VMware Launches 'Fusion 5' Virtualization Software, Parallels 8 Coming September 4

[adbe]

For anyone that's used this before, how well does it run? I always wondered if you ran something like this all the programs would run a lot slower than they would on an actual PC machine.

Not really. VMs do have a performance hit, which will be more noticeable when running applications that do low level things (I.E. games hitting OpenGL drivers, or audio apps expecting ASIO drivers), but for general desktop work, the experience is plenty good enough.

You do need a lot of RAM though. OSX wants ~2GB just running idle, and Win7 is going to want 2GB also, so 4GB of system RAM ion your Mac is a minimum, but more is desirable.

 

[blevins321]

VMWare needs a cheaper slimmed down version of Fusion for those of us who DON'T give a crap about all the Windows integration.

This. I use Parallels, but it needs to have the same thing. I just find it more stable than Virtualbox. I HATE having applications integrated between the OS's. It always seems to change my file associations. I also disable Crystal mode. Maybe $35 for the slimmed version and the $50 for the integrated one?

 

[MrCrowbar]

Fusion 5? Why would that call it that?! Clearly it's going to be Fusion 6!

Fusion 6 has already been trademarked by Gilette for their 6-bladed razor.

 

[TsunamiTheClown]

I'm not sure how sustainable a business model it is for VMWare and Parallels to release minor updates for $49 every year. It would be nice if Fusion 5 and Parallels 8 were instead released as "4.2" and "7.1" at no charge for existing Fusion 4.1 and Parallels 7 owners. Upgrading an OS every year is one thing if it is going to be $20, but $49 is a bit much.

i agree, especially since the price to upgrade Parallels is more that buying OSX

 

[pumpkinwhite]

Both VMWare Fusion and Parallels Desktop were offered in bundles this year. Upgrade for both won't be free. Was expecting this. Parallels is especially good at milking customers. So I'm not surprised that they conveniently kept the 'free update' deadline a month after the bundle. But that doesn't mean I hate it any less .

VMWare has been reasonable with their upgrades so far, so cannot hate them as much. Also, their bundle was in March, so people at least got a few months out of the latest version.

Buying these virtualization softwares is almost becoming like buying Macs. You need to buy them as soon as they come out, so that you don't get buyers remorse if the latest version if it comes out soon after your purchase .

 

[haruhiko]

What's Windows Vista?

The biggest promoter of Mac OS X

 

[TsunamiTheClown]

For anyone that's used this before, how well does it run? I always wondered if you ran something like this all the programs would run a lot slower than they would on an actual PC machine.

I run XP on a VM and it runs snappier than safari. Seriously my virtual box is faster that most non-virtualized windows machines that I have run.

You just need a few gigs of ram you can dedicate to the VM while its running, i recommend 6-8 total gig system memory. That should be a plenty for light work.

 

[adbe]

which is cheaper and better Vision 5 or parallels 8?

On balance I personally prefer Fusion. The last time I checked Fusion was cheaper than Parallels too.

That said, both have features that the other lacks, or implements badly. If you have specific Windows/Linux software needs, use the trial versions to test thoroughly. Especially the case if your software requires good OpenGL support (games, or 3D editing) say. The preferences of random Internet posters aren't worth much if one VM host simply doesn't work for your needs.

 

[Bezetos]

I wish I was so lucky, my work is still on Windows Vista. I have to restart my computer twice a day just so I can do my job.

My usual advice is to upgrade RAM. I had a horrible experience with Vista until I've doubled my RAM from 1GB to 2GB, that was around 4 years ago. It's still a piece of horse manure though and miles behind Windows 7, which is a million times better.

 

[57004]

This is the most awesome feature imo:

Image

You can finally create virtual networks!

Yeah that's the only thing in the pro version that I would be interested in.. But not worth double the price for me.. I'll stick with the normal one. Would have been very handy though!

Looks like there is no reduced upgrade price for Fusion 4 to Fusion 5. But there is a discounted upgrade for Fusion 4 to Fusion Pro 5 at £34/$50.

Where do you see this? I don't see it anywhere. If I click on Upgrades -> VMWare Fusion in the store, it doesn't respond.

 

[SlyMac]

I kinda figured that paralells 8 was coming soon when the guy at MicroCenter who got my new macbook for me was trying to shove a discounted 20 dollar copy of paralells 7 down my throat. Glad I declined all 27 times it was suggested to me.

Although, if the free upgrade turns true, I may have missed out on a discount depending on how far they went back.

 

[iMacFarlane]

What's Windows Vista?

Don't ask ME

 

[BornAgainMac]

VMWare 5 looks like a solid update. Looking forward to see what Parallels 8 does next month.

 

[NewbieCanada]

For anyone that's used this before, how well does it run? I always wondered if you ran something like this all the programs would run a lot slower than they would on an actual PC machine.

It depends on the machine and the app.

