Video Settings

To view and configure the amount of video memory available to the virtual machine video card, use the Video settings.

To edit these settings, do the following:

1. Open the Virtual Machine menu or Alt-click (Option-click) the Parallels icon in the Mac menu bar (in the Crystal view mode) and choose Configure .
2. In the Virtual Machine Configuration dialog, click Hardware and select Video in the sidebar.

Note: These settings cannot be changed when the virtual machine is running.

In the Video memory field, you can set the amount of video memory that will be available to the virtual machine.

To configure the video memory limit, do one of the following:

• drag the slider
• use the spin box arrows
• type the value directly into the Video memory field

Enabling 3D Acceleration

If you want to use Windows Aero in your Windows virtual machines or use games and applications that require video cards that support DirectX or OpenGL, select the Enable 3D acceleration option. For more information, refer to Using 3D Graphics Applications .

Enabling Vertical Synchronization

Sometimes in games and 3D applications, a newly rendered frame may overlap a previously rendered one and then screen tearing happens. This occurs when the video card or the software using it begins updating the actively-displayed memory in a manner that is out of sync with the monitor's refresh rate. To prevent screen tearing, select the Enable vertical synchronization option.

If you want to prevent Virtual Machine Configuration from unauthorized changes, click the Lock icon at the bottom of the window. The next time someone wants to change the settings in any pane of Virtual Machine Configuration, an administrator's password will be required.