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Bootcamp, Parallels or VMFusion?

h1r0ll3r

h1r0ll3r

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Dec 28, 2009
3,920
19
Maryland
I recently purchased a new MBP and am loving it so far. What I have come to realize is that I still can't part with my PC programs....yet.

I hear a lot of different things/opinions about what software runs PC programs the best on a Mac. I'm a Macn00b so whatever is the easiest to run with/operate is probably going to be the best for me. So, my question is, what is the best software to run PC programs on your Mac?
 
I'm personally a fan of VMware Fusion, but you'll find an equal number of fans of Parallels Desktop and VirtualBox. What do you need Windows for? Will you be doing any gaming or processor-intensive tasks under Windows?
 
If you have the hard drive space use bootcamp. Much better performance. That's all I use on my machines. I run a lot of Audio Editing/Creation software in both mac and windows so virtualizing a machine isn't much of an option.
 
I use Bootcamp+Fusion. Since the 3.1 update i think its superior to parallels.
The cool thing is that you actually use the same partition. I use fusion for light things, and bootcamp for gaming.
 
I'm primarily in need of using Office 2010 on my MBP. I've tried using Mac Office 08 and it's quite lacking to say the least compared even to Office 2007 for PC. That and there are a couple odds and ends programs (nothing major) that I'd need to run as well. That plus a few games too.
 
h1r0ll3r said:
I'm primarily in need of using Office 2010 on my MBP. I've tried using Mac Office 08 and it's quite lacking to say the least compared even to Office 2007 for PC. That and there are a couple odds and ends programs (nothing major) that I'd need to run as well. That plus a few games too.
Click to expand...
I would suggest using Boot Camp for the games, as although the newer virtualization suites have brought remarkable performance improvements for gaming, Boot Camp will always be better. The latest version of VMware Fusion has brought huge performance improvements for virtualizing Boot Camp partitions, so a combination of both methods would be the most convenient solution.
 
Office 2011 is due out later this year. There is a beta out that you could probably get to see if that works better for you. I can also recommend Apple's iWork suite.

Except for games, I think you will find that most applications have much better alternatives for OSX. Let us know what you need I'm sure you will get good suggestions.
 
in my opinion and experience bout macs, no matter how you roll the dice, using bootcamp will be the best choice. Period.
 
In Parallels you can launch your windows application (from the windows application menu on the dock) and it would automatically launch the OS and the app. The nice part is the application pops up within the OSX desktop as if it is an OSX app which can save alot of hassle in managing your workspace when working with OSX and Windows apps in unison. Unfortunately I can't comment if this feature is available on VMware or Virtualbox as I've never used them.
 
Boot Camp + either VM suite will be fine for you. I personally run BC + Parallels 5 that runs a VM of my Boot Camp installation whenever I need quick access to something on the Windows side.
 
Thanks everyone for helping out this n00b here. I'll tinker around with this here and hopefully find a good solution. Thanks again.
 
seems like the OP has been helped and is satisfied with the response, so i think its ok for me to hi jack this thread...

Im planning on using Boot Camp and VM fusion, I already know that I'm gonna use Boot Camp for SC2 for maximum performance, but what about for video editing, i.e. Sony Vegas Studios? If I run it via VM fusion, where should I save the video files that ill be editing? OS partition or Windows? should I run it on Boot Camp instead?

BTW how much HDD space should I dedicate for the Windows 7 partition if I want SC2, LOTR BFME (lord of the rings RTS game), Sony Vegas, and Sportsbook Poker ???
 
I use bootcamp and parallels. Bootcamp for gaming and intensive engineering programs, and parallels for office and other light programs/apps. What ever works best for you, but this seems to work well for me.
 
If you're looking for ease of use, I'd recommend VMWare fusion. If you want the complete windows experience, use boot camp. Nothing beats that since you get complete devotion of system resources to one OS unlike the OS within an OS system for parallels or vmware.
 
mansanas said:
seems like the OP has been helped and is satisfied with the response, so i think its ok for me to hi jack this thread...

Im planning on using Boot Camp and VM fusion, I already know that I'm gonna use Boot Camp for SC2 for maximum performance, but what about for video editing, i.e. Sony Vegas Studios? If I run it via VM fusion, where should I save the video files that ill be editing? OS partition or Windows? should I run it on Boot Camp instead?

BTW how much HDD space should I dedicate for the Windows 7 partition if I want SC2, LOTR BFME (lord of the rings RTS game), Sony Vegas, and Sportsbook Poker ???
Click to expand...
It's never ok to hijack a thread. Go make a new one. It doesn't cost anything. :rolleyes:
 
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