Parallels 6 vs. Bootcamp for Programming

[KyleKlink]

I searched the forums for an answer to this question but didn't really find one that fit my situation.

I just bought a 13" MBP for use at school and work. I need to use Visual Studio 2010 for C++ programming and wondered whether it would be best to do so through bootcamp or through Parallels 6. Many of the threads I found said gaming would be better through bootcamp, but I didn't find anything mentioning programming.

Would Parallels 6 be an acceptable choice for running Visual Studio, or would I be better off using bootcamp? I don't do any gaming and can run everything on Mac OS except for Visual Studio. I'd prefer using Parallels so I don't have to reboot, but I want to make sure it's going to run smoothly.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

How much RAM do you have? If you have 4 GB and more and depending on the Windows version, Parallels Desktop might be a good solution.
You could also test it with the 14-day trial of Parallels Desktop.

 

[mslide]

Running Windows inside a Virtual Machine will be good enough for your needs. If you haven't already purchased Parallels, you might want to try out Virtual Box. It's free and works well. That's what I use to run Windows.

 

[KyleKlink]

How much RAM do you have? If you have 4 GB and more and depending on the Windows version, Parallels Desktop might be a good solution.
You could also test it with the 14-day trial of Parallels Desktop.

I have 4GB right now, upgrading to 8GB by the end of the week. I have a copy of Parallels 6 that I got "free" with a previous Mac purchase but never used. I was considering using that with a copy of Windows Home Premium 64-bit. I'd hate to use bootcamp when it's just one program that I need from Windows.

 

[charlieegan3]

boot camp would be faster but most likely not the best option for you.

 

[thundersteele]

Parallels should be fine, in particular with 8 GB of RAM. Compile times are usually not an issue, and your typing speed is also not affected by any performance loss due to Parallels.