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Which windows is best Vista or Windows 8?

MiniD3

MiniD3

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 9, 2013
739
264
Australia
My Daughter is thinking of changing to Mac but wants access to windows for Uni and teaching options

I've had a good read through the "sticky" here, very informative but still have some questions

1. Which Windows program should she load?, and
2. Would 16GB of ram be advisable? I believe that Parallels can be taxing on ram? (Not sure how much bootcamp would use)

Lastly, any other upgrade advice for someone who is going to run a Mac/Windows machine?
Forgot to mention, she is looking at the 21" iMac 2.7GHz 8GB Ram due to budget

Regards,
Gary
 
Windows 7 is the best, but if you can't find it go with Winows 8 and a program called Startisback. 16gb would definitely be advisable for virtual machines. Upgrade it yourself though, don't pay the Apple tax.
 
1nteresting said:
Windows 7 is the best, but if you can't find it go with Winows 8 and a program called Startisback. 16gb would definitely be advisable for virtual machines. Upgrade it yourself though, don't pay the Apple tax.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the heads-up
Regards
Gary
 
I run windows 7 (through Fusion) on my 2011 iMac without any issues. I did load it up with 16gb ram though.

http://www.macsales.com/ is a good place to get ram and is favoured by many on here. They also have installation videos which may come in handy.

I'd avoid Vista at all costs.
 
Yes, Vista is a stinker.

8 is going to be redesigned by Microsoft

7 is really stable.

Look for a Windows 7 System Builder version - $90 +/- I got mine at Amazon.

Good luck!
 
MiniD3 said:
Windows 7 it is then
....Gary
Click to expand...

What kind of programs will she need? If it's just Office or similar programs RAM isn't a big consideration. It runs fine in a virtual machine even on a 4GB MacBook Air, though I'd recommend 8GB to reduce page outs.
 
Forget Vista forever.
Go w/ Win 7 since a mac is not a touchscreen device, which is the only way I recommend someone getting 8 over 7. Unless you can get 8 for a cheaper price than 7. 7 should also be less taxable on your Mac and require less ram to run through virtualization. Boot camp is superior to virtualization, but is not as comfortable as having both OSes running at the same time of she is going to e running back and forth with the programs. Ram Updates are cheap if you do them yourself. GL
 
KPOM said:
What kind of programs will she need? If it's just Office or similar programs RAM isn't a big consideration. It runs fine in a virtual machine even on a 4GB MacBook Air, though I'd recommend 8GB to reduce page outs.
Click to expand...
I would say office for sure, also the son in law runs a business program as well,
They also have a lot of images but I'm guessing that wont be "on the dark side" :), will be handled with iPhoto
Tks for the heads-up, I was pushing her for the 8GB after seeing how hard the 21" is to upgrade ram as compared to the 27" which appears easy
....Gary

----------
Carlanga said:
Forget Vista forever.
Go w/ Win 7 since a mac is not a touchscreen device, which is the only way I recommend someone getting 8 over 7. Unless you can get 8 for a cheaper price than 7. 7 should also be less taxable on your Mac and require less ram to run through virtualization. Boot camp is superior to virtualization, but is not as comfortable as having both OSes running at the same time of she is going to e running back and forth with the programs. Ram Updates are cheap if you do them yourself. GL
Click to expand...
Thinking the 21" is too hard to upgrade ram?
....Gary
 
If for some reason you only have copies of those two, Windows 8 is the lesser of the two evils. Windows 8 just has an annoying UI but under the hood is incredible. Windows Vista was just bad.
 
Windows 8 is by far the most stable, fast and feature complete version yet. Just be sure not to use the Metro apps if you're on a PC.

Saying that, there is nothing wrong with 7 either. Just forget Vista, its awful.
 
Thanks Guys,

Did not realise Windose Vista was that bad,
Appreciate the heads-up, no wonder my laptop transpired
....Gary
 
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