Hi All - anyone have any opinions on using VMware or Parallels on osx?

 

Hi Ben,
I've run Parallels since the first public beta and it's rather good. I'm not running the absolute latest version however. When fusion was released I purchased a copy and have to admit I've switched to it over Parallels.

The main reason for the switch is that I need to virtualize servers for testing purposes and, unless it's changed, Parallels did not support Novell Netware 6.x, which was one of the platforms I needed to virtualize, but Fusion did, so I switched over.

I use/used both with my Bootcamp setup, using the partition for BC as the hard drive in the VM's and it worked without issue.

Some will prefer Fusion because VMWare is obviously a very well known name in the VM world and Parallels isn't, but seems to be gaining ground.

They both have free trial versions available so I'd suggest you download both of them and find which one offers the features you need and which one you get on with better. I know people who cannot get on at all with Fusion and Parallels is just perfect for them, and also the other way round!

One suggestion would be to increase your RAM in your machine so you have plenty. Some people have suggested, where possible, to double the memory allocation, so if you have 2GB then go to 4GB and allocate 2GB to the VM you're running. The idea being that your host OS retains the amount of RAM it normally had and the additional memory is allocated to the VM.

 

There's a lot of information and opinions out there regarding the debate around Parallels and Fusion. So, the guys at MacTech tested both VMs and published there results. It's a very insightful article that you should check out.

Head-to-Head: Parallels Desktop for Mac vs. VMware Fusion

- Monica from Parallels

 

Nice spot of free advertising there!
I used VMWare for what it's worth, no experience of Parallels though. Just went for VM due to reviews and other peoples comments at the time.