For Windows-based Quickbooks: BootCamp, Parallels, or VMWare?

[Luke1robb]

Hey all,

I realize this general question is asked ALOT, but I can't seem to find one that is specifically geared towards the QuickBooks question.

So I'm gonna give my mom my 13" Unibody Aluminum MacBook 2.0GHz with 2GB RAM and a 160GB HDD.

She NEEDS to run the Windows version of Quickbooks and I'm wondering whether to set her up in BootCamp, Parallels, or VMWare.

She doesn't necessarily need to virtual machine and she probably won't use more than 20 GB TOTAL(!), but what are your thoughts?

1) BootCamp?
2) Parallels?
3) VMWare?

Thanks for the help in advance!
Luke

 

[MikePA]

I recommend Parallels. I use it to run Quicken2009 under Win2007 on my iMac. I've also tried VMWare. I'd think either Parallels or VMWare would be much better than having to reboot just to use 1 package.

 

[maflynn]

I'd recommend VMware fusion,
I've used both parallels and vmware and I can safely say that VMware is much more of a stable product. The last thing you want to do is recommend an application that may give your mom more headaches then its worth.

Parallels provides better performance in opengl and directx so it's performance is better then vmware for games and such but parallels has poor customer support reputation and it typically adds more features more frequently that can affect stability.

Vmware may update their application less frequently but they're more stable updates, they put more of onus on fixing/improving existing features then continually throwing in new features willy-nilly. Their support is top notch as well. I cannot recommend them higher.

 

[photonut]

i am running quicken 2010 (windows version) within vmware, window 7 ultimate and it works perfectly. however, only one mac account will have access to the vmware software, even if full permissions are granted to other users. if your mac has only a single user, this will not be an issue for you. i have been trying to allow different mac user accounts to log onto the same vmware progam, but no success so far!

 

[Luke1robb]

So no to BootCamp?

I'd think either Parallels or VMWare would be much better than having to reboot just to use 1 package.

So the gist of what I'm getting here is BootCamp would be a not so great idea?

She will mostly be using QuickBooks during the day, but I'd like to convert her over to Mac OS X for recreational use. Perhaps a virtual machine is the way to go.

Also, due to the fact that she doesn't play games or need anything fancy, it sounds like VMWare is the way to go; more stable and geared towards her.

Has anyone tried doing this on BootCamp? Was it too frustrating to reboot?