Parallels/Games

[GaresTaylan]

Hey everyone. I have been thinking of purchasing Parallels. I have some games that play great in Windows 7 via Bootcamp on my iMac (see sig) but play horribly in Parallels.

I understand that Boot Camp is the far superior solution, but I do enjoy the ability to switch between Snow Leopard and Win7 on the fly.

My question is really around whats holding me back. I am using the trial version of Parallels. Is it Parallels, my RAM (I have 2GB alotted to Win7) or because it emulates a video card I believe? These arent intense games... things like Icewind Dale and Diablo II.

Thanks for any help.

 

[MacDawg]

Virtualization will never give you the performance you want
If you game... Boot Camp
It really is that simple

Woof, Woof - Dawg

 

[GaresTaylan]

Virtualization will never give you the performance you want
If you game... Boot Camp
It really is that simple

Woof, Woof - Dawg

Thanks

 

[1ofthedavids]

I agree with MacDawg. Virtualization is never going to compare to native hardware. The virtual hardware and drivers just can't compare to the native drivers and offer you the performance of the native stuff.

I bought a copy of VMWare to boot my Windows partition for simple stuff (Spreadsheets, some Win-only apps), but when I want to play a game, I always just boot from Boot Camp.

If you're thinking about buying Parallels, or any other VM solution, just consider what you'd be using it for. If you're doing some simple stuff here and there, it's not bad to have around to use, but if you're primarily gaming, then it's not really suitable.

 

[GaresTaylan]

I appreciate the feedback. I was hoping that even something simple like running an emulator would be fine, but I get some chopping video and sound. There are a few people at work that swear by running games in Parallels and that is why I checked it out. Not sure what they were thinking!

Too bad I cant run windows and use Parallels to boot into Snow Leopard.

 

[MacDawg]

Some of it depends on the actual games
Some of it depends on the settings you use for Parallels and the games
Some of it depends on your expectations for performance

In the end, I think you would be disappointed

Woof, Woof - Dawg

 

[VPrime]

Oldergames (like diablo 2 you said) should play fine in a VM depending on your hardware.

I think you should beable to play Diablo2 in parallels with out any issues.

 

[GaresTaylan]

Hmm.. maybe Ill have to play with the settings more. I think Ive pretty much decided just to use bootcamp. When almost all of the above mentioned games (plus others) play I have a lot of lag in video and poor audio.

 

[maflynn]

I'd recommend on not spending too much time trying to get the game going smoothly, since others have stated that virtualization has too much overhead and no direct access to the hardware to make it a serious contender for games.

Just my $.02