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vmware fusion 4 or parallels 7?

D

dfusion-

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 15, 2010
48
0
hey guys, currently i have an iMac:) Over some weeks i need to run some windows programs. So i have a questions: what is the main difference between vmware fusion 4 and parallels 7? And which one would you choose?:)

they seem all the same to me :p
 
The answer is something of a moving target. Both products are new and re-designed to work well with Lion. They tend to be upgraded frequently and in tandem. In past versions, Parallels has been faster than Fusion by a considerable margin, but VMWare has had better support. Reviews are still not fully available but the initial input on Parallels is favorable. I have used both on my Mac Pro without issue, but I have found Parallels to be faster by a significant amount. I am now using Parallels 7 under Lion, and it is performing well without any issues. I have not yet upgraded Fusion to version 4 and, based on my initial experiences, I may not bother.
 
I had both installed on OSX Lion, Fusion worked better for me. Parallels didn't work with some of the software I needed to run. I purchased Fusion. try both see what works with what your do'in.
 
And search here; someone posted a benchmark and the results were virtually (heh) identical. So maybe price, or the bells and whistles they attach to make it easy to use.

Rob
 
I haven't tried Fusion 4, but I had the previous version on my old Macbook Pro. So for my new iMac I decided to try Parallels. And so far I have been pretty impressed with Parallels. It seems to offer more features and is fully integrated into Lion. I also had a bootcamp partition that I previously installed (which parallels was able to fully integrate within minutes). I don't think I will ever go back to bootcamp or Fusion after using Parallels.

Also, here is a pretty good comparison of the performance: http://www.lifeintech.com/blog/2011/9/17/fusion-4-vs-parallels-7-which-is-better.html
 
If you aren't in need of any specific features in particular take a look at VirtualBox.

It is FREE and works great for me when I need to run 'some windows programs.'
 
I returned parallel 7 for a refund. Theynhave a bug in which iSight fails if the virtual machine has over 2 GB RAM.
 
VirtualBox - if you can live with random freezes and not so shiny interface.
Fusion - If you want a good combo of speed and stability.
Parallels - If you want a bit more speed than Fusion but don't mind the sporadic crashes and other unexpected and inexplicable instabilities like network not connecting after sleep/wake etc.

Based on my recent experience - I own both Fusion 4 and P7.
 
Parallels 7

Recently upgraded from version 6 to version 7. Works great, no problems using both XP and Win7.
 
product26 said:
If you aren't in need of any specific features in particular take a look at VirtualBox.

It is FREE and works great for me when I need to run 'some windows programs.'
Click to expand...

I concur. If you don't have mission critical needs I wouldn't even consider a paid-for solution. Switched from Fusion to Virtualbox two years ago and do not notice the difference performance wise, but my needs are casual. I use it successfully for Windows XP and 7.

[I like free! :D]
 
I'm partial to Vmware thanks in part to their rock solid product and their excellent top notch support.

From the benchmarks and reviews floating around the intarweb, I'd say both are closely matched performance wise. It all boils down to personal preference. Since both offer trials, try both and see which one you prefer
 
jim31 said:
Recently upgraded from version 6 to version 7. Works great, no problems using both XP and Win7.
Click to expand...

I have a copy of 6 that I haven't installed yet -- will P6 work with Lion, or do I need to pay for an upgrade already?
 
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