Head to Head: Parallels Desktop 6 vs VMware Fusion 3
We pit the two leading Mac virtualisation programs against each other to see which is best for running Windows on your shiny Apple computer.
Macs have been able to run Windows and Windows programs ever since Apple moved its line of desktop and laptop computers over to Intel processors back in 2006. Apple's Boot Camp utility, included with every Mac, allows you to install Windows and then switch between it and the MacOS by rebooting. Although this is fine for very occasional use, constantly rebooting quickly becomes inconvenient when you're trying to get some work done.
INSTALLATION AND SETUP
To see how easy it is to get up and running with Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion, we set up a brand new Windows Ultimate 64 bit virtual machine (VM) in each program. Although both programs can use an existing Boot Camp Windows installation, and indeed import VMs from each other, we chose to install Windows from scratch to eliminate the possibility of any conflict between Apple's Boot Camp Windows drivers and the drivers used by Parallels and VMWare.
The essential guide to cloud-based backup and disaster recovery
Support business continuity by building a holistic emergency plan
Download nowHow do vulnerabilities get into software?
90% of security incidents result from exploits against defects in software
Download nowDelivering the future of work - now
The CIO’s guide to building the unified digital workspace for today’s hybrid and multi-cloud strategies.
Download now
