Parallels vs VMWare fusion 5

For speed and quicker application updating I'd choose Parallels. For security and better crash protection at the cost of being slower then consider VM Fusion.

In any event a search of Google should provide you with a list of links of benchmarks and other comparisons of the two products.

Or if spending $80.00 is just too much for you, then take a look at the freeware VirtualBox 4.2.4.

If running Windows concurrently isn't your bag, then you can certainly run Windows 7 in a dual boot setup using Boot Camp: Mac 101- Using Windows on your Mac via Boot Camp.

Apple provides no support for Windows 8, so if that's what you want to run, then you may have only one option - Parallels.

For speed and quicker application updating I'd choose Parallels. For security and better crash protection at the cost of being slower then consider VM Fusion.

I agree 100% with Kappy, I use Fusion, Parallels was faster, Fusion doesn't seem to break, ever.

Vmware Fusion 5. 🙂

I second that! Vmware Fusion 5. I hate Parallels, especially its updating is sometimes problematic. Vmware Fusion 5 is much better and more use friendly than Parallels 8.

mrbob1928 wrote:

Recommendations please. Windows version 7 or 8 with Parallels 8 or VMWare Desktop 8??

Thank you.

It's really all up to you. I got Parallels v3 as a part of a bundle deal when I bought my first MacBook Pro, and I have gotten upgrade discounts on it since to keep me current. I got VMWare Fusion through a cross platform or competitive upgrade program when I bought it back in the v2 time frame. I have always tended towards Parallels for speed reasons, but both seem to work.

One thing to keep in mind is that I am only running 32 bit Windows systems in my virtual environments. I use one for Work support purposes, so nothing but work is run there, and for my personal things that still need Windows, I don't need 64 bit, so I still use a 32 bit install there too. The only problem I ever had with Parallels was when I was running it on a Boot Camp partition that also had an HFS+ driver loaded for Boot Camp. In that situation, it would hang during shutdown if run as a virtual machine.