I am using an older MacBook with 2GB of memory.

I want to 4 table FTP with HEM and the HUD running.

How much memory should I allocate to Parallels for
optimum performance?

It's easy to change, start with 800 meg and see how it works, then change it if you need more.

Quick question: I'm just now starting to read about running poker programs off macs as I'm trying to decide what type of laptop to buy. If I ran XP through bootcamp, is there an associated cost to performance?

Nope, you'll get a boost as XP is running on the hardware instead of through a VM.

hmmm, so why do people use parallels?

Because rebooting to get into OS X takes valuable time.

The reason I am posting is that I was using 1024k for the past year.
Everything worked fine, no problems, until FullTilt came out with their
new software. Their new build consumes 5X the CPU and 4X the
memory as their old one, and now I can't run 4 tables with the HEM
HUD at the same time.

I reduced the memory allocated to Parallels to 850 mb and noticed
a dramatic increase in performance. I think if you allocate too much
to parallels, then it affects the ability of the MacOs to run parallels.

I will try lowering it still further and see what results I get, but I was
curious to know if others have already experimented with this, and
if so, what they discovered.

What is your current config, Kerowo?

I have 4g in my MPB and give 2 to Parallels, but the only thing I run is Office 2007. If you have an older MPB putting 4g of memory into it is less than a 100 bucks and well worth it.

Thanks for the recommendation.
What type of memory should I buy and where should I buy it?

I used Crucial, it was easy to verify you're getting the right memory and was inexpensive.