XP (32bit) or Win7 (64bit) on Parallels 6?

Bootcamp is not an option. Just wanna play some f2p mmos and use it for some other apps i may want to use in the future. I've got 32 bit XP and 64 bit Win 7 professional and parallels 6. Is the lighter XP better? or is it just too old now? Which one will run better?

Specs: 2009 Macbook
-2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
-2gb Ram (1gb will go to the vm)
-Nvidia GeForce 9400M (256mb vram)

mundane bob said:

Bootcamp is not an option. Just wanna play some f2p mmos and use it for some other apps i may want to use in the future. I've got 32 bit XP and 64 bit Win 7 professional and parallels 6. Is the lighter XP better? or is it just too old now? Which one will run better

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Windows XP should be the no-brainer. Windows 7 is more of a bloated hog than Windows XP is.

I disagree. XP is fine, no question, but Win7 is very memory efficient. I run it in 1 GB of RAM on a virtual machine and it runs fine, plus it will be supported longer term. Either one will work for you however. Plus, the nice thing about virtual machines is that you can install BOTH and see what you like, then just keep the VM you like. No fuss, no muss.

Cheers

hello, I don't know where is better to put my question, I hope it's okay here!
I bought an Apple iMac Core i5 2.80 GHz - 27" TFT, so I would like to know which edition windows 7 (there are many different packages and I 'm confused) , and also which edition of parallel desktop(4 ,5 or 6?) I should buy?
Thanks in advance!

For most folks, Window 7 Home Premium edition is fine. It comes with 2 DVDs in the package: One is 32 bit, the other 64 bit. You can choose to install one or the other using the same serial number but not both.

If you intend to play games in Windows on your iMac, then it's best to use the Boot Camp assistant and install Windows in a separate partition. If you don't have any games or graphic intensive apps to run in Windows, you can install Windows in a VM. However, I do not recommend Parallels. I would go with VMWare Fusion instead. Or for a no frills free version, you could download and use the free VirtualBox from Oracle.

Sorry again,I would like to ask specifically which windows 7 home premium edition (what is the exact name of it please if it's possible ,because I found so many different editions ), also I will use in windows 3D studio Max (a 3D design programme), and I thought parallels was necessary in order not to shut down iMac to go from windows to mac.Thanx a lot!

There is only one Windows 7 Home Premium Edition. The others are labeled differently. And as I stated previously, both the 32 and 64 bit versions are in the box. See this Microsoft LINK.

Thank you very much!

However, I do not recommend Parallels.

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Any reason why?

Whats is a 2011 13"MBP 2.7Ghz ........ a 32 or 64 bit machine?

FWIW, I run Win 7 64-bit with Fusion on my MBP.

Kinnie said:

Whats is a 2011 13"MBP 2.7Ghz ........ a 32 or 64 bit machine?

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64-bit.

jmw3 said:

Any reason why?

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Parallels is a fine program, but I find their support to be far subpar to VMWare. Just hope you never need it.

schweb said:

Parallels is a fine program, but I find their support to be far subpar to VMWare. Just hope you never need it.

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WOW...I couldn't agree more. I use & like Parallels...but customer support is terrible!

- Nick

Schweb, thanks.