Virtual Machines?

Tarek · Tarek #1 (**permalink**)

01-16-2011, 07:29 AM

Hello there,

I have never had good experiences with virtual machines like Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion running Windows on a Macintosh computer. However, I am sick of Boot Camp and I use Macintosh 95% of the time.

The only time I use Windows is when I want to play an online game. The problem is that the virtual machine uses only 64MB of the video card's memory and that cannot run any game, however light it is.

I haven't tried to use a virtual machine in a very long time and I am not sure if they have updated that. Did they?

These are the requirements of the game I play:

Just tell me which virtual machine is better, or more like which did you have a better experience with? I have tried both and I honestly couldn't tell much of a difference since they both couldn't run any games. But that was a long, long time ago.

Thank you, guys. Any information is appreciated.

pjhutch · pjhutch #2 (**permalink**)

01-16-2011, 07:58 AM

For gaming, using Virtual Machines are a non-starter. They are ok for playing games via a Web Browser such as Flash or Java based games but not 3D games.

For games, you have to use Bootcamp so that you have full access to your hardware esp. 3D accelerated graphics card.

Tarek · Tarek #3 (**permalink**)

01-16-2011, 09:30 AM

Yeah, I guess I'll have to live with that. Dual booting is seriously time-consuming, though, and for some reason when I installed Windows XP the computer kept freezing after around fifteen minutes of usage.

osxx · osxx #4 (**permalink**)

01-16-2011, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tarek

Yeah, I guess I'll have to live with that. Dual booting is seriously time-consuming, though, and for some reason when I installed Windows XP the computer kept freezing after around fifteen minutes of usage.

How much hard drive space and ram did you allocate for it?

Tarek · Tarek #5 (**permalink**)

01-16-2011, 01:20 PM

60GB space and 1.5GB of RAM. Why?

osxx · osxx #6 (**permalink**)

01-16-2011, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tarek

60GB space and 1.5GB of RAM. Why?

I have seen where not enough is the culprit but not so in your case. Might want to look at Parallel's web site I think you can allocate more video ram which
would help.

Tarek · Tarek #7 (**permalink**)

01-16-2011, 09:03 PM

Alright, I'll check it out, thanks. I actually picked Parallels over VMWare Fusion after reading this thorough review and comparison. I'll check their website out and hope they have some information about video ram.

chscag · chscag #8 (**permalink**)

01-16-2011, 10:18 PM

Save yourself the trouble and don't waste your money. As the other reply advised, stick with Boot Camp as your game is not going to play in Parallels, Fusion, or VirtualBox. The requirements are too high.

As for having to reboot, consider using the very nice rEFIt boot manager. It makes it very easy to dual boot and is free.

Tarek · Tarek #9 (**permalink**)

01-17-2011, 03:12 AM

Okay, chscag. I took a look at the website and looks very helpful. Thank you so much.

chscag #8 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 23, 2008 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 32,032 Mac Specs: 21.5" iMac 2.5 GHz i5, iPad 3rd Gen., 3 iPods	01-16-2011, 10:18 PM Save yourself the trouble and don't waste your money. As the other reply advised, stick with Boot Camp as your game is not going to play in Parallels, Fusion, or VirtualBox. The requirements are too high. As for having to reboot, consider using the very nice rEFIt boot manager. It makes it very easy to dual boot and is free. Community Guidelines
	QUOTE Thanks

Tarek #9 (permalink)
Member Since: Sep 18, 2008 Location: Cairo, Egypt Posts: 735 Mac Specs: 15" MacBook Pro 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5	01-17-2011, 03:12 AM Okay, chscag. I took a look at the website and looks very helpful. Thank you so much. Last edited by Tarek; 01-17-2011 at 03:26 AM. Reason: Just woke up so misplaced a word! lol
	QUOTE Thanks

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Tarek #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Sep 18, 2008 Location: Cairo, Egypt Posts: 735 Mac Specs: 15" MacBook Pro 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5	01-16-2011, 07:29 AM Hello there, I have never had good experiences with virtual machines like Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion running Windows on a Macintosh computer. However, I am sick of Boot Camp and I use Macintosh 95% of the time. The only time I use Windows is when I want to play an online game. The problem is that the virtual machine uses only 64MB of the video card's memory and that cannot run any game, however light it is. I haven't tried to use a virtual machine in a very long time and I am not sure if they have updated that. Did they? These are the requirements of the game I play: Just tell me which virtual machine is better, or more like which did you have a better experience with? I have tried both and I honestly couldn't tell much of a difference since they both couldn't run any games. But that was a long, long time ago. Thank you, guys. Any information is appreciated.
	QUOTE Thanks

pjhutch #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Aug 04, 2007 Posts: 250	01-16-2011, 07:58 AM For gaming, using Virtual Machines are a non-starter. They are ok for playing games via a Web Browser such as Flash or Java based games but not 3D games. For games, you have to use Bootcamp so that you have full access to your hardware esp. 3D accelerated graphics card.
	QUOTE Thanks

Tarek #5 (permalink)
Member Since: Sep 18, 2008 Location: Cairo, Egypt Posts: 735 Mac Specs: 15" MacBook Pro 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5	01-16-2011, 01:20 PM 60GB space and 1.5GB of RAM. Why?
	QUOTE Thanks

Tarek #7 (permalink)
Member Since: Sep 18, 2008 Location: Cairo, Egypt Posts: 735 Mac Specs: 15" MacBook Pro 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5	01-16-2011, 09:03 PM Alright, I'll check it out, thanks. I actually picked Parallels over VMWare Fusion after reading this thorough review and comparison. I'll check their website out and hope they have some information about video ram.
	QUOTE Thanks

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