Seriously. I can't use VMware Fusion. I haven't been able to use it for quite some time. Here's why:
When running a freshly installed instance of Windows 7 (64 bit Ultimate w/ 2 CPUs and 2 GB RAM in recent tests), my 15" Early 2011 MacBook Pro w/ a SSD (Samsung 830) and 8 GB RAM gets too hot, the free System Memory falls to a only a few megabytes, gigabytes of Page Outs occur, and my system gets so overtaxed that my lap and legs get uncomfortably hot. The fans spin up so loud that it sound like a plane taking off, and I can no longer confidently use my computer, fearing that its components will be destroyed due to overheating.
None of these issues have occurred with other virtualization solutions for Mac, such as Parallels (my go-to solution since Fusion 2.x) and VirtualBox.
This is totally ridiculous! Back when Fusion was initially released, it trumped everything else. I had a BlackBook w/ 2GB RAM, a spinning HD, and XP would boot in under 30 seconds. And Fusion never caused Page Outs or excessive system heat. Nor did it cause the system fans to spin outrageously out of control. Not until 2.x, at least.
If there is anything I can do to optimize my Fusion experience, please let me know. I really wish it performed like it did way back in the day. I'll leave the TP installed in the meantime, but I will definitely *not* be using it unless I have been provided with advice on how to make it perform better.