.NET development in OS X, fastest version of Windows for Parallels?

"I used to run XP (minimal ie no visual effects, only really needed process) for VS2008 and it came pretty close to sitting behind a real pc: I could also dualboot into that same XP install (it was installed on the drive, not in disk image) and although faster, most of the time I'd just run parallels as the slight difference souldn't bother me. Using one desktop for full-screen xp and the other one for Leopard is awesome.

Now I'm running Windows 7 64bit on that machine; though parallels does not support it, I can tell you this: 7 is/feels much faster then XP on any machine I tried, so I would guess that 7 will also feel faster when virtualized."

"I have the exact same spec macbook as you and I am running win 7 without performance problems. I have disabled aero though which makes it much more response.

This can be done by going into the Control Panel and searching for ""appearance"". It should be the first option and is called ""Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows"". When you click on this it shows a tabbed popup. You should see a group of 3 radio buttons. Choose the third option ""Adjust for best Performance"". This will disable all the cool eye candy and will leave you with a lean machine!"