VM fusion vs Parallels - simple answer?

[booch]

Obviously this question has probably been beaten to death, and I did use the search function but.......
I am new to mac and want a very simple explanation of which would be better to run on a MBP 2.5 with 4G memory, I will use XP pro and will only be using a few windows programs, no games and want to be able to use my HP Laserjet printer which has no mac drivers.

thanks for your patience

 

[edesignuk]

You're right. There is no simple answer and there is no correct answer.

Both have free trials (I think), the best you can do for yourself is try them. Anything anyone tells you here will be nothing much more than personal opinion.

I side with Fusion.

 

[Bill&Rose]

Obviously this question has probably been beaten to death, and I did use the search function but.......
I am new to mac and want a very simple explanation of which would be better to run on a MBP 2.5 with 4G memory, I will use XP pro and will only be using a few windows programs, no games and want to be able to use my HP Laserjet printer which has no mac drivers.

thanks for your patience

I just bought and installed Parallels with Windows Vista. The install was simple and quick and it works great very stable with no crashes at all to date. I have been using it to run Versa Check and Omni Form.

It has been very easy to use. I am happy with Parallels, I have never used Fusion so I can't help you there. I am using Boot Camp on my MacBook Pro with Windows XP and it has been stable with only one blue scene to date.

I did have Boot Camp and Windows XP on the iMAC that is now using Parallels and it was completely unstable crashed about every 10 minutes.

Glad I went with Parallels.

 

[cleetusvandamm]

I have been using Parallels to run XP for a couple months now. I use the Windows side specifically to run Quickbooks Simple Start, DVD Profiler & Sony Soundforge. I also use the Windows side for doing remote PC desktop support at my place of employment when I work from home. I have not had one crash yet.
I ahve not used Fusion before so cant really do an honest comparison

 

[sbauer]

I've used VMWare for years so I went with that. Never used Parallels, though.

 

[nanvinnie]

You're right. There is no simple answer and there is no correct answer.

Both have free trials (I think), the best you can do for yourself is try them. Anything anyone tells you here will be nothing much more than personal opinion.

I side with Fusion.

i agree. i don't think there is a clear cut quantitative answer to which one is better.

my opinion: fusion

 

[Cap41]

I've used both. They seem the same. I went with VMware as I liked the look and the way it worked. I liked the unity option for viewing. Im sure if I played around with parallels some more i could get it to the same.

 

[mogzieee]

I've got a 15" MBP, with 2GB RAM and 200GB HD, and it's got full OS X 10.5.6 as it's main OS, but with XP Pro and Ubuntu installed as virtual machines in VMware Fusion.

And... it works just fine. Perfect in every way.

Both VMware and Parralels have free trials - I just picked VMware for the awesome "Unity" mode that lets you run Windows XP windows inside Mac OS X, for example, Paint, as seen below: