virtualization ?s: RAM? parallels/fusion? alternative?

[BugsBunny]

i'm getting a new MBP and want to run windows on it for the first time in parallels or fusion. i don't do much power lifting like intense graphics or gaming or video editing, so the low end 15 incher's specs are totally fine for my purposes so far (typical web browsing, chat, schoolwork, photos, music, etc.), my question is, when i end up having to dedicate half a gig or more to windows, will i be upset at poor performance from either side of the coin (windows or mac osx)?

second question: is either parallels or fusion a much preferred way to go?

third question: on the other hand, would i be better off just buying a netbook for about the cost of one of these software programs + the windows OS and calling it a day?

 

[steveza]

Fusion is a good choice for running Windows for light tasks. If you need something more heavy duty you could use boot camp which is cheaper than a netbook. You can leagally use OEM versions of Windows which makes it a bit (much) cheaper than the full retail price.

As I always seem to be posting these days, you can get free trials of all of these so you can test it out and see for yourself.

 

[ChrisA]

i'm getting a new MBP and want to run windows on it for the first time in parallels or fusion. i don't do much power lifting like intense graphics or gaming or video editing, so the low end 15 incher's specs are totally fine for my purposes so far (typical web browsing, chat, schoolwork, photos, music, etc.), my question is, when i end up having to dedicate half a gig or more to windows, will i be upset at poor performance from either side of the coin (windows or mac osx)?

second question: is either parallels or fusion a much preferred way to go?

third question: on the other hand, would i be better off just buying a netbook for about the cost of one of these software programs + the windows OS and calling it a day?

Buy a netbook and then you have to haul around two computers

If cost is an issue then use Sun's "Virtual Box" it's free not as feature ritch as VMware but if it does what you need then it's what you need.

Windows will run just fine if you give it enough RAM. can you run Windows on a real PC with only 1/2 Gig of RAM? I think if your are going to run VMware you want at least 2GB of RAM in the computers and 4 is best. RAM is cheap now

The other way to go is with "Wine" this lets you run some windows program without using Windows. If it works, and it only works on some programs, but if it works it is the best way to go because you only are the one OS (Mac OS X) loaded and running

There is a comercial version of wine caled "crossover" but the free version is here.
http://wiki.winehq.org/MacOSX

 

[BugsBunny]

ok

I'll try to be a little more specific, now specifically on whether the loaded 2GB RAM on the low end MBP is enough.

On my previous computer with 2GB RAM I ran:

Safari (lots of windows/tabs)
Adium
iTunes (listening to music/watching movies)

...and a lot of times, that was it. 2GB easily covered it.

If I put Windows on it in virtualization, I would be using:

IE for certain services which require it (e.g., Sling.com)
Photoshop (I have copies of the Windows version of it already)
Office (I am so used to Windows Office that I find Mac Office painful to use)

...and even then, these are only used a few times a week (vs. the Mac stuff, which is basically constantly what is open)

So with 2GB, if I want to load up Windows XP with maybe 3/4 a gig in order to do some MS Office work or IE video streaming, am I going to find the MS and Mac stuff usable?

Or should I just go with the low end model, and buy two 2GB RAM sticks for like 70-90 bucks total on NewEgg and install that upgrade? Now that I've looked at the prices on NewEgg, it seems I can create a high end MBP from a low end MBP for about $80 price tag, only with like 70GB less hard drive space. Seems like a bargain! Is this right?