Mac users: What machine/spec would you recommend for Alteryx?

[HelenL]

I've used Alteryx on Macs for about 4 years.

Q1. After initial attempts with Bootcamp, I've used Parallels in order to run Windows in order to run Alteryx.  My Alteryx workflows run fine. However, Alteryx can be very laggy when I'm building / modifying a workflow (e.g. dragging icons around the canvas). I sometimes have to save the file and reopen. I expect this is due to the Parallels config, so any advice on the best Parallels configuration would be appreciated.  

Q2. I have two Macs (2010 and 2012). Both have been upgraded to 32GB memory. The older machine definitely performs the worse of the two. The drives differ so that may be a factor. I now need to replace the 2010 Mac. My employer is keen for me to have one MacBook Pro to replace the two iMacs. I'm sceptical about whether a MacBook Pro will be adequate. Apple's business team advise:

"In short - our new M1 processors wouldn’t support the applications that you use the most so we would have to look at the 16-inch MacBook Pro which still runs on an Intel Core Processor. 

With all MacBooks you can connect unto 2 displays - you would just need the correct Thunderbolt adaptor. 

The 16-inch MacBook Pro already comes with a larger RAM size as standard (16GB instead of the standard 8GB of our other devices) and then you have the choice of 512GB or 1TB storage size."

I'm wary about  dropping to 16GB RAM. Since I upgraded to 32GB I see less "swap used' in Activity Monitor. Any advice on the best Mac option would be appreciated.

Regards,

Helen

[HelenL]

Yes, I want to stay Mac. I used PCs for 20 years of corporate life and never imagined I could be converted. However, when I started work as a freelancer I was much happier with Mac. Microsoft without the safety net of an IT department was scary. Apple technical support has been excellent. The small consultancy I now work for is 100% Mac. No-one else uses Tableau or Alteryx (in fact they could just about do everything they need through a browser). So that's why I have to research and communicate my requirements carefully. 

I work with two iMacs (350 miles apart). Only one (2010) needs replacement. There's some inconvenience e.g. I can’t use the latest Windows Office products, Camtasia etc. But I can live with that for a while. 

So then revising my order of preference is to wait for:

1. iMac 27" equivalent with M1 + one 27" screen; or

2. MacBook Pro 16" M1 with RAM upgraded from 16GB to 32 or 64GB + two 27" screens

3. If Parallels does not deliver an upgrade for M1 before my need becomes critical then an iMac 27" Intel 

Regards,

Helen

[hellyars]

@HelenL  

Same.  Small bespoke consultancy.   No IT department - Macs just work. 

I've been using Tableau for about 10 years, Alteryx for 3 years.

You probably know this...  When using the Mac versions, you can keep Excel (source) and Tableau (output) files open while using Alteryx (w/ Parallels).  It makes troubleshooting data and dashboards on they fly easy (= productivity).   You can't do that on a PC; Alteryx will force you to close them. 

When using Parallels, you want to make sure your Mac has plenty of resources to share (CPU cores, RAM, video memory).  The professional version of Parallels allows you to allocate more cores.  So, the more CPU cores and RAM the better (to avoid starving either OS). 

It looks like Parallels started supporting M1 Macs with its April update. 

The order of preference seems reasonable especially since you want to stay Mac.  If the higher end M-series Macs are delayed, the current Intel 27" iMac is a solid machine.  It offers plenty of CPU power, 10Gbe networking, plenty of Thunderbolt expansion ports,and it won't suffer from thermal issues like an Intel MBP.  The M-series will likely offer faster single core and likely multi-core performance and be just a bit more future proof relative to the macOS ecosystem.  Either way, its going to be a big jump from a 2010 to 2021 Mac.

[chrisha · Accepted solution]

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It looks like Parallels started supporting M1 Macs with its April update. 

Yes, but only the ARM64 version of the Guest OS - meaning that you can only use Windows 10 for ARM. To my knowledge not all software is compatible with this OS as Windows does not have something like "Rosetta 2" in macOS.

