Virtual PC vs VMWare

[Zoom7000]

I'm interested in setting up a virtual network with 3 virtual PCs. 2 workstations, 1 server. Which is the better program? Virtual PC or VMWare. Also, is my spec good enough for this, or do I need to upgrade something? RAM maybe?

[SAXD]

If you intend on running all 3 VMs at once, you'll want 2+ GB. VMware Workstation is significantly better than Virtual PC. It has superior virtual networking options, snapshots, etc.

Not even a real comparison, VMware Workstation is just light years ahead of Virtual PC.

[Vice]

VMWare, it's just the superior product and I heard it has some kind of Virtulisation now so if you have a processor that supports that then even better.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

I personally like VMware because their software works better with non-Microsoft operating systems. VMware Workstation has preset settings for Unix, Linux, Solaris, and of course Windows. Also, VMware Workstation 6.0 offers USB 2.0 connection for the guest OS.

You are definitely going to need more RAM. If you run a virtual machine with 256 MB of RAM, that's 256 MB of RAM that VMware will reserve for itself. By default VMware will do some memory swapping and swap virtual machine memory to the hard drive, but I turn this off to improve performance.

Lastly, are you going to run 3 virtual machines at the same time? Or only run 1 of the 3 at any time?

[Malisk]

IMHO, VMware even works better on Microsoft operating systems. The performance is simply better. And now with VMware 6, Vista 32/64 support is no longer just in an experimental stage, and also comes with multi-monitor and as above fast USB 2.0 support. :) So VMware is one of those products I think I recommend over competitors for pretty much any form of use. I have ran Ubuntu in Windows, Vista 32 in Vista 32 :), and last but not least OS X in Windows with it.

I recommend ~1.5 GB total when running one VM. That would give you 768 MB RAM per system. I hope you won't have to run all three at once! I think you'd need like 2-3 GB minimum for that to work reasonably well.

Edited May 9, 2007 by Jugalator

[Annorax]

VirtualPC is great for Windows VMs, but I've had trouble with it and Linux/UNIX ones. I personally use VMWare and though not perfect, it runs a little better for me.

[SacrificialSoldier]

I vote for VMWare.

[Werebu.com]

I vote for VMWare too. Used it, it's great!

p.l.u.r.

[rado354]

After a few hundred virtual installations of WinXP etc. one thing is for sure:

VMware is much FASTER than VirtualPC :yes:

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

VMWare > Virtual PC when hosting non-windows systems.

[Premgenius]

VMWare over Virtual PC anyday

[+Tantawi Subscriber²]

VMWare (Y).

[Zoom7000]

I guess that's a resounding vote for VMWare. I was hoping everyone would say Virtual PC, because it's free! :p

Looks, like I'll need a RAM upgrade, and may only run 1 workstation, instead of 2

Thanks for the help.

[markwolfe Veteran]

I guess that's a resounding vote for VMWare. I was hoping everyone would say Virtual PC, because it's free! :p

VMWare Player is free. VMWare Server is free. VMWare Converter (I have never heard of this before visiting their website) is also free.

Do you need something that these don't cover?

[soldier1st]

vmware has better everything compared to the ms one,the only thing the ms one has that vmware has is that it is free and thats about it plus vmware has more choices so you are in total control and vmware is faster than the ms one.you need min 2GB if you plan to run vista inside it but you could get by with running 1 virtual machine and setting the vm app to use only ram and no swap improves performance of the virtual machine,you could run more than 1 but it would slow all down,vmware 6 is better than vmware 5,vmware can run anything it supports just fine with no problems.

[FATILA]

I actually try and install VPC when I can, because VMWare installs so many services that run even when the application isn't.

[Echilon]

VMWare's been around for longer, and it's always been faster than virtual PC in my experience.