Parallels or Fusion

I love my Mac, but I am finding more and more times that I need to be running on a PC for work, however, I hate having to switch computers. Obviously, these programs come to mind. Which to buy? And, Why? Thanks!

Spec-wise, they're very similar. I personally prefer VMWare Fusion because VMWare is the pioneer in this field and is much more stable in my experience. With that said, I've read good things about Parallels 5, although I haven't tried Parallels since version 3. You can always take both for a free trial and see which you prefer. The only real objective difference is in Linux support - VMWare's is much stronger than Parallels - but if you don't intend to run any form of Linux, that's probably not going to be a big deal for you.

Also, you should know that Sun has a free virtualization product called VirtualBox, that is pretty decent in comparison. I have toyed with the Windows version of VirtualBox and found it to be a bit flakey, but you can't beat the price.

For a single user installation of Windows on a Mac, Fusion and Parallels are essentially feature-indistinguishable, and its really a matter of style, interface preference, etc. There are a few differences but both are very full-featured, complete, stable and solid programs. I use Fusion (after having tried both) but both have their fans here, and both Fusion and Parallels users coexist peacefully on this forum ...

VirtualBox is free, and runs Windows fine or so it seems (I have only spent a short time with it), but does not seem to be as full-featured as either Fusion or Parallels. However, it definitely gets the job done and should be considered if your needs are limited to running just one or two programs. And as noted, you can't argue with the price.

Fusion's main advantage is its scalability and integration with enterprise-wide virtualization systems, of which they are the dominant provider. If you will be doing any development applications in your (or for other) VMs, if you will be using or trying out various Linux flavors, or would find their library of pre-built virtual machines and environments useful, Fusion is the way to go. It runs Ubuntu like a champ on my machine, for example, and I've used it to try out various Linux flavors very easily.

But for most users who are installing XP, Vista or Win7 just to run an occasional Windows program, really you can't go wrong with either choice. Both offer free 30-day trial versions - download them both, try them out and pick the one you like best.

Cheers

I would endorse what SammySlim said - except I have not used VirtualBox.

I have used Parallels and Fusion for the past few years - I find use Parallels more, but that is purely a personal thing.

I am demoing Parallels 5 at the moment.

I bought VMware Fusion...now I use Sun's VirtualBox so...

Which option you want really depends on what you're planning to do in Windows and which version of Windows (XP, Vista, 7). Mind telling me what version of Windows you plan to get and what you're planning to do in Windows?

I've used all three of the latest versions extensively (IT Professional) so I can tell you what's the advantage to each software. I'm using Parallels 5 right now on my personal Mac.

As the demo went fine, I bought Parallels 5 yesterday.

It does seem to be a bit quicker than Parallels 4 - could be placebo effect.

VM Fusion slows my iMac considerably. Does Parallels do

the same thing? I have an Early 2006 iMac that is getting slower due to age, I guess, but i know the VM Ware Fusion does slow it down some.
I was wondering about switching to parallels - would it make any difference?

Probably won't make a difference. How much memory do you have?

Regards.

If you care at all about moving files from your guest to your host operating system, AVOID VMWARE PRODUCTS at all costs! They have known bug in their drag-and-drop function and don't know when it might be fixed. This isn't an opinion - it is a fact. VMware's own boards have multiple postings about this problem.

Funny, I haven't had that problem and have been using Fusion with multiple guest OSes since it was in beta.

farmcock said:

the same thing? I have an Early 2006 iMac that is getting slower due to age, I guess, but i know the VM Ware Fusion does slow it down some.
I was wondering about switching to parallels - would it make any difference?

Click to expand...

Possibly - although each time either bring out an upgrade the speed crown usually changes.

Have you tried the demo of Parallels to see if any speed increase is significant enough for your needs?