Off Topic: Parallels 10 or VMWare 7?

Off Topic, but posting this here since I know the Logos community is very skilled in various Mac VM solutions...

I've finished beta testing Parallels 10, and since I'm running Yosemite on the system, I have to upgrade to Parallels 10 to reliably continue using it (since Parallels 9 has some flaws in Yosemite). I also unfortunately didn't qualify for a free license code during the beta testing period.

Before I contact my academic department and plunk down another $40 to upgrade to Parallels 10, I was curious if I should continue using Parallels for my VM software or give VMWare Fusion 7 a try. I think it'd cost me $50 to crossgrade from Parallels to Fusion, but I was wondering if it'd be worth switching to.

Either solution I go with, I usually have to upgrade once a year to the new version as long as I keep my OS X upgrades current, so I've already factored those upgrade costs into my budget.

I'm just curious as to how Fusion stacks up with Parallels. I'm getting a little tired of Parallels licensing being tied to one machine (with Fusion, I could install the app on both Macs and transfer my VM's between Macs if need be), plus I won't touch Parallels Access at all since I don't want to pay for another subscription on top of already paying Parallels for yearly licenses.

I was wondering though about performance and how Fusion's performance is? I used it years ago, and at the time, I found Parallels to be faster.

I don't play any 3D games, but I do run some 3D weather modeling software (GR2Analyst) on the Windows VM.

I'm just wondering should I bite the bullet and purchase a Parallels 10 key or download the VMWare trial and give it a spin first?

Thanks!

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Brad

I'm just wondering should I bite the bullet and purchase a Parallels 10 key or download the VMWare trial and give it a spin first?

Nathan, I've generally had a good experience with Fusion, and have used a few different versions. I have not yet upgraded to v7, but I would think you would find it worth while to try it out before you commit to Parallels 10.

Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)

... give it a spin first?

Oracle's Virtual Box is free => https://www.virtualbox.org/ with updates several times every year.

Virtual Box 4.3.14 works on OS X 10.10 Yosemite Public Beta 2.

Keep Smiling [:)]

Grigsy

I've used both, but I've come to like VM Ware much more personally. Though I think Parallels has far better customer service, but I have Windows 8.1 loaded on bootcamp and I use VM Ware to run a virtual machine of the boot camp partition. On Bootcamp, I have Logos 5 (Windows Version), Office 2013, Olive Tree, Bible Works, and a couple other apps. For everything else I use Mac OS X. From what I understand, Parallels has a better reputation in the gaming community, but I'm not a gammer.

mab

I used to run my XP Box via RDP. I still think that's less torture than virtual. If you figure a Win license + the overhead for VM you still aren't getting the level of Win performance. I realize that it's dark side for Mac users, but there's plenty of relatively cheap PCs that will do better than VMing on a Mac. You also get a backup in the bargain.

Jack Caviness

I think that the choice between the two is a matter of personal preference. Parallels did have some serious problems somewhere around version 3-4, but has solved them. At that time I switched to VM Fusion. Then, Parallels offered me an upgrade option that I could not refuse—to version 6 IMS. Since then, I have stayed with Parallels, mainly because of familiarity with the way it operates. YMMV

LimJK

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/626366#Comment_626366

I have been running on Parallels 10.0.1 (27695) for just under 2 weeks, when they offered me an upgrade over email.

It is slightly faster vs Parallels 9.

Logos 5.2b Service Release 2 (5.2.2.1512) runs fine with Windows 8.1 on Parallels 10. I hope that when Logos 5.3 is launched, I can drop Parallels and run only on OS X.

There is a small problem (It could be just my configuration) ... sometimes I am not able to start Windows 8.1 in Full Screen View (It starts in Windows View), I believe they should eventually fix it. A work around I found is to switch VM into Coherence Mode ... Exit Coherence Mode ... Enter Full Screen Mode.

Otto S. Carroll

I've always used Fusion. I was running version 6 on rMBP with the Flash Drive, getting excellent performance. Just updated to version 7 a few minutes ago. It is noticeably faster than 6.

My OSX is 10.9.4

Dr. Nathan Parker

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/626565#Comment_626565

Thanks everyone for the info! I may give the Fusion trial a spin and see how it compares to Parallels, then see which one I want to plunk down the cash on.

Dr. Nathan Parker

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/626267#Comment_626267

... give it a spin first?

Oracle's Virtual Box is free => https://www.virtualbox.org/ with updates several times every year.

Virtual Box 4.3.14 works on OS X 10.10 Yosemite Public Beta 2.

Keep Smiling

VirtualBox is OK for day to day stuff, but unfortunately, my graphics rich weather apps need a little more power than VirtualBox will offer. :-)

Charles

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/626598#Comment_626598

... give it a spin first?

Oracle's Virtual Box is free => https://www.virtualbox.org/ with updates several times every year.

Virtual Box 4.3.14 works on OS X 10.10 Yosemite Public Beta 2.

Keep Smiling

VirtualBox is OK for day to day stuff, but unfortunately, my graphics rich weather apps need a little more power than VirtualBox will offer. :-)

There's always Boot Camp. Then you can run your graphics rich weather apps natively. [;)]

In Christ,

Charles

Dr. Nathan Parker

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/626610#Comment_626610

... give it a spin first?

Oracle's Virtual Box is free => https://www.virtualbox.org/ with updates several times every year.

Virtual Box 4.3.14 works on OS X 10.10 Yosemite Public Beta 2.

Keep Smiling

VirtualBox is OK for day to day stuff, but unfortunately, my graphics rich weather apps need a little more power than VirtualBox will offer. :-)

There's always Boot Camp. Then you can run your graphics rich weather apps natively.

In Christ,

Charles

I really like the performance of Boot Camp, but Apple doesn't seem to update the Windows drivers much when service packs or OS X upgrades hit, so my hardware tends to be hit or miss. If Apple kept it more frequently updated, I'd use it for sure for the extra performance.

Schumitinu

I have to upgrade to Parallels 10 to reliably continue using it (since Parallels 9 has some flaws in Yosemite).

Nathan, can you elaborate on the "flaws" that Parallels 9 has in Yosemite?

Dr. Nathan Parker

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/626999#Comment_626999

I have to upgrade to Parallels 10 to reliably continue using it (since Parallels 9 has some flaws in Yosemite).

Nathan, can you elaborate on the "flaws" that Parallels 9 has in Yosemite?

Parallels 9 launches with an error message in Yosemite, and the only way to clear it is keep Terminal open constantly and throw a couple blocks of text into it for Parallels to launch. Pretty annoying. :-)