Bootcamp, Parallels Desktop 5 or VMWare Fusion 3

like you said....this topic has been discussed many number of times...but I guess there is no final answer on this...

It all depends on your needs...I use mainly excel on Windows...I had Win 7 in Parallels...did not like it one bit cause my MBP started to wheeze...

Installed Win 7 in bootcamp...really nice..good performance an all...BUT..very inconvenient to me cause I cannot access my Mac software...plus no Time Machine etc etc...

So...I deleted the bootcamp partition...and running Win XP on Parallels...so far so good..

If you are into AutoCad..it does require a lot of CPU...by default, when you work in Parallels...only a single core is dedicated to the VM...plus the 3D stuff might not render all that well...if you are looking for a seamless experience in AutoCad, I say bootcamp..

Bootcamp gives you the best performance and direct access to the hardware, so if you'll be running demanding applications this generally the best option.

Parallels is a choice for those folks who tend to want to play games, its the best performing among the virtualization applications. Stability is probably the weakness of parallels. They update the application quite frequently but many of those updates cause instability. I had to endure quite a lot of Kernel Panics with parallels. I'm not sure why but, having parallels take out the entire system is uncalled for.

Vmware, is the most rock solid virtualization app imo, they provide updates but at a slower pace then parallels. However those updates tend to be solid, and vmware is less inclined to throw new features in, but rather fix and improve existing features unlike parallels.

VirtualBox is the last of the virtualization programs, its free, and many people like free it's performance and integration is subpar to what parallels or vmware offers.

Overall, I prefered vmware for the superior support, and stable product. I believe both parallels and vmware offer a 30 day trial version. I recommend trying both of them. Both can also access/run your windows bootcamp install if you choose to go that path. That is, install windows in bootcamp, use that when you want but then run it in vmware as well.

Just try. Autocad runs smooth in Parallels. You need try it by yourself to make a decision. Outlook will work good on any emulation software

First of all hi everybody and thanks for posting your experiences.

Like rkitect I should be mainly using Autocad (I' m a structural engineer) doing only 2ds and low impact graphics.
I haven' t decided yet wether buying Fusion or Parallels: currently I am testing Parallels 5 on a bootcamp partition.

My opinion: when I need the CPU full power (complex dwg file, big finite element model seismic analysis) I would boot up Windows on bootcamp (it runs brilliantly). On the daily basis I would prefer to virtualize it, otherwise why buying a Mac?!

So far I have been encountering a major problem with Autocad 2008: I have installed and activated it first on bootcamp. Then running it on Parallels it screwed up the license and prompted me for a second activation. I am still in the 30 days trial, but I don' t know how to fix it.
Has anybody else had the same problem?

Thanks in advance.

Andy