Mac User? Which Windows Virtualization Software to Use?

[Dean Fehribach]

Here is a well thought-out article comparing the three virtualization programs for running Windows (or Linux) on a Macintosh. Boot Camp is still by far the best way to run eCabinet Systems on the Mac, but if you must virtualize, then Parallels seems to be the way to go because of its better OpenGL support, which is what eCabinet Systems uses (not DirectX).

I have used VMWare Fusion and Parallels to virtualize Windows for eCabinet Systems and I have to agree that Parallels is the better; Boot Camp is still best.

http://www.macworld.com/article/145613/ ... vmapp.html

[Neville Bastian]

Hi Dean,
That's interesting what you are saying about running Ecabinets on a Mac.
I have a friend who went from the windows camp to the Mac camp 3 years ago. In that time he has got stronger with his conviction on the ease of the Mac and its speed and trouble free use. He will never go back to the windows environment now.
Could you tell me what performance sacrifice you have with running Ecabinets in the virtualization mode? What would be the ideal Mac system to buy if you were trying to get closer to windows performance?

Thanks
Neville

[Jim Chilta]

I had been running Parallels until the program wouldn't work anymore after a hard drive crash. I ended up setting up boot camp and ran that for a while. The biggest problem I had with boot camp was having to restart the computer every time I needed to switch (which was far too often).
Bought the newest version of Parallels and works great. Speedwise, it appeared to be quicker but I actually timed it (entering a resized cabinet in a batch and there was no speed difference.

[Nick M Singer]

Whilst on the topic although this may seem like sacrilage to Mac users, is it possible to run a Mac on Windows only vis. reformat the drive and install Windows as the sole OS?

[James Melvin]

Thanks for posting this. I have had a Mac on my desk since 1986 and never wanted anything else, until I discovered eCabinets, that is. So, 6 years ago my son built a respectable PC for me (Athlon 64 4000, Quadro FX 1000, 4GB Ram, XP Pro) which has been adequate for my needs. Of course I found myself constantly itching for ways to get everything over to my Mac. About 18 months ago, after a major registry corruption (and a week of my life lost) I bought a 24" iMac (3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, GeForce 8800 GS,4GB Ram). I bought a copy of VMWare Fusion 2.0.2 and was pretty disappointed that it was still slower than my old Athlon 64. I have not tried Parallels. I did try running eCabinets on a Mac Bootcamp partition and it did SCREAM. But the prospect of constantly rebooting between OS's made me keep eCabs on my PC. Now, with the release of ver6 I can see the need to upgrade. But, what to do??? With Mac there is still no Quadro card option until you get into a Mac Pro pushing $3000. The Mac Mini would take a Quadro card but I just don't know if Mini cpu would be fast enough. And then there is price; even modest PC workstation prices are now in the $1500 range With all of my amateur research (and my long Mac love affair) I still can't make up my mind. Is there anyone else out there struggling with these issues. Love to hear from you.