Vmware Workstation Pro 17 ✰

The snapshot manager is best-in-class. Need to test a risky update or malware? Take a snapshot, wreck the VM, revert in 3 seconds. The linked clones feature saves terabytes of disk space when spinning up multiple test environments.

While great under load, the VMware services (vmware-authd, vmware-usbarbitrator) consume 300-500MB of RAM even when no VMs are running . On a laptop with 8GB of RAM, this hurts. VMware Workstation Pro 17

If you’re on an M1/M2/M3 Mac, you are out of luck. Workstation Pro is x86 only. You’ll need Fusion (VMware’s Mac product) or UTM. The Bottom Line Buy it if: You are a professional developer, security analyst, or IT admin who relies on Windows/Linux VMs daily. The TPM 2.0, GPU acceleration, and unmatched stability justify the cost. The snapshot manager is best-in-class

Rating: 4.7/5 Best for: Developers, IT pros, security researchers, and power users who need near-bare-metal performance from VMs. The linked clones feature saves terabytes of disk

After spending several weeks hammering away at VMware Workstation Pro 17, it’s clear why this remains the desktop hypervisor king. Version 17 doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it sharpens the blade, especially for modern hardware and virtual GPU needs. 1. Outstanding Performance & Stability The hallmark of VMware remains its rock-solid stability. Pro 17 feels snappier than VirtualBox, particularly with Windows 11 and Linux guests. The hypervisor layer is so efficient that running resource-heavy IDEs or compiling code inside a VM feels nearly native.

This is the headline feature. Pro 17 now ships with a virtual Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 by default. Why does that matter? It allows you to run Windows 11 as a guest without any registry hacks or workarounds. For IT admins testing Windows 11 deployments, this is a lifesaver.

Workstation Pro 17 introduces OpenGL 4.3 and DirectX 11 support in the guest. If you run CAD software, medium-tier gaming, or GPU-accelerated data science inside a VM, the graphics rendering is noticeably smoother than in v16.