Views on Parallels Desktop

[LeeW]

Hi,

Just looking for some current views on how Parallels Desktop runs with Windows on macOS from people that are actually using it. Seen plenty of reviews around but wanted some up to date views.

Ideally looking to save me some time having to start up the PC to run basic applications that are not particularly intensive, would also be useful to run word/excel also as I not so keen on the Mac versions.

Really all I would be running is Word, Excel, Visio and a few others that are simply easier to work within windows. Nothing that intensive.

Coherence seems like a useful tool to run applications without the need to move away from my mac desktop.

Thanks

 

[HDFan]

Really all I would be running is Word, Excel, Visio and a few others that are simply easier to work within windows.

What don't you like about the Mac versions?




I have had no issues with performance, but I do have an excess of system resources (cpu/ram). I always run in Coherence.

Startup time for Parallels/Windows is roughly equivalent for what you would see on a PC. Took me a bit over 1 minute 30 seconds to boot up Windows 10.

What hardware are you proposing to run it on?

 

[LeeW]

Bad choice of words there, not that I don't like them, I get free licenses from my employer to run on Windows but for some reason, the licenses will not work with Mac versions. So given I need to use Visio and also have access to MS project, parallels appears to be an easy option.

I would be running it on a 2018, 13-inch MBP, base touch bar model with 8GB ram.

I have downloaded the trial of Parallels and it seems to run pretty smoothly with 2GB of ram, that said, for such a short period of time I can't really tell if it will get bloated quickly and need more resource as time goes on.

 

[Phil A.]

For occasional use, why not give VirtualBox a try (it's free!). It isn't as polished or as fast as Parallels or Fusion but it gets the job done and the price can't be beaten!

I used to use Parallels when if first came out and then moved to Fusion but the constant cost of upgrades started to grate after a while and I now find VirtualBox gives me enough functionality and power for my needs.

 

[LeeW]

It isn't as polished or as fast as Parallels

VB is fine, I have used it for many years although it's the features Parallels offers that I want to be honest.

 

[belvdr]

I just ditched Parallels for VMware Fusion 10. Parallels Desktop got to the point where it was taking 2-5 minutes just to launch the application (not including the VM). I tried various steps to resolve it, but I gave up as I just need the thing to work.

I used VirtualBox in the past, and it's what you'd expect for a free hypervisor. I never had any issue with it, but it wasn't the fastest one around.