PC vs Mac

cape cod wahine · Sep 21, 2012

Hi,
I am a current macbook pro user, but need to run quickbooks. The mac version is not good, so I need to run it on the Windows operating system. I do not like to us vm ware fusion as it appears unstable. I was going to buy a pc laptop, but none seem to be near as nice as the macbook pro. I particularly despise the track pad on the pcs, but love them on the macbooks. My question is this, why not buy a dedicated macbook or mac air to only run the windows operating system from within bootcamp?
Thanks!!

GGJstudios · Sep 21, 2012

cape cod wahine said:
Hi,
I am a current macbook pro user, but need to run quickbooks. The mac version is not good, so I need to run it on the Windows operating system. I do not like to us vm ware fusion as it appears unstable. I was going to buy a pc laptop, but none seem to be near as nice as the macbook pro. I particularly despise the track pad on the pcs, but love them on the macbooks. My question is this, why not buy a dedicated macbook or mac air to only run the windows operating system from within bootcamp?
Thanks!!

Why not run Windows via Boot Camp on your current Mac? There's no need to buy a new computer for that.

balamw · Sep 21, 2012

cape cod wahine said:
My question is this, why not buy a dedicated macbook or mac air to only run the windows operating system from within bootcamp?
Thanks!!

You can certainly do that just note that the drivers for the trackpads under Windows are nowhere near as good as under OS X. So your Mac doesn't quite have the same "feel" under Windows.

I've used Macs under Windows for work several times and still need it sometimes.

Fusion really is a better option for things that are not resource intensive if you want to preserve the Mac "feel".

B

dangerfish · Sep 21, 2012

I leave Parallels 8 running continuously on my 27" iMac for the purposes of running QB. Works great with no problems at all. No need to go buy another computer just for QB.

chrono1081 · Sep 21, 2012

If your VMWare isn't stable its most likely an issue with your install. I've never had an issue and I've used it for years.

itsamacthing · Sep 21, 2012

Hi,

I run my business on Quickbooks Pro 2011, with 5 users. I use windows servers, and all my staff have Windows 7 workstations.

I use a mac.

I used to have a Mac Pro and ran VMWARE and my Quickbooks file was hosted on my main file server. I didn't like running vmware, and I also didn't like loosing my desktop every time I wanted to reboot my mac. I wanted to separate the two.

Solution:
I have a 2010 Mac Mini with an OWC 120GB SSD, second drive installed in the optical bay 200GB (the one that came with the mini), and 8GB of ram. This machine runs Windows 7. It runs headless on a APC next to my switch. It's a member of my domain, has MS Office on it, and it's networked to my mac desktop file sharing wise. It is also my Quickbooks server and dedicated remote desktop for me.

I have been using this solution for almost 2 years now and I love it. I can grab that desktop from my iPhone, iPad, any desktop and stay on the same page. The remote instance runs very fast and I have no issues with lag...especially when I went into Windows settings and optimized for performance and got rid of all the Aero BS. I also installed Thinstuff terminal server and now it's a powerful little Terminal Server and it can serve Quickbooks up to 3 different desktops at one time. I manage 2 different companies so this is very good for me so I can pull up both files at the same time off the same Mini Quickbooks Home Made Terminal Server.

The evolution of this solution will take place once I get my new iMac, I will migrate this setup to 2011 Mini that has 16GG of ram and a much faster OWC and SSD, plus second drive as well. I'm thinking about getting a second monitor with a big monitor arm for my desk and a virtual KVM. http://synergy-foss.org

Or I'm going to setup a new Virtual Machine on my new ESXi 5 Server, it has endless cores, ram, and runs on a Raid 5 array with SSDs.. the read write speeds are 1500 and I have test opened Quickbooks files served off it and they open instantly..

Hope that helps

RUGERMAN · Sep 22, 2012

itsamacthing said:
Hi,

I run my business on Quickbooks Pro 2011, with 5 users. I use windows servers, and all my staff have Windows 7 workstations.

I use a mac.

I used to have a Mac Pro and ran VMWARE and my Quickbooks file was hosted on my main file server. I didn't like running vmware, and I also didn't like loosing my desktop every time I wanted to reboot my mac. I wanted to separate the two.

Solution:
I have a 2010 Mac Mini with an OWC 120GB SSD, second drive installed in the optical bay 200GB (the one that came with the mini), and 8GB of ram. This machine runs Windows 7. It runs headless on a APC next to my switch. It's a member of my domain, has MS Office on it, and it's networked to my mac desktop file sharing wise. It is also my Quickbooks server and dedicated remote desktop for me.

I have been using this solution for almost 2 years now and I love it. I can grab that desktop from my iPhone, iPad, any desktop and stay on the same page. The remote instance runs very fast and I have no issues with lag...especially when I went into Windows settings and optimized for performance and got rid of all the Aero BS. I also installed Thinstuff terminal server and now it's a powerful little Terminal Server and it can serve Quickbooks up to 3 different desktops at one time. I manage 2 different companies so this is very good for me so I can pull up both files at the same time off the same Mini Quickbooks Home Made Terminal Server.

