In fact, the testing took long enough that during the course of running these tests, both Parallels and VMware released minor updates, but we continued with one set of versions throughout for consistency. Sounds simple enough, right? But when you start to realize that there were four different models of Macs, two virtualized environments, XP and Vista, some of which were 64-bit and multiprocessor, along with a whole slew of tests, each that had to be runs several times, there were over 2500 tests completed, timed with a stopwatch. Furthermore, we wanted to see some of the differences with larger memory configurations, as well as multiple processors and 64-bit versions of Windows. This time, we also added in something that many readers have requested: games! The goal was to see how VMware Fusion and Parallels Desktop performed, covering both Windows XP and Vista. In this case, it was not just testing the Windows OS performance, but also commonly used Windows applications. Due to this, we limited the virtualized OS to Windows. In both cases, as with other MacTech benchmarks, we tested performance of the types of things that everyday users typically do. This is similar to the project that MacTech undertook over a year ago (See the February 2008 issue of MacTech Magazine). To tackle this problem, MacTech undertook a huge benchmarking project starting a couple months ago. So which virtualization product do you choose? Which solution is faster? Should you run Windows XP or Vista? 32-bit or 64-bit? One virtual processor or more? In short, there are different answers for different people. Both VMware Fusion and Parallels Desktop also have the ability to run Windows applications even more transparently, but we'll leave that for another article. For many, this may mean running the virtualized OS in a "window" on your Mac. With virtualization, like what you'll see in Parallels Desktop for Mac or in VMware Fusion, you can run not only Windows, but other x86-based OSes alongside the Mac OS, getting the best of both worlds. For example, your job may require you to run Internet Explorer, or Outlook, if that's all that your corporate systems support. Virtualization gives "switchers" (those switching from Windows to Mac) more comfort because they can use their old applications, more easily get to old data, and in many cases, and it allows them to use some critical piece of software not available on the Mac. For that reason, MacTech recommends a virtualization product for most users. In addition, you can only use one or the other OS at a time. With Apple's Boot Camp, you can run Windows natively, but you have to reboot every time you want to switch between Mac OS and Windows. You may already understand your options for running Windows on a Mac, but in case you don't, your first choice is to decide between Apple's Boot Camp and a virtualization product like VMware Fusion, or Parallels Desktop for Mac. This includes not only your everyday Windows XP, but also other Windows OSes, including 64-bit versions, and a wide variety of Linux and other OSes. This introduced some interesting opportunities for the Mac, including the ability to run operating systems other than Mac OS X on a Mac. How do VMware Fusion and Parallels Desktop for Mac stack up?īy Neil Ticktin, Editor-in-Chief/PublisherĪ few years back, Apple switched the Mac platform from PowerPC to Intel processors. VMware FusionĬolumn Tag: Virtualization Head-to-Head: Parallels Desktop for Mac vs. Head-to-Head: Parallels Desktop for Mac vs. Educational Institution and Student Discounts.
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