I am trying to figure out the pros/cons of installing Windows 10 (when it arrives to consumers) via Bootcamp vs. Parallels. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I'm sorry if there is already a thread on this...i didn't see one.
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Bootcamp vs. Parallels
- Thread starter DaWhiteCastle
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Boot Camp installs Windows natively on your Mac, essentially making it a full-fledged Windows computers. Parallels installs Windows in a virtual environment, allowing you to run it without leaving OS X. Which option you choose depends on what exactly you will be doing with Windows.
Theres been a great many threads on it since 2006. 
What will you be using Windows 10 for?
Apps that work best with direct hardware access work best via BootCamp e.g. Games, CAD software etc.
What will you be using Windows 10 for?
Apps that work best with direct hardware access work best via BootCamp e.g. Games, CAD software etc.
Boot Camp is going to offer "bare metal" performance. There is no virutualization so the performance is the same as a PC with identical specifications. Parallels runs on top of OS X and therefore you are balancing system resources between the two operating systems. A neat option in Parallels is that you can install Windows via Boot Camp but still use Parallels when in OS X. When you need full "bare metal" performance like for Photoshop, gaming, CAD, etc. you can boot fully into Windows.
Pros/cons are the same as they have been with any version of Windows. You don't need to look specifically for Windows 10 threads.
Bootcamp is native speed, so it is best for complex tasks and gaming. Virtualbox/Parallels/Vmware are solutions to run Windows as an application of OSX. It runs in a window inside OSX, so speed is heavily reduced; the computer has to divide resources to run both OS. It is more for simple tasks like MS Office.
Not quite true - depends on the spec of the Mac. I've happily had test servers running Apps and SQL for things like MS System Centre and other enterprise apps within Parallels no problem on my rMBP.
To say it'll only run Office is a massive simplification.
To say it'll only run Office is a massive simplification.