Parallels Vs. Vmware, User opinions!

Dippyskoodlez · Apr 8, 2009

I have parallels, and vmware, both the latest versions.. Ive been in the beta for both and ive got a good bit of use time under the hood for them, and watched them both progress to what they are now.

My question, is from anyone else that has both or either of these, how you like them?

I've been playing with parallels tonight using Windows 7, and command and conquer 3 plays like a champ. Gonna try more 3d things as I go..

To get audio working->Windows update, download the driver.

FatForester · Apr 8, 2009

Between Parallels and VMWare I've only used VMWare, but prefer using VirtualBox. In my experience VirtualBox is easier to work with, faster, and uses lighter resources than VMWare, but 3D support is pretty spotty. Of course, the last time I used VMWare was a few years ago, so I'm not sure how it is now. I'm not sure what your host is, but out of my friends that have Macs, they all seem to prefer Parallels over VMWare for some reason.

Edit: Sorry, it seems that my post was actually pretty useless to what you asked, but that's my experience at least.

Wile E · Apr 8, 2009

I liked both, but I preferred Paralells, personally. I like the layout better, and the better graphics performance.

Easy Rhino · Apr 16, 2009

as far as the interface, i prefer vmware. which hypervisor are you using and what cpu do you have? i believe some programs are better suited to certain cpu specs based on their ability to run vms.

RadeonX2 · Apr 16, 2009

Does Parallel support Windows? I had only used VMware and Virtual PC 2007. I like Virtual PC's simplicity but lacking some extra features. I'd stick to VMware bcoz it has 3D support

Wile E · Apr 17, 2009

RadeonX2 said:
Does Parallel support Windows? I had only used VMware and Virtual PC 2007. I like Virtual PC's simplicity but lacking some extra features. I'd stick to VMware bcoz it has 3D support

Paralells only runs on OS X, it can run Windows in a vm, tho.

Tau · Apr 17, 2009

VMware user here. Havent used Paralells.... since i dont work on Macs much at all

Thinking about trying out VirtualBox though here soon have heard alot of great things about it.

Easy Rhino · Apr 24, 2009

Wile E said:
I liked both, but I preferred Paralells, personally. I like the layout better, and the better graphics performance.

does parallels use kvm or any sort of hypervisor that supports cpu virtualization?

Wile E · Apr 24, 2009

Easy Rhino said:
does parallels use kvm or any sort of hypervisor that supports cpu virtualization?

I dunno how it works under the hood, tbh. All I know is that it works, and works well.

Easy Rhino · Apr 24, 2009

from what ive gathered vmware workstation is the best of the best when it comes to fully virtualizing a desktop. it costs almost $200 bucks tho. vmware server is free and does an OK job at virtualizing a desktop but really is meant more for handling heavy server loads.

Wile E · Apr 24, 2009

Easy Rhino said:
from what ive gathered vmware workstation is the best of the best when it comes to fully virtualizing a desktop. it costs almost $200 bucks tho. vmware server is free and does an OK job at virtualizing a desktop but really is meant more for handling heavy server loads.

Are talking about software that runs on Linux and/or Windows? If so, we are talking about software for OS X, which would be Parallels and VMWare Fusion, which dippy forgot to mention.

Steevo · Apr 24, 2009

I'm hardcore, I just buy a computer that does all that I want. Like a Dell.

Easy Rhino · Apr 24, 2009

Wile E said:
Are talking about software that runs on Linux and/or Windows? If so, we are talking about software for OS X, which would be Parallels and VMWare Fusion, which dippy forgot to mention.

i just realized that. a friend of mine runs parallels on his osx and it is amazing virtualizing windows xp. im guessing for the price that it is the one to go with.

Easy Rhino · Apr 24, 2009

Steevo said:
I'm hardcore, I just buy a computer that does all that I want. Like a Dell.

System Name	Dell XPS 15 9560
Processor	I7-7700HQ
Memory	32GB DDR4
Video Card(s)	GTX 1050/1080 Ti
Storage	1TB SSD
Display(s)	2x Dell P2715Q/4k Internal
Case	Razer Core
Audio Device(s)	Creative E5/Objective 2 Amp/Senn HD650
Mouse	Logitech Proteus Core
Keyboard	Logitech G910

Processor	Intel e2180 2.0ghz @ 2.8ghz w/ stock volts
Motherboard	ASUS P5K-e Wifi-AP
Cooling	Zalman 9500 w/ AS5
Memory	G.Skill Black PI's DDR2 @ 896MHz 4-4-4-12 1.9v
Video Card(s)	EVGA 8800GT w/ Zalman VF-900
Storage	2x Crucial C300 64GB, Samsung F3 2TB & 1TB, F1 1TB & 750GB
Display(s)	ASUS VW246H 24" 16:9
Case	Ultra / Chieftec Black Tower
Audio Device(s)	X-fi XtremeMusic -> Z-5300e's
Power Supply	PCP&C 610 Silencer
Software	Windows 7 x64

System Name	The ClusterF**k
Processor	980X @ 4Ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 BIOS F12
Cooling	MCR-320, DDC-1 pump w/Bitspower res top (1/2" fittings), Koolance CPU-360
Memory	3x2GB Mushkin Redlines 1600Mhz 6-8-6-24 1T
Video Card(s)	Evga GTX 580
Storage	Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB, 2xSeagate 320GB RAID0; 2xSeagate 3TB; 2xSamsung 2TB; Samsung 1.5TB
Display(s)	HP LP2475w 24" 1920x1200 IPS
Case	Technofront Bench Station
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Fi Forte into Onkyo SR606 and Polk TSi200's + RM6750
Power Supply	ENERMAX Galaxy EVO EGX1250EWT 1250W
Software	Win7 Ultimate N x64, OSX 10.8.4

System Name	Desktop
Processor	i5 13600KF
Motherboard	AsRock B760M Steel Legend Wifi
Cooling	Noctua NH-U9S
Memory	4x 16 Gb Gskill S5 DDR5 @6000
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte Gaming OC 6750 XT 12GB
Storage	WD_BLACK 4TB SN850x
Display(s)	Gigabye M32U
Case	Corsair Carbide 400C
Audio Device(s)	On Board
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova 650 P2
Mouse	MX Master 3s
Keyboard	Logitech G915 Wireless Clicky
Software	The Matrix

Processor	Q6600 @ 3.6GHz \| P4 @ 2.1GHz
Motherboard	Asus Commando ROG (Vdroop mod) \| Asus P4V8X-MX
Cooling	MegaShadow w/ 2x Scythe Slipstream MX-2 Paste + Kama Bay + 4x120mm case fan \| stock Intel
Memory	Kingston 4x1GB DDR2 @ 800MHz w/ OCZ XTC cooler \| 1GB DDR @ 400MHz
Video Card(s)	Palit GTX 260 1792mb 448bit @ 713/1458/1116x2 \| GeForce 4 MX 440 AGP8X 64mb 64bit
Storage	640GB WD AACS 250GB Excelstor 160GB Seagate \| 40GB WD
Display(s)	Samsung T220, Samsung 32" 1080P \| LG L1752S
Case	Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570 \| Trendsonic mid tower
Audio Device(s)	Asus Supreme FX (Creative Inspire 5.1 speaker), Samsung HT-Z220 \| Onboard audio (2.1 Speaker)
Power Supply	Gigabyte Odin Pro 800W \| 550W generic
Software	Vista Ultimate 64 SP2 \| XP Pro 32 SP3
Benchmark Scores	3Dmark06 - 17,348 Vantage - P13,510 Super PI 1M - 12.765s @ 4.1GHz GenericCPUbench - 6,864 ms 38,

Parallels Vs. Vmware, User opinions!

Dippyskoodlez

FatForester

New Member

Wile E

Power User

Easy Rhino

Linux Advocate

RadeonX2

Wile E

Power User

Tau

New Member

Easy Rhino

Linux Advocate

Wile E

Power User

Easy Rhino

Linux Advocate

Wile E

Power User

Steevo

Easy Rhino

Linux Advocate

Easy Rhino

Linux Advocate

System Name	Compy 386
Processor	7800X3D
Motherboard	Asus
Cooling	Air for now.....
Memory	64 GB DDR5 6400Mhz
Video Card(s)	7900XTX 310 Merc
Storage	Samsung 990 2TB, 2 SP 2TB SSDs and over 10TB spinning
Display(s)	56" Samsung 4K HDR
Audio Device(s)	ATI HDMI
Mouse	Logitech MX518
Keyboard	Razer
Software	A lot.
Benchmark Scores	Its fast. Enough.