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Parallels VS Bootcamp

D

dacoolest

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 11, 2011
184
0
Hi, I want to install windows 7 but I'm confused which method I should use to install it. I will be using the Windows OS for mainly to run Visual Studio 2010, Office application. Which method should I use? And I have a questions about the Parallels, would it slow down my mac in any way ,when parallels is not being used (such as loading its components upon system startup and consuming memory in that way etc) ?

My computer is a late 2011 macbook pro with 4GB RAM.
 
No. But when you are using it it will. I recommend boot camp though. You will get native speeds that way.
 
Bobby.e said:
No. But when you are using it it will. I recommend boot camp though. You will get native speeds that way.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.

Could any Parallels users please tell me about the battery life you get when using windows through parallels?
 
Parallels wil have some helpers that load at login. I don't frequently unplug my MacBook Pro (same model as yours), so I'm not sure how that affects battery life.

If you're worried about battery life, I'd honestly use Boot Camp instead just because when you're in Parallels, you're at the very minimum that Visual Studio 2010 needs to run if at default settings and it's one of those programs that run the CPU usage pretty high.

You might want to look at using CrossOver for the office programs. http://www.codeweavers.com/
 
I really haven't had any issues with battery life using VMWare (I use VMWare instead of parallels because it deals with Linux VMs better).

I have had times that I run on battery all day - maybe give it a quick shot of charge at lunch time. I have 8G RAM on my MBP though, so not much paging occurs.
 
With only 4GB RAM, I would use BootCamp now. For me, both Lion and Win7 require 4GB RAM each to be useable.

Keep in mind you can set up Parallels to use your BootCamp partition as a Virtual Machine. So later if you get more RAM you will easily be able virtualize your boot camp partition with Parallels.
 
If you think you can get by without having to frequently switch among programs in OS X and Windows, then I feel Bootcamp is totally the way to go. You know, sort of live life in OS X then have a long session in Windows now and then for specific activities.

I have used Parallels for years. It's more demanding on battery and other resources and was the principal reason for my upgrade to 8GB of RAM. But I need the ability to switch between OS and Windows quickly and often. Great way to go in that case.
 
Thanks for all replies. I thought of giving it a try since they provide trial versions. Perhaps I might have to add more RAM or move to BootCamp it seems though.
 
If you use the Windows applications only occasionally, and have to use Mac stuff at the same time then Parallels. If not, Bootcamp.

On the other hand you have to dedicate a bunch of space to the Windows partitiion; with Parallels you can be more frugal with space.

I'd start with Parallels and if it doesn't work for you then Bootcamp.

Rob
 
Along the lines of this thread, what about for gaming purposes? I know the Macbook isn't exactly a gaming powerhouse, but running Parallels now, it seems like a resource hog when trying to swap back and forth between OS X and Windows. Would it be better to run Boot Camp for games instead of Parallels?
 
Sylon said:
Along the lines of this thread, what about for gaming purposes? I know the Macbook isn't exactly a gaming powerhouse, but running Parallels now, it seems like a resource hog when trying to swap back and forth between OS X and Windows. Would it be better to run Boot Camp for games instead of Parallels?
Click to expand...

Yes. Boot Camp >> Parallels for games.
 
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