Speed up Android emulators with Intel HAXM

Running android emulators even in a fast system can be a slow process, but Intel have released their Hardware accelerated execution manager (HAXM) to provide hardware accelerated assisted virtualisation with x86 guest images.

To enable the HXAM, follow the steps below:

1. Download the Intel hardware accelerated execution manager, and install it. Note: when specifying memory size, make sure the setting selected is larger than the RAM sizes of any android images to be used.
2. Using the "android" GUI tool make sure the "Intel x86 Atom System Image" is installed for the required android API libraries in use on the android images.
3. Update any existing android images to use a CPU/ABI of "Intel Atom (x86)".
4. Also update existing android images to "Use Host GPU".
5. Make sure the amount of ram specified on android images are less than the amount specified in the Intel HAXM installation.

When starting your android virtual machines check for the following debug line to ensure the Intel HAXM is working correctly:

HAX is working and emulator runs in fast virt mode

Enjoy faster virtual machines!

Last updated: 08/12/2014