| Task | Performance (8 GB RAM, 4 vCPUs, NVMe virtual disk) | |------|----------------------------------------------------| | Boot time (cold) | ~12–18 seconds | | Windows Update installation | 15–25% slower than native | | Office/browsing | Near-native | | Visual Studio compiling | ~80% of native speed | | GPU-intensive apps (light) | Playable with VMware SVGA 3D |
Note: For heavy 3D workloads, GPU passthrough is not available in Workstation (unlike ESXi). vmware workstation 17 pro windows 11
Running Windows 11 virtually can be sluggish if you don’t tweak the settings. Here is the optimization playbook: | Task | Performance (8 GB RAM, 4
If you tried running Windows 11 in previous versions of VMware (like v15 or v16), you likely hit a wall during installation. Windows 11 strictly requires TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module) and Secure Boot to install, and setting these up manually involved encrypting the virtual machine and navigating complex BIOS settings. While Apple Silicon Macs cannot run VMware Workstation
VMware Workstation 17 Pro eliminates this friction with a native, automated feature.
While Apple Silicon Macs cannot run VMware Workstation (they use Fusion), Intel Macs using Boot Camp to run Windows 10 can then install VMware Workstation 17 Pro to run Windows 11—bypassing Apple’s driver limitations.
If using older VMware versions, but Workstation 17 Pro officially supports TPM, so bypass is unnecessary.
| Task | Performance (8 GB RAM, 4 vCPUs, NVMe virtual disk) | |------|----------------------------------------------------| | Boot time (cold) | ~12–18 seconds | | Windows Update installation | 15–25% slower than native | | Office/browsing | Near-native | | Visual Studio compiling | ~80% of native speed | | GPU-intensive apps (light) | Playable with VMware SVGA 3D |
Note: For heavy 3D workloads, GPU passthrough is not available in Workstation (unlike ESXi).
Running Windows 11 virtually can be sluggish if you don’t tweak the settings. Here is the optimization playbook:
If you tried running Windows 11 in previous versions of VMware (like v15 or v16), you likely hit a wall during installation. Windows 11 strictly requires TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module) and Secure Boot to install, and setting these up manually involved encrypting the virtual machine and navigating complex BIOS settings.
VMware Workstation 17 Pro eliminates this friction with a native, automated feature.
While Apple Silicon Macs cannot run VMware Workstation (they use Fusion), Intel Macs using Boot Camp to run Windows 10 can then install VMware Workstation 17 Pro to run Windows 11—bypassing Apple’s driver limitations.
If using older VMware versions, but Workstation 17 Pro officially supports TPM, so bypass is unnecessary.