Boot Camp or Notebook

[nikkor]

I have a problem that I need advice on. I have to purchase a piece of software to help me with some rental property i am buying. It is from Quicken and it only runs on Windows. From what I read it looks like I have two options.

1. Install Windows 7 through Boot Camp on my Macbook Pro 15" (Intel based).

2. Buy a cheap as notebook or laptop for this sole purpose.

I have never ran windows on my mac and I don't get a good feeling about it. On the other hand, I don't want to end up spening $600 on computer and software when I should be able to do it for under $300.

Does anyone have advice, recommendations, suggestions, words of caution, etc. that might help me make up my mind?

 

[thegoldenmackid]

I'm fairly certain that you could buy a cheap used computer, if you are solely running Quicken, go buy a budget PC and a CRT or do you need the portability?

 

[maflynn]

Buy an oem version of windows on newegg, much cheaper then retail.

Given that you only need to run one program, I'd go the virtualization route, either vmware or virtualbox (free) You can then load up windows 7 in vmware (or virtualbox), install the software and you're off like a herd of turtles 🙂

 

[1ofthedavids]

Buy an oem version of windows on newegg, much cheaper then retail.

Given that you only need to run one program, I'd go the virtualization route, either vmware or virtualbox (free) You can then load up windows 7 in vmware (or virtualbox), install the software and you're off like a herd of turtles 🙂

I second maflynn's notion. VirtualBox is free, and if you're only running a single app, you shouldn't have to dedicate a lot of resources to your virtual machine. You could utilize the trials of VMWare FUsion and Parallels 5 to see if they fit your needs better, but honestly, from what I can see of this thread, VirtualBox would work fine since you only need Windows for one application.

 

[Hellhammer]

How about Parallels or Fusion? Then you wouldn't need to boot to Windows everytime you have to use Quicken. How heavy is Quicken anyway (if it needs power, then Bootcamp is better solution). Moreover, Quicken seems to run OK with CrossOver (an app that lets you run some Windows apps in OS X) so you could download it's trial from here and try how well Quicken runs

 

[psingh01]

VirtualBox (free), Parallels ($$$) or Fusion ($$$) would work great to run windows under OSX. I doubt you need to run it natively under bootcamp. Another option is Crossover. To run windows apps without installing Windows. I think it works with regular Quicken so you shouldn't have a problem.