Should I run Windows 7 along with Snow Leopard on my MBP?

I just got a macbook pro and love it very much. I noticed that as a student I am eligible to upgrade my Windows OS to Windows 7 for just $30 for the software download and $42 for the software download and physical disk.

I have 2 computers. My Desktop (HP) that I purchased almost 2 years ago that runs Vista, and my Macbook Pro that I just got running Snow Leopard. When I go to college I will most likely leave the desktop at my house while the Macbook Pro comes with me to college and my dorm. Would it be a waste of money putting Windows 7 on my mac and leaving my main windows machine to not be used? Or does running Windows on mac offer advantages?

Running Windows on a MacBook Pro is just like running it on any other Windows machine. And there are actually two ways to run it: Natively by using Boot Camp to create a partition and install Windows, or running Windows from a virtual machine using VM software. The first method requires rebooting to start Windows, the second does not.

The choice to run Windows is yours to make. But I'm betting that you'll want to play some Windows games or perhaps run a Windows program or two.

As far as getting Windows 7 for a discount, get the download plus the disk for $42.00. Much easier to reinstall Windows when you have the disk and also to make repairs to the OS if required.

Regards.

I run Windows 7 and Snow Leopard on my MBP, and they run nicely together. Each are on seperate partitions, with a boot manager called Refit running it. I coudln't ask for more. Go with the cheapest way to get Windows 7, and you'll be set.

I too have Win7x86 running on my 2010 MBP. I prefer using Virtual Box since it's free and the MBP has plenty of horsepower to run a VM without lag. I'd imagine your new MBP would run Win7 better than a 2 year old HP desktop, though I could be wrong not knowing your machine specifics. If I were a Windows gamer, I'd opt for a bootcamp or rEFIt boot manager and do a direct (non-virtualized) installation. Either way, you probably will want the Windows system with you as opposed to not with you so you can actually use it.