PLZ HELP: Running windows of macbook

[budge9]

Firstly, please excuse my lack of knowledge but this is one apple area in which I have no idea.

Basically I have a macbook but I need to use Microsoft Access.
Unfortunately there is no version for mac so I need to run it on windows.

I have heard that it is possible to run windows on a macbook and so I could therefore use this to run Access in windows on my mac.

Right so questions.
I've read that you need an intel mac in order to be able to run windows.
Mine is about 2 years old so is it likely that it will be an intel macbook?

Also if it is an intel one what do I then need to run windows?
I've heard about bootcamp and parralels- do I need to purchase one of these??

Also if I do manage to install windows on my macbook will it be exactly like being on a pc- ie. will it be possible for me download access from internet just like in on a pc?

Sorry for all the questions but this is one area where I am very very very confused!

Many thanks!

 

[spinnerlys]

Booting Windows on the Mac

If you have a MacBook you have an Intel CPU, as Apple uses Intel CPUs since 2006 and renamed most of their Macs, except the iMac and Mac mini and Xserve.

If you have read that link, you might conclude, that running Windows as a VM might be the easiest way and your MB should handle that, though consider upgrading your RAM to at least 2GB or even 4GB if you haven't done that yet.

 

[Hellhammer]

All MacBooks have an Intel CPU.

Boot Camp is free and it lets you run Windows natively, meaning that you will boot into Windows, exactly same as in regular PC.

Parallels is not free but it lets you run Windows along with OS X, meaning that you don't need to reboot in order to use Windows. This is heavier than running it through Boot Camp as you're running two OSs at the same time. I would recommend to get at least 4GB of RAM so it will operate smoother.

Both will run Windows normally so you can use ALL apps that you can use in a PC. Parallels is not suitable for gaming as it has no direct access to the GPU but if you're not gaming, then it's just fine. If Access is all you need, I would use Parallels as that's much easier. You don't want to reboot everytime you need to use Access