Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Windows 7 - which version?

roland.g

roland.g

macrumors 604
Original poster
Apr 11, 2005
7,580
3,423
I am looking to run Windows 7 via VMWare on an iMac. I don't think I have any real need to use BootCamp. And my only need for this is to run QuickBooks and Peachtree accounting softwares. I need to run the Windows version of QuickBooks for clients who use QuickBooks on Windows. And Peachtree doesn't even make a Mac version anyway.

What I didn't know is which version of Windows 7 to get. I don't imagine I need anything other than Home because I don't think I'll be networking or anything otherwise needed by Pro or Ultimate.

Any thoughts?
 
Get Home Premium. If you find that you do need the extra features that come with Professional or Ultimate, Windows has a feature called Windows Anytime Upgrade. This tool allows you to perform an in-place upgrade of your current version to Windows to the next one, such as Home Premium to Professional, after buying a code. Update only takes 10 minutes, roughly.
 
Also, since your needs are modest I would suggest the 32 bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium unless you have 8GB or more of RAM and plan on allocating 4 GB or more to the VM.

B
 
I have a 2011 27" iMac 2.7 i5 Quad-Core with 12GB RAM and my OS and apps on a SSD. I am thinking of going to 16GB RAM.
 
balamw said:
Then 64 bit is an option. Depends on how much RAM you want to give the VM when it is running.

B
Click to expand...

It sounds like the 64 bit is a RAM hog. Is there any reason I'd really want to run the 64 bit vs the 32 bit. What are the advantages for one or the other? Mind you I won't be using it for anything other than those financial programs. It looks like they can both run on 32 or 64 bit just fine. Oddly enough, Peachtree's site says it requires Home Professional or higher. That doesn't sound right.
 
Main advantage of 64 bit is that it can access more than 4 GB of RAM. Some apps run significantly faster, but for most things it is a wash. If you want more performance on the Mac side while running your VM, stick with 32 bit.

B
 
balamw said:
Main advantage of 64 bit is that it can access more than 4 GB of RAM. Some apps run significantly faster, but for most things it is a wash. If you want more performance on the Mac side while running your VM, stick with 32 bit.

B
Click to expand...

Great thanks.

Also, what is the school of thought on Parallels vs Fusion?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back