VirtualBox, VMWare, Parallels

[Deviate_X]

I've just spent the last week installing and testing these virtualisation software for the purposes of running Windows 8 with Visual Studio software on my Mac Air. I want start using it more as a Mac rather than staying locked into bootcamp'ing :D

The results have suprised me compared to what i have read in the reviews about windows performance in these VMs.

In my real world usage i have found that:

* Parallels Trial performance is very poor, its slow and prone to freezing up for seconds. However Parallels has great integration and ease of use features

* VMware Trial performance is acceptable but also prone to regularly hanging for shorter bursts of time than parallels. I also experienced Windows 8 regularly crashing on VMWare with blue screen of death (HAL_INITIALISATION fail) after prolonged use. However integration was good. But the predictable BSOD was unacceptable.

* VirtualBox performance was remarkably fast and extremely usable, i didn't experience any hanging. However integration and ease of use features are minimal.

I would like to what others experience is, if they are different from mine. Also what kind of applications you are using. Thanks in advance

[Gotenks98]

I am a little confused as to why you gave VirtualBox such a rating for integrated features and ease of use. I find the other 2 more lacking in that aspect and are more of a pain to configure. Either way I would still use bootcamp unless I had an extremely high end mac with tons of ram. That would be the only way to use applications I need with minimal performance loss.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

i use VirtualBox on my work laptop. it's easy to use.

ive never used Parallels; VMware Player wasnt very good, imo

[Japlabot]

VirtualBox has come a long way

[Lunfai]

I've never dealt with freezes with Parallels, I'm not sure how much ram or cores I've configured but with my stock i5 with 8GB 1600 DDR3 I haven't experienced any of the sort, and I've been running it since early November.

Also a tip with Parallels, I didn't buy it until December, but after the 10 days ran out you can set calendar back and it'll function again, really stupid flaw, but got me by until I got my student edition.

[remixedcat]

Vmware fusion

[Beyond Godlike]

I use vmware for snapshots, dont think Vbox has that. Also its integration with ESXi is amazing.

[Deviate_X]

I am a little confused as to why you gave VirtualBox such a rating for integrated features and ease of use. I find the other 2 more lacking in that aspect and are more of a pain to configure. Either way I would still use bootcamp unless I had an extremely high end mac with tons of ram. That would be the only way to use applications I need with minimal performance loss.

By integration i mean USB devices plugged into VMware and Parallels are accessible in windows, but not always through virtual box.

[tim_s]

Hi,

I have used Virtual Box / VM Ware server and a few other options - I really liked VM Ware server, when you intend for the VMs to run headless to perform tasks but Virtual Box's installation is simple if you are looking for a quick solution.

Hi,

I have used Virtual Box / VM Ware server and a few other options - I really liked VM Ware server, when you intend for the VMs to run headless to perform tasks but Virtual Box's installation is simple if you are looking for a quick solution.

[exotoxic]

I use vmware for snapshots, dont think Vbox has that.

Virtualbox does snapshots :)

[tim_s]

Out of interest - not to highjack this thread: Can you run VirtualBox - headless?