Disadvantages to a partitioned HD?

[maxeman]

First off I am looking to buy a MBP and have never owned an apple before. I will need to run various types of architectural and estimating software in the near future (Autodesk products, takeoff, SureTrack) which, right now, are only compatible with windows . I have read about Bootcamp and installing windows on an partitioned piece of the hard drive. I had a couple questions regarding the procedure.

Does this void Apple's warranty? Do i need a bigger HD if I intend on doing this? Is it reliable? Is it recommended? What are the key disadvantages?

 

[MacDawg]

Does this void Apple's warranty? Do i need a bigger HD if I intend on doing this? Is it reliable? Is it recommended? What are the key disadvantages?

No, it doesn't void the warranty... you use Apple's Boot Camp software to do it

HDD size will depend on how much you want to allocate to Windows, but you probably won't need a bigger one

Yes, it is reliable, but not without some issues... waiting on a Boot Camp update from Apple

Recommended? Hmmmmm. I prefer using virtualization with Fusion instead, but you can do both. If you need native speed, you will want to Boot Camp.

No disadvantages, just be sure to print the directions and follow them closely

Woof, Woof - Dawg

 

[chrono1081]

I partition my drives all the time, it wont void your warranty as it does nothing to the hardware. There are no disadvantages unless maybe you want to clone a drive.

I too suggest using virtualization like the previous poster mentioned however like he also stated, if you need native speed use bootcamp.

One thing I will suggest is allot a little more space then you think you will need when you partition.

 

[GSMiller]

I have never experienced any issues with partitioning my Macs HDD to install Windows. It's just like having a regular PC and simple to do.

 

[maxeman]

I hate asking but what is "Native Speed"?

 

[whooleytoo]

I hate asking but what is "Native Speed"?

If you boot up your Mac into Windows (using Boot Camp), Windows apps will run at the same speed as they would on a similar-spec PC; there is very, very little difference. This is what the poster meant by native speed.

If you were to run windows within a virtualisation app (such as Fusion or Parallels Desktop), it'll run quite usably, but still a lot slower than the above.

 

[maxeman]

If you boot up your Mac into Windows (using Boot Camp), Windows apps will run at the same speed as they would on a similar-spec PC; there is very, very little difference. This is what the poster meant by native speed.

If you were to run windows within a virtualisation app (such as Fusion or Parallels Desktop), it'll run quite usably, but still a lot slower than the above.

Then why would I want to run virtualisation software when I could get better speeds out of Bootcamp?

 

[1ofthedavids]

Then why would I want to run virtualisation software when I could get better speeds out of Bootcamp?

Convenience. Why bother rebooting into Windows when you can simply launch a virtual machine from within OS X, if you don't need native speeds.

 

[Infrared]

A disadvantage for traditional spinning drives (as opposed to,
say, SSDs) is that I/O performance for later partitions suffers.

 

[whooleytoo]

Then why would I want to run virtualisation software when I could get better speeds out of Bootcamp?

As 1ofthedavids pointed out above - the advantage is convenience.

With Boot Camp you need to restart to switch between Windows and Mac apps. With virtualisation, you can run them both side by side, copy and paste between Mac and Windows apps. If you have a multi-screen setup, you could have Windows running on one screen and OSX on the other. Or if you want to use the OSX feature Spaces, you can have dual-screen OSX, then switch Space to dual-screen Windows.

It's a matter of personal priority - do you really need as much speed as possible, or do you really need to run the Mac apps at the same time as your Windows apps?

 

[MacDawg]

With Boot Camp you need to restart to switch between Windows and Mac apps. With virtualisation, you can run them both side by side, copy and paste between Mac and Windows apps. If you have a multi-screen setup, you could have Windows running on one screen and OSX on the other. Or if you want to use the OSX feature Spaces, you can have dual-screen OSX, then switch Space to dual-screen Windows.

Exactly what I do. I have dual screens and I use spaces as well.
Space 1 = OSX
Space 2 = Win 7

Just a keyboard stroke and I my computer can be either machine in an instant

Or you can use Unity mode and see them both at the same time transparently

Woof, Woof - Dawg

 

[JNB]

To the point of "speed," don't assume that your applications will really stress the machine enough to require a true boot into Windows. Typically, only games require all of the hardware capability to run well. As an example, I regularly run a VM of Windows Server 2003 and a proprietary Oracle-dependent app (where the db size can run to >100GB easily), and it is indistinguishable from native hardware in performance. This is giving the VM only half of my hardware to use (1 core, 2GB RAM). In fact, it's competitive in performance to a Level 4 Dell server.

My personal preference is VM, as I can resize it quickly and easily, and not semi-permanantly "wall off" a major chunk of my drive. The aforementioned simultaneous interoperability between Win & Mac environments is a MAJOR boon, as well.