant now feature pre-configured 90-day trial VMs from Microsoft which include: Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 (stable), Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 (preview), IE 11 on Windows 8.1, IE 11 on Windows 7, IE 10 on Windows 7, IE 9 on Windows 7, and IE 8 on Windows 7.

Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac Business Edition

• Single Application Mode deployment helps end users focus on simply using a new Windows application on their Mac, without being distracted by unfamiliar Windows and virtualization elements
• Ability to add selected Windows applications to user’s Dock upon deployment

New Business Edition features coming this Fall include:

• Ability to invite users via email for improved productivity and end user management
• Assign separate administrators for sublicenses for improved efficiency in management
• New design of Parallels My Account portal to manage subscriptions and licenses

Availability and Pricing

Today, Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac, Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition and Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition are available for subscribers and upgraders from Parallels Desktop 11 and 12 (www.parallels.com/upgradepd13), as well as new customers, online at www.parallels.com/desktop and at local retail and online stores worldwide. Free 14-day full-featured trials of Parallels Desktop are also available for download.

Parallels Desktop 13 For Mac

The recommended retail price (RRP) of Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac is $79.99. Upgrades for existing Parallels Desktop 11 and 12 for Mac perpetual license customers are $49.99, with an introductory offer to upgrade to a Parallels Desktop Pro Edition subscription for $49.99 per year for life. Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition and Business Edition are each available to new customers for $99.99 per year. Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition and Business Edition include a complimentary concurrent subscription to both Parallels Toolbox for Mac and Parallels Toolbox for Windows (www.parallels.com/toolbox), as well as Parallels Access (www.parallels.com/access).

About Parallels

Parallels Desktop 13 Free

Parallels is a global leader in cross-platform solutions which make it possible and simple for customers to use and access the applications and files they need on any device or operating system. We help customers take advantage of the best technology out there, whether it’s Windows, Mac, iOS, Android™ or the cloud. Parallels solves complex engineering and user experience problems by making it simple and cost-effective for businesses and individual customers to use applications wherever they may be—local, remote, in the private datacenter or in the cloud. Visit www.parallels.com/about for more information.

Parallels Desktop 13 For Mac Activation Key

Stay connected with Parallels and our online communities: Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/parallelsinc, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/parallelsmac and visit our blog at http://blog.parallels.com.

*based on Parallels internal testing

Parallels and the Parallels logo are registered trademarks of Parallels IP Holdings GmbH in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.