MBA or MBP for virtual desktop?

[Hatshepsut]

I currently have a 2011 iMac that doesn't quite cut it for connecting to my work's VPN via a virtual desktop service (Citrix). I assume that this is something similar to Parallels in terms of the memory, power, etc needed. Does anyone have experience running similar programs on the MBA, and does it seem to run them well enough?

Of course, the MBA still feels limited in terms of USB ports, but I don't think I want to shell out $1800 for the MBP just for that, although with a couple hundred shaved off for a Black Friday sale or refurb model it starts to look more tempting...

 

[yngwietiger]

At this point, your computer is just a dumb terminal. I can't imagine a MBA not being powerful enough, especially the ones with 8GB of RAM, but I have no personal experience.

I do have some experience with Citrix though (client was a powerful enough Windows machine), and it was horrible. Maybe it was the server that they were running it on. I just hate the lag on programs like this. It's okay if connecting temporarily, but I couldn't imagine having to use it as my main desktop.

 

[minifridge1138]

I'd suspect your internet connection (or your work's). Citrix just streams the screen content and maps your mouse / keyboard commands to the remote server. It isn't actually running an entire operating system as a process on your computer.

 

[ascender]

No, if you're connecting over Citrix, performance isn't really about the local hardware, its much more sensitive to your internet connection (up and down) as well as how its configured at the server end.

If you were running multiple local virtual machines all the time with something like Parallels, then yes, you'd need to consider RAM and CPU, but you'll be just fine with a MBA for Citrix.

 

[Hatshepsut]

Thanks for the advice! I ended up going with the MBP anyway, since the difference in price on the refurb store wasn't much, and yes, it doesn't seem like performance is much different, so clearly the problem is with my work's server or citrix. I'm growing to hate citrix. I think I'll just use it for email and do the actual work on my local MS Word/PP/. I'd rather take a flash drive back and forth, or email drafts, than deal with the lag.

On the plus side, I love the MBP otherwise.