Is there a virtual PC that is recommended for iMAC?

Is there a virtual PC that is recommended for iMAC?



Posted on Feb 18, 2020 3:23 PM

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Posted on Feb 18, 2020 3:26 PM

What do you mean by "virtual PC"?

You can run Windows in a virtual machine like Parallels, Fusion, or VirtualBox. Or you can run Windows using Boot Camp Assistant.


Please provide more information regarding what it is you are trying to accomplish.

9 replies

Feb 18, 2020 8:08 PM in response to Carmeline

VirtualBox (from Oracle via its Sun acquisition) is free, but it is also the least user friendly to setup. But as far as I know it is a stable product (you cannot say that about all free products)


Parallels main business is the Mac, so their focus very Mac specific.


VMware's main business is data center virtualization, and VMware Fusion is not the center of their world. That does not mean the engineers working on VMware Fusion are not dedicated, but their product will not make or break VMware.


That is my 2 cents on the macOS 3 virtual machine products.

Feb 20, 2020 9:29 AM in response to Carmeline

Then you will need to pay for a Windows 10 license, download the .iso Windows installer, and install it into any of the three virtual machines. Only Virtualbox is free. These are solutions that with sufficient RAM and available, fast storage — will allow you to run Windows 10 concurrently with macOS.


The other alternative is to use Apple's BootCamp (included with macOS) to add a new partition on the Mac boot drive, install Windows 10, Apple's tools for BootCamp into Windows 10, download your particular Windows-only application, and then you have a Mac that can you can boot either as macOS, or WIndows.

Feb 20, 2020 1:46 PM in response to Carmeline

Check to see if the application you want to run will run under CrossOver

https://www.codeweavers.com/products

It is a paid product, but much less expensive than a Windows License and much less overhead on your Mac.


This assumes you just need to access a few Windows apps and CrossOver supports them, vs you need a full blown Windows environment.


If you need Windows, then one of the virtual machines mentioned will do that. Or of course if your app will not run under CrossOver.

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Is there a virtual PC that is recommended for iMAC?

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