VMware fusion VS Parallels

Nemanja91

which is better?

Sad Professor

VMWare.

J-blk

VMware Fusion totally - version 3 was just released with full Windows 7 support too.

bruce wayne

why is it better? I'm trying to decide between the two

docentore

anyone tried Virtua Box?

Talisman

It's probably the most difficult software decision when you move from Windows to OS X.

Prior to the release of VMware Fusion, Parallels Desktop 3 was an absolute piece of shiite. Fusion 2 wiped the floor with it in terms of stability and performance. Parallels Desktop 4 was a massive improvement on the previous version - in terms of Windows performance it beats VMware Fusion 2 (See MacTech Comparison).

I installed Parallels on my work computer during the summer and must admit that the difference in performance is really noticeable, however I still don't trust it with my BootCamp install which remains VMware Fusion 2. I also use VMware to run virtual Linux installs.

VMware Fusion 3.0 was only released on Tuesday (Oct 27th). I haven't read any performance reviews but I would expect that there have been improvements. One great thing VMware has is the migration tool - if you are looking for a smooth migration from your Windows computer then choose VMware.

If you're not looking for the advanced features of Parallels and VMware then you should consider Sun VirtualBox which is completely free.

kevteljeur

docentore wrote: »

anyone tried Virtua Box?

Because of Parallels 3 not working on Snow Leopard, I migrated to Virtual Box, although it's looking like a new installation of Windows is the way to go (rather than trying to use the same image in Virtual Box).

It seems ok, but it has some slightly rough edges, it doesn't feel as smooth or polished as VMWare (I have the demo, through which the images needed to be converted for Virtual Box). But, it is free, and that's a big plus, and I've never quite trusted Parallels on my system. It's a little shaky.

If I find myself having to use Windows for work much though, I'll shell out for a VMWare licence.



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J-blk

docentore wrote: »

anyone tried Virtua Box?

I tried it awhile back - it really works very well for a free product but I simply like the polish of Fusion more. The "deal breaker" with Virtual Box was some glitches it has (had?) with giving the guest OS a unique IP on the same network as the host over the Airport connection (works on a wired connection though) - because of that, connecting to a Windows server I have was a major issue.

Not sure if it's been fixed since (this was several months ago) but Fusion and Parallels had no problem with the same functionality.

docentore

Thanks for that lads. I'm just waiting for my first Mac, well first Intel mac as I used to have ibook g3.
I need windows for my work, but love Mac OsX!

su_dios

VMWare and Spaces FTW!