Bootcamp or Parallels for windows games?

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Level 1

6 points

Bootcamp or Parallels for windows games?

I only use Bootcamp generally to play windows games on my Mac. It is a pain to have to constantly reboot each time to play the game and then switch back to my Mac side and vice versa. I just learned about Parallels for mac. Is it worth it to change to this system to avoid the rebooting? Basically the most important concern: Will the games run as well using Parallels as they do on the Bootcamp only version?
Thanx for any help?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5)

Posted on Apr 12, 2008 4:02 PM

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Answer 1

nfs480

Level 1

15 points

Apr 12, 2008 9:24 PM in response to target242

In my experience, games work a lot better in boot camp than in parallels. This is because with bootcamp windows is running natively on the mac hardware. Therefore, more hardware resources are available to the high-end windows games.

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Answer 2

Fortuny

Level 7

21,461 points

Apr 12, 2008 10:55 PM in response to target242

Hi,

Parallels (and VMWare Fusion, too) have only support for DirectX 8.1 with experimental (limited) support for DirectX 9.

Since almost all newer games rely on at least DX9 and DX10, if the hardware supports it, these games simply won't run in Parallels/Fusion.

Nonetheless Parallels/Fusion are great applications for running Windows alongside OSX, but they are not very suitable for gaming in Windows.

Stefan

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Answer 3

Jun 27, 2008 12:04 PM in response to Fortuny

This may seem noobish, but what does bootcamp support? Can I just install the latest direct x drivers?

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Answer 4

Fortuny

Level 7

21,461 points

Jun 28, 2008 10:37 PM in response to Edward Ciramella

Hi Edward,

BootCamp lets you run Windows natively on the real hardware your Mac has.
Therefor you can install the latest DX drivers as long as they match to your hardware.

Stefan

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