The evolution of this solution will take place once I get my new iMac, I will migrate this setup to 2011 Mini that has 16GG of ram and a much faster OWC and SSD, plus second drive as well. I'm thinking about getting a second monitor with a big monitor arm for my desk and a virtual KVM. http://synergy-foss.org

Or I'm going to setup a new Virtual Machine on my new ESXi 5 Server, it has endless cores, ram, and runs on a Raid 5 array with SSDs.. the read write speeds are 1500 and I have test opened Quickbooks files served off it and they open instantly..

Hope that helps

I guess I'm a little slow, at least when it comes to Windows. Why do you care about the DT on windows? I run Parallels with 2 tax programs and when I want to run them or open a file I just dbl clk and it's open. No problem and I don't care what the DT looks like, if you are only running 1 or 2 programs, I don't see the problem.

theluggage · Sep 22, 2012

cape cod wahine said:
Hi,
I am a current macbook pro user, but need to run quickbooks. The mac version is not good, so I need to run it on the Windows operating system. I do not like to us vm ware fusion as it appears unstable. I was going to buy a pc laptop, but none seem to be near as nice as the macbook pro.
Thanks!!

Seriously, this is what VMWare, Parallels, or VirtualBox are made for. If you were trying to run games or high-end creative software then they might have issues, but for something like QuickBooks they shouldn't break a sweat. VirtualBox (free) running an old copy of Windows XP might be enough.

Parallels has very slick integration with OS X but maybe less of a reputation for stability, and the company are a bit greedy about charging for updates - VMWare is usually playing catchup on integration but the company has a better rep. but I don't think you'll go far wrong with either.

The only tips are (a) I'd recommend you have at least 4GB and preferably 8GB RAM, but that's gonna be a lot cheaper than buying a new Mac! (b) As far as possible try to avoid too much stuff that installs its own auto update stuff on Windows (Yes Adobe, Yes HP Priinter Drivers, I'm looking at you!) as this tends to slow down startup and wake from 'saved state'.

If you do buy another machine just for Windows + Quickbooks then, unless you're made of money, I'd just get a cheap netbook or chunky entry-level laptop. They're not that bad and you can go back to the Mac for nice things.

TedM · Sep 24, 2012

GGJstudios said:
Why not run Windows via Boot Camp on your current Mac? There's no need to buy a new computer for that.

This is exactly what I would do. especially if your current mac has no other outstanding issues.

JoeRito · Sep 24, 2012

+1 for Parallels 8... nice product, lets me run heavy win7 apps on my MBP with no sweat.

Winni · Sep 24, 2012

cape cod wahine said:
Hi,
I am a current macbook pro user, but need to run quickbooks. The mac version is not good, so I need to run it on the Windows operating system. I do not like to us vm ware fusion as it appears unstable. I was going to buy a pc laptop, but none seem to be near as nice as the macbook pro. I particularly despise the track pad on the pcs, but love them on the macbooks. My question is this, why not buy a dedicated macbook or mac air to only run the windows operating system from within bootcamp?
Thanks!!

In my experience, VMWare Fusion is rock solid, no matter what guest operating system you run in it.

However, I never understood why people buy expensive Macs only to add complexity to their lives by running a SECOND operating system on that machine. When OS X cannot do ALL the work, then OS X is the wrong platform for you and you're better of with a pure Windows machine.

Now would I buy an Apple machine to only run Windows (or Linux) on it? I know people who've done that and who are happy with their "Apple PCs".

Personally, I'm no longer willing to pay for the brand name and it's more important to me that the machine is quiet, extensible (both internally and externally via various ports) and compatible with alternate Open Source operating systems. In this regard, a Zotac Zbox already does a MUCH better job than a Mac Mini that costs more than twice as much.

Ariii · Sep 25, 2012

If you don't like the TrackPad drivers under Windows, a USB mouse might be fine if it's not your main OS... some people even like it better. If you do decide to buy a different machine, I suggest getting something like a ThinkPad T42 off of eBay... you can find them for under $100 there in some cases.

MaggieNoodle · Nov 25, 2012

Ditch the Mac and buy a PC. You can buy a PC that is much more powerful than a Mac (And a ton cheaper too). And you're right, you wont have the advantages of not being able to take out your battery or having innovative, revolutionary, magical and intuitive touch controls if you buy a PC...

I'd rather purchase a high end PC for $600 instead of buying a midrange mac for $1600.

Intel Core i7 4Ghz
12GB Corsair DIMM DDR3
Crossfire Ati Radeon 6870 (x2 GPU)
1200W PSU
1TB Hard Disk
Liquid Cooling
EVGA X58 SLI3 Hyperthreaded motherboard

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