Are you looking for a way to precisely measure the CPU performance while running a virtual machine on your PC? I’ve got just the thing for you. It’s a built-in feature in VMware called Virtual Performance Monitoring Counters(vPMCs).
Despite having a lengthy & complicated name, enabling this feature is quite simple.
Let’s dive into this write-up as I have discussed the most effortless way to turn on this feature.
How to Activate Virtual CPU Performance Monitoring
To enable virtual CPU performance monitoring in VMware, select a virtual machine in the inventory and click on Edit settings. Now click on Processors(for version 6.7 & newer) or expand the CPU section(for version 6.5 or older) & tick the box for Virtualize CPU performance counters.
Too brief for you? Don’t worry, below I have discussed the concise steps to enable performance monitoring counters in great detail.
But before we do, let’s see the requirements to enable this feature.
Prerequisites for Enabling CPU Performance Counters
There are some conditions your computer must meet before you can enable virtualized CPU utilization counter. Such as virtual machine compatibility, system configuration, privileges in the vCenter server system, etc.
Additionally, if you’re an Intel user, you’ll need to enable Hyper-V for Windows 10 & Windows 11 from the BIOS. For AMD users, they’ll need to enable SMV from the BIOS as well.
Here are the prerequisites for enabling performance counters in VMware:
- Check if the virtual machine compatibility is ESXi 5.1 or later.
- Make sure your computer has at least 4 CPU cores & 4GB system RAM.
- Ensure you have the privilege to change settings from the vCenter Server
- Enable Hyper-V(for Intel) or SMV/AMD-V(for AMD) from the BIOS.
To easily check whether CPU virtualization is turned on, open Task Manager and go to the Performance tab. Now check whether the Virtualization is enabled. 
CPU Performance Counter Enabling Procedure
If your system matches the above requirements, follow these steps one by one to activate performance counters for CPU usage.
Here’s how to enable virtualized CPU performance counters:
For VMware vSphere Version 7.0 & 6.7
- Run VMware Workstation and select your preferred virtual machine from the inventory/library.
- Click on Edit virtual machine settings.
- Select Processors from the Hardware tab.
- Tick the box for Virtualize CPU performance counters.
- Click OK.
For VMware vSphere Version 6.5 & Older
- Launch VMware Workstation and choose the virtual machine from the inventory.
- Click on Edit settings and select the Virtual Hardware tab.
- Expand the CPU section.
- Go to Performance Counters(*) and tick the box for Enable virtualized CPU performance counters.
- Hit OK.
Keep in mind, the performance monitoring counters won’t be virtualized if the host is already using the physical CPU counter for another use.
If you are looking to enable CPU Virtualization, look no further than our separate guide. It has all the detailed steps listed out for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does virtualize CPU performance counters do?
VMware’s Virtual CPU Performance Monitoring Counters (vPMCs) provide an easy way for users to keep track of CPU utilization while running a virtual machine.
Do I need to have Hyper-V enabled to run VMware Workstation?
Yes. Enabling Hyper-V for Intel and SMV for AMD is required to run virtualization via VMware Workstation.
Ending Remark
Tools such as processor performance counters are very useful for software profiling. It helps the developers to further optimize and debug programs running on the virtual machine.
Hopefully, this article has helped you achieve this goal by letting you know how to enable such a feature.
Have a nice day!