Edit: It seems, Windows does have an emulation layer on Windows for ARM: https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2020/12/10/introducing-x64-emulation-in-preview-for-window... Not sure if it's publicly available yet, though.

[hellyars · Accepted solution]

@HelenL 

@chrisha 

Well that is an excellent point and it forces the issue; and I feel like a fool for missing that little tid bit. 

If you want to use a Mac + Parallels + Alteryx it needs to be an Intel Mac for the time being.  

I doubt Alteryx will be ARM compatible anytime soon. 

So, if you want to stay Mac and don't need a laptop then the Intel iMac will do just fine. 

[HelenL]

Thank you both so much for helping me with this. I wasn't getting anywhere with Apple (Alteryx is not their software) nor Alteryx technical support (who just provided a link to the requirements page). Thanks for engaging with each other so productively. Its been gold dust. 

There's a lot of the technical detail that I didn't understand but you have given me a clear recommendation. I hope I've managed to mark both your last posts as a solution. 

@hellyars you referred to the Parallels config. I have the Pro Edition. 16.5.0. I think I should assign 16GB instead of 8GB to the VM. However, you also mentioned assigning cores. I can't see where I would do that.

Regards,

Helen

[hellyars]

@HelenL  Use "Processors".  It will actually show the number of "threads."   I have 10 cores (= 20 threads), so in the image below 10 ( 10 threads = 5 cores). 

[HelenL]

I was spectacularly unsuccessful. 

Thanks. That seemed very clear. I have 4 cores. Processors were set to 4. So that can't be improved. 

I increased the Memory allocation from ~8GB to ~16GB. But then Windows would not open. https://kb.parallels.com/en/10117

I cleared Trash, Downloads etc but that had no impact. I checked that most Dropbox folders were still set to Smart sync. Nothing changed there. 

So then I went back to Configure. I put it back to where it was at 8GB but Windows would not open. I had to put the slider back to ~5GB before Windows would open. So I'm baffled by this and wish I'd left it well alone. 

[hellyars]

 @HelenL   

Okay. I though we were talking about options for a future Mac. 

I did not know you were planning to make changes to your current machine.

If this is a 2010 Mac, its probably struggling a bit already so I would not divert from what works.

The KB article suggests your Mac is running out of HDD space.

Were you already running low on HDD space or is this something out of the blue?

Do you use Time Machine? Do you know if it captures your VM.  This would be a .pvm file (name_of_your_vm.pvm).  [You can always revert to an earlier version of this file should all else fail.  But, only as a last resort -- and I am not suggesting you do this.]

With your VM off, can you open the Parallel's Control Center and check the configuration of your VM.  Specifically look to see if there is space to be reclaimed under the General tab.  If so, try doing this. 

If that fails, I would suggest calling Parallels support.  You might have to wait a bit, but they are pretty good at resolving issues like this.

[HelenL]

Thanks. Sorry I feel I should release you from this thread. 🙂

I was just having a moan. I didn't expect you to help. So thanks for your comments. 

Yes, I am replacing the machine but the information you gave yesterday encouraged me to tweak the Config to see if it improved Alteryx performance meanwhile. It seemed a simple change.

I have submitted a query to Parallels. 

Yes, I use Time machine and it does include the VM. 

Yes, I am short of HDD space. Plenty of unused space on the "Hard Drive" but with this configuration it doesn't seem very useful. A bit like a loft for stuff you'll never need. I thought by learning out my Trash etc it would release HDD space. 

I thought the config change I'd made in Parallels was about RAM not storage. Now my lack of knowledge is becoming even more evident! So please don't waste any more of your day with me 🙂  Thanks again so much for your help. 

[HelenL]

Parallels finally replied to my query, 6 days later. So I may look at an alternative VM as good technical support is really important to me.

Meanwhile, I had rebooted the Mac and Windows did open. Simply shutting down the VM had not worked.