For example, Windows in Parallels on my rMBP is way faster than it is on my Core2Duo Windows machine at work. SSD drive, faster processor, more and faster memory, etc.

But if you're comparing Apples to Apples, so to speak, processor intensive apps will run at pretty much the same speed, but graphics-intensive apps won't

 

[SlyMac]

What's Windows Vista?

It is that which we never speak of.

 

[Marx55]

Does MWare Fusion 5 allow to virtualize Mac OS X 10.6.8 (Snow leopard) to run rosetta applications like Eudora, Canvas or Palm Desktop? VMware Fusion 4.1.0 allowed that.

 

[q64ceo]

I'm not sure how sustainable a business model it is for VMWare and Parallels to release minor updates for $49 every year. It would be nice if Fusion 5 and Parallels 8 were instead released as "4.2" and "7.1" at no charge for existing Fusion 4.1 and Parallels 7 owners. Upgrading an OS every year is one thing if it is going to be $20, but $49 is a bit much.

The updates are not always so minor. Parallels, for instance, extremely improves graphics performance every new version.

VMWare cannot come even close to what Parallels does on graphics. For instance, I can play GTA IV using parallels (medium settings), trying to do that on VMWare would be insane

 

[Tortri]

Both VMWare Fusion and Parallels Desktop were offered in bundles this year. Upgrade for both won't be free. Was expecting this. Parallels is especially good at milking customers. So I'm not surprised that they conveniently kept the 'free update' deadline a month after the bundle. But that doesn't mean I hate it any less .

VMWare has been reasonable with their upgrades so far, so cannot hate them as much. Also, their bundle was in March, so people at least got a few months out of the latest version.

Buying these virtualization softwares is almost becoming like buying Macs. You need to buy them as soon as they come out, so that you don't get buyers remorse if the latest version if it comes out soon after your purchase .

That's why I hate the company parallels. They did this to me with v5 then v6 came out soon after and I was like WTH. After that they won't get my money anymore for that scam. I saw the great sale for v7 but knew v8 was around the corner and its BS how they do this, so people like me keep the older version but they intentionally drop os support making bold statements saying "oh sorry your version isn't compatible with the newest OS" so if you update your OS you're forced to buy the update.

 

[babyj]

Where do you see this? I don't see it anywhere. If I click on Upgrades -> VMWare Fusion in the store, it doesn't respond.

As I said before, their site is all over the place at present.

But if you click the upgrade link on Fusion 5 or Fusion 5 Professional, if you scroll to the bottom the prices given state they are for upgrades to Professional. Though it's confusing as the rest of the page doesn't say anything about it being an upgrade to Professional.

They've also changed the price now, gone up to £37 in the UK.

 

[azahar]

Virtualbox

Does nobody use VirtualBox anymore?
I find it a great freebie alternative, having used Parallels in the past.

 

[tigres]

I love VM, but I am growing tired of every single year giving them 79, 69, or 50 just to make it compliant with OS X.

Sticking with VM4, hoping I can somehow re-install my licensed copy over the preview that I am running without too many issues.

Passing this year.

 

[jkmags]

I had posted in the mac apps forum that i was not going to upgrade my Fusion4 until i read some reviews but i too agree they are like Apple in that you seem to get the most for your money if you update earlier in the life cycle before they release a new version for more $$s.

The update is pretty smooth and fairly quick to apply. it updates the VMware Fusion version installed on your MacOS then as you start your virtual machines it will prompt you to update the VMware version for each instance you have configured as you start them.

I did see a new VMware SVGA 3d video driver and I was able to play Skyrim without it crashing the VM after starting (which i could not do before). I run both Windows 7 and XP Pro in VM on my iMac and both run all my applications as efficiently as if I was running natively. The only thing I was never able to do was run any Windows 7 games that required a little more graphics power within the VM, that may have been addressed with the last release.

Now that i upgraded my VMware Fusion 4 to 5 I am sure they will send me some coupon code for a discount in a week or 2, that might bother me a little but otherwise if you are looking for a VM solution I would recommend Fusion5 (unless it crashes in the next couple days).


Im running some data transfers to my Media server but once that finishes I will update the Windows Experience score to see if it changes anything.

 

[sonarun]

Does nobody use VirtualBox anymore?
I find it a great freebie alternative, having used Parallels in the past.

I use virtualbox daily, why would I purchase software when an open source version offers the exact same functionality?

 

[MacSince1990]

"I'm SO looking forward to running Windows 8 on my Mac!" said no Mac user ever.

Anyone else think that it is funny that the image skips Windows Vista?!?!

Eh not really, since Windows 7 is to Vista as Mountain Lion is to Lion... would be a bit dumb to run vista when you can run 7.

 

[parish]

Looks like there is no reduced upgrade price for Fusion 4 to Fusion 5.

Typical. Same as the u/g from Fusion 3 to 4 - same price as the full version. I finally u/g 3 to 4 on 1st July - so 24 days too soon