Parallels

[Skrambles]

Does anyone on here use Parallels to run Win 10 on their Mac?

I've been running Win 10 in Bootcamp on my late 2014 iMac (i7, 16 gb) for about 6 years and I'm quite keen to try Parallels for a few reasons: the iMac has hybrid drives and Windows only boots on the non-SSD; Win 10 always seems to do updates at inconvenient times for my work; and the Mac OS looks so much cleaner and brighter than Windows.

So my question: is there a big performance hit running Win 10 in Parallels?

[mikef]

I run Win 10 in Parallels. If you have enough resources to allocate 4 cores and 8GB RAM I’d say it’s fine for business apps - obviously not for gaming. There’s good integration with the host MacOS environment including file sharing, USB devices and copy&paste. Obvs not on an Apple Silicon M1 Mac

[Troubleatmill]

What is it you need to run on Windows?

If it is beefy - why not bootcamp?

[Skrambles]

Troubleatmill said:

What is it you need to run on Windows?

If it is beefy - why not bootcamp?

Nothing demanding at all, just Office 365! It's been the norm for years to use Windows at work on the network and the IT guys have tended only to permit/support Windows, so I've kept using Windows since buying the iMac for home.

I'm also used to typing on a Windows keyboard; I'm ok using a Mac keyboard, just much slower, so it would be good to carry on using Word for Windows! I don't do gaming any more, so don't have any other reason to stick with Windows.

[Troubleatmill]

Hmm... Office for Mac is very close.

I have it native on Mac

I have O365 on Bootcamp


I also have it on Parallels.


Why not use Bootcamp - and save yourself £60 per year on Parallels licence?

[Skrambles]

Troubleatmill said:

Hmm... Office for Mac is very close.

I have it native on Mac

I have O365 on Bootcamp


I also have it on Parallels.


Why not use Bootcamp - and save yourself £60 per year on Parallels licence?

It's a bit of a trial run, I suppose. I'm working on a research project which involves using Scrivener, Endnote and Evernote, all of which work smoothly on Mac. (Evernote is awful in Windows.).

If I want to jump between Windows and Mac at the moment, it means coming out of Bootcamp. Re-booting into Windows takes 15 minutes!!

So, my plan is to improve my speed on the Mac keyboard and possibly ditch Windows on the iMac in a few months. In the meantime, it would be good to have the option of doing work normally in Word for Windows.

How is Office (Word) for Mac different than O365?

Edited by Skrambles on Saturday 30th January 23:32

[Troubleatmill]

The answer you need. Just install Windows on Bootcamp.

Running an OS inside on OS on a 7 year old machine without a full SSD ..... hmm

Go Bootcamp - make your life easier.

Or just get a Windows PC.

[Skrambles]

Troubleatmill said:

The answer you need. Just install Windows on Bootcamp.

Running an OS inside on OS on a 7 year old machine without a full SSD ..... hmm

Go Bootcamp - make your life easier.

Or just get a Windows PC.

Fair enough! Thanks for your help. Really glad they've ditched hybrid drives, they're rubbish! I'll probably get a new imac later this year. Not sure I'll ever buy another Windows PC.

[brisel]

I have a fairly hefty app that requires Windows on a 5 year old Mac and the whole Parallels thing is tedious and resource hungry. I just need to convince the boss that great as Macs are, he’d be better off with PCs instead of his cast offs!

Time to look up Bootcamp...

[Skrambles]

brisel said:

I have a fairly hefty app that requires Windows on a 5 year old Mac and the whole Parallels thing is tedious and resource hungry. I just need to convince the boss that great as Macs are, he’d be better off with PCs instead of his cast offs!

Time to look up Bootcamp...

Bootcamp has been fine for me until the past year or so. The non-SSD partition is now really slooooow. This is most obvious when trying to re-boot the machine; as I said above, 15 mins for Windows to be fully operational. When the machine's up and running (in Bootcamp), there is often a lot of HDD read/write activity even when I'm only running low demand applications like Word, and the fans will start running quite hard when there's nothing particularly demanding going on.

I've been buying PCs for work or gaming (or both) for years, but, having dropped gaming, I really prefer the simplicity and quality of the iMac package.

[BishBosh]

I use parallels on my Mac just so I can run Access Database for work, if I could get rid of that I’d be completely free of Windows. I haven’t found another solution for Access yet but I keep looking...seems to work okay in coherence mode. That way I never have to turn off the Mac or re-boot. I also use keyboard maestro to automate some of the key strokes and that also works well.

[stemll]

Bear in mind that the Macs with the M1 chip do not support bootcamp so that option is disappearing.

An M1 Mac could run the ARM version of Windows but Microsoft only licence it to manufacturers to be preinstalled so no legit way of getting a copy for an M1 Mac. Apple have confirmed that it could run but "it is up to Microsoft".

There is a preview version of Parallels for the M1 but if you need Windows on a Mac then really you need an Intel Mac at the moment. You mention an iMac which are all Intel at the moment but not sure how much longer that will be the case.

[LunarOne]

I'm still running a 2008 Mac Pro with El Capitan. I run Windows 7 in bootcamp and it's nice and snappy, but when running the same bootcamp partition via VMware Fusion it's too slow to use for sustained use. But handy when I want to do something quick in Windows and don't want to reboot my Mac. The Mac and PC are both located on the same hybrid 1TB drive and both boot fine.

[JimbobVFR]

Skrambles said:

Does anyone on here use Parallels to run Win 10 on their Mac?

I've been running Win 10 in Bootcamp on my late 2014 iMac (i7, 16 gb) for about 6 years and I'm quite keen to try Parallels for a few reasons: the iMac has hybrid drives and Windows only boots on the non-SSD; Win 10 always seems to do updates at inconvenient times for my work; and the Mac OS looks so much cleaner and brighter than Windows.

So my question: is there a big performance hit running Win 10 in Parallels?

It's really not that difficult to junk the Hybrid drive and replace it with an SSD. It's well worth it and not even that expensive these days.

My machine is an older 2012 MBP (i7, 16GB running Cataline) with a 1TB SSD with a 200GB Windows bootcamp partition and both Windows and MacOS are fast and slick when booted independently.

I'd been tempted with trying parallels, I really liked the idea of using the same Windows installation either virtually or natively woth a reboot. Today I discovered that VMWare Fusion is now free for personal use and can use your existing bootcamp partition.

I wont lie getting Fusion set up has been a bit of a ballache to get it running but once running I've been pretty impressed. Pretty decent performance in full screen and I haven't had any issues using Unity mode.

LMK if you want to try Fusion and I'll give you some pointers.

Edited by JimbobVFR on Sunday 31st January 19:31

[Skrambles]

JimbobVