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So confused... VMWARE or PARALLELS?

Should I choose wmware or parallels

  • Choose VMWare

    Votes: 55 80.9%

  • Choose Parallels

    Votes: 13 19.1%
  • Total voters
    68
M

mariotheotaku

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 16, 2008
155
0
I decided to make my vista BC partition into a virtual machine since I don't use it as much as I wanted, should I use vmware or parallels? what are the mayor advantages of each?

I know I can make my BC partition into a virtual machine with vmware but can you do it with parallels? Also how does cs3 run on a virtual machine?
 
If you run windows based Adobe programs inside virtualization, you defeat many benefits of having OS X, example:

- ability to open many apps documents at once AND switch between different apps without slow downs

- expose (for say choosing the right portrait out of dozens)
 
mariotheotaku said:
I decided to make my vista BC partition into a virtual machine since I don't use it as much as I wanted, should I use vmware or parallels? what are the mayor advantages of each?

I know I can make my BC partition into a virtual machine with vmware but can you do it with parallels? Also how does cs3 run on a virtual machine?
Click to expand...

My vote is for Fusion. Excellent in my opinion. Tried Parallels and didn't get on with really.

You can try them both for free before deciding.

Incidentally, Fusion have just released a beta of version 2. Everyone who has bought/buys v1 gets v2 free!

HTH

- D
 
+1 for vmware.... I love it think it runs xp faster than most standard desktops out there....works very well for the research lab software I run.....
 
I run Parallels and it works really well for me.

I typically run software development environments (Eclipse, NetBeans) which are quite memory intensive, but work well.

I'd recommend downloading the trials of both and seeing which you prefer.
 
I installed the Fusion beta on my macbook earlier this week. I never used software like this so I was more curious. The beta installed easily, has been rock solid so far. I'm using XP with it (for using Money mostly). So far, its good. :) I maxed out the ram on this machine, fyi. :)
 
Another vote for VMWare Fusion.

XP runs better than it did on my old pc notebook.
 
Parallels runs XP better for me. While I don't use the Coherence / Unity mode any more (thanks to Spaces), Coherence (Parallels) was MUCH faster for me.

Don't know why the speeds vary so drastically for people.
 
VMWare Fusion

I have tried nearly all of the virtual application programs to run Winders on my Mac and have concluded that VMWare Fusion is the way to go. I come from the Winders world and support VMWare and Citrix in a large corporate environment. Although Parallels was OK, Fusion did all that Parallels did and is made by VMWare who is the king of the virtual world. Purchase Fusion and do not look back!!!
 
parallels is for windows users

I tried both fusion and parallels when i wanted to virtualise windows, although i never bothered with bootcamp, and decided to go with fusion based on UI. for me parallel has been designed for recent switchers and seems to be 'windows-centric' i.e i couldn't work it because it's like trying to work a windows app. fusion has a much more mac native UI so is easier to understand for me. i've also just downloaded the v2 beta and it looks awesome, really easy to use and some great features. fusion also seems good if you want to dabble in linux.

Also as said before using windows to run CS3 is pointless, get the mac version. also unity in fusion adds an app icon to the dock which can be used to launch fusion,windows and that app, something you find useful if you do use CS3 in windows a lot. I don't know if there is a similar feature in parallels, make sure you try both before making a decision, i think it mostly comes down to personal choice.
 
I have Fusion, but only because I tried the Beta version and got a special price.

I always wondered if there was any difference. You just start up WinXP in it. I think the difference between them is probably a bit exaggerated. Just get the one you like. I don't think you'll be dissatisfied if you bought one and stuck with it.
 
Definitely VMWare Fusion

My vote is for Fusion. I have only been using it for a short time, but I can see already that it's handling of memory is way better. It uses less RAM and frees it all when it's shut down. Parallels fails miserably in this regard.

Both are fast, but use more CPU than they should.

Both have quirky issues with Spaces.

Parallels has a few more features, but I find many of them annoying. (Stop clogging my Finder's "Open With..." menu with multiple copies of all of those darn windows apps I only ever used once! I turned that feature off months ago, too!) :mad:
 
I too would vote for vmware. The software works great and I have enjoyed my extra productivity by having it installed on my system. Defiantly get vmware.
 
VMware

I've tried both Parallels and VMware Fusion. Parallels is on my kids' 2.0GHz iMac (10.4), and VMWare is on my Penryn MacBook Pro (10.5).

I think VMware plays more nicely with OSX than Parallels. By that I mean: Unity is better than Coherence; copying files from OSX to windows (XP for me) and back is easier; and things are just faster. (I can't attribute the speed to the processor differences. It seems much snappier than that alone.)

I will admit that I don't use either often, as the only things I need in Windows are Visio, the ability to watch streaming Netflix movies, and viewing that occasional web page that only works in IE.
 
Thanks for all of the replies guys, for the looks of things I am leaning towards vmware, the only reason I asked about cs3 running on windows is because I am currently getting my degree in web graphic design and you never know if a company uses windows instead of Mac os x. Also with vmware can you use the program and use bootcamp whenever you like?
 
Duuude

mariotheotaku said:
Thanks for all of the replies guys, for the looks of things I am leaning towards vmware, the only reason I asked about cs3 running on windows is because I am currently getting my degree in web graphic design and you never know if a company uses windows instead of Mac os x. Also with vmware can you use the program and use bootcamp whenever you like?
Click to expand...

If you're getting a job in web/graphic design and the company uses Windows, you're working for the WRONG company, my man. No joke.

The good companies always give their designers the choice of platforms.
 
I would DEFINITELY vote for VMWare, it's never given me any trouble running off my boot camp partition, while Parallels tried to hose it, and left me with 2 additional boot options that don't boot.
 
The only issue with Fusion I've had is the lack of a snapshot manager. This is something that Parallels has, and matters to me. Parallels lets you take many, relabel them etc. Fusion only lets you take one, and that's it.

However, I've found with Fusion, you can manage the snapshots yourself, i.e. move them around in OSX Finder and shift to external storage etc. It's a little more work though.
 
+1 VMware Fusion

Fusion works so seemlessly, it actually improves windows.

Both full screen and unity modes work seemlessly with expose and spaces.

The only thing to note is, I've only ever used Vmware/parallels on Macs with 4GB RAM in them...
 
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