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OS X Parallels vs BootCamp for Games

richard13

richard13

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 1, 2008
1,068
875
Odessa, FL
I have been using Parallels for the last few versions for non-gaming reasons. I didn't upgrade to Parallels 9 (currently using 8).

Anyway, I am in the process of cleaning out my closet and decided to install some older games. The problem is that some are PC only (Sims, Sims 2, Age of Mythology, etc.). This is mostly out of curiosity and likely won't be spending much time in these games and Parallels should be sufficient. But if I understand correctly, EA only plans to release Sims 4 on PC which probably means BootCamp anyway. So it brings up the question, do I try to use Parallels or just get BootCamp setup?

I'm really loathe to the idea of having part of my stuff in the Windows partition (and not backed up, not accessible from OSX), etc. but maybe it's the only way really?

Anyone else in this boat? What are your thoughts?
 
How do you know Sims 4 will not run under Parallels 9 ?

I have just gone back from Bootcamp to Parallels 9, it suits my needs, if the game is a real MUST HAVE REAL SHOW STOPPER I can always setup a partition somewhere for Bootcamp.

Parallels will be as good as your machine will allow.

Also you can backup the Bootcamp Partition with a program called Winclone if that is your worry, also things are accessible in the Bootcamp partition, and to make booting into windows a bit easier you can use Bootchamp http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/28468/bootchamp

To finish I will say yes Bootcamp is the better way to go to get the best out of games, I just do not really need it right now for my gaming needs and Parallels as I said suits my purpose. If it all goes wrong in Bootcamp as happened to me, its easier to just re setup parallels, also easier and faster to backup.

Take a look at this http://www.controlcommandescape.com/articles/parallels-9-benchmarks/
 
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Washac said:
How do you know Sims 4 will not run under Parallels 9 ?

I have just gone back from Bootcamp to Parallels 9, it suits my needs, if the game is a real MUST HAVE REAL SHOW STOPPER I can always setup a partition somewhere for Bootcamp.

Parallels will be as good as your machine will allow.

Also you can backup the Bootcamp Partition with a program called Winclone if that is your worry, also things are accessible in the Bootcamp partition, and to make booting into windows a bit easier you can use Bootchamp http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/28468/bootchamp

To finish I will say yes Bootcamp is the better way to go to get the best out of games, I just do not really need it right now for my gaming needs and Parallels as I said suits my purpose, and if it all goes wrong in Bootcamp as happened to me, also easier and faster to backup.

Take a look at this http://www.controlcommandescape.com/articles/parallels-9-benchmarks/
Click to expand...

Well, to be honest I don't know for sure that Sims 4 won't work on Parallels I'm just presuming that even if it does the performance will be bad because it is a newer game. So that remains to be seen.

Thanks for providing the link for the benchmarks. I read through that review and I believe it illustrates what I'm trying to say regarding performance. BootCamp won every one of those trials hands down. That said, games like The Sims, 2, 3, 4 may not be so graphic intensive that you'd notice the difference. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

I'm going to install The Sims 2 on Parallels 8 just to see how it goes.

Maybe Parallels 10 when it comes out will be improved in this respect.
 
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richard13 said:
Well, to be honest I don't know for sure that Sims 4 won't work on Parallels I'm just presuming that even if it does the performance will be bad because it is a newer game. So that remains to be seen.

Thanks for providing the link for the benchmarks. I read through that review and I believe it illustrates what I'm trying to say regarding performance. BootCamp won every one of those trials hands down. That said, games like The Sims, 2, 3, 4 may not be so graphic intensive that you'd notice the difference. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

I'm going to install The Sims 2 on Parallels 8 just to see how it goes.

Maybe Parallels 10 when it comes out will be improved in this respect.
Click to expand...

Parallels is not for the games player who wants everything on ultra high graphics and 60 odd FPS.

For me as long as its not to shabby as they say and it is playable I'm happy.

Try Parallels you get a trial period.
 
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Well, installing Sims 2 with the one expansion pack I have, Seasons, on Parallels 8 in Windows 8 was not as easy as I thought. The Seasons installer wants to upgrade the original installation part way through and fails completely. I found a workaround to do a manual install instead on YouTube. Once installed the video was all messed up so I had to edit the Graphics Rules.sgr file as well. Several failed installs and hours later I finally got it to work. I suspect that Windows 8 is more to blame for the install issues but the video issue is squarely on Parallels for using a virtual video adapter instead of talking directly to and exposing the hardware.

Anyway, I'm gonna see how this goes for this and the other games. Given the issues here I am pretty sure I'll have to go in the direction of BootCamp for The Sims 4 (unless EA does actually release a native Mac version).

References to help are here:

How to Install Sims 2 on Windows 8
Sims 2 Graphics Issues
 
I've accepted the fact that most games aren't coming to the Mac so for years I ran bootcamp. But about 6 months ago I removed the bootcamp partition b/c I just didn't want to restart and only be in windows to play games.

I have Parallels 8 and am running Win 7 Ultimate on it. I have Star Wars the Old Republic, Marvel Heroes, Rift, DC Universe Online, and a bunch of Steam games (that do not run on OSX) installed on it.

I devoted 4GB of RAM, 1GB of Video Memory, and 2 CPU's in the setup for this particular virtual machine. Everything runs really well and I actually play the games now that I do not have to boot up. Parallels starts up pretty fast (I do not leave it running) and I typically move the Windows window onto another screen and play games there while OSX runs on the iMac monitor for everything else I'm doing. (I don't use coherence mode)

Performance is probably better in bootcamp but with my setup (maxed out late 2013 27" iMac) it runs well enough for me to play what I want on it. I'd probably not use the MBA we have for parallels gaming and would do bootcamp on it, but it's just not a powerful computer.
 
I would try both. On Mac using Parallels it really depends on the game and your Graphic drivers what the performance will be. In my situation I run Cilvilization IV using a Aspyr Mac port with 10 to 20 fps with very low settings, the fps is even worse in Parallels. Using Bootcamp I get around 40 to 50 fps with high settings. So for now I would recommend to use Bootcamp until Apple makes their drivers more suitable for gaming.
 
Dekard said:
Bootcamp. There are still tons of issues with games and parallels, mouse spinning issues, etc..
Click to expand...

Have not seen that problem in Parallels, well not yet anyway.
 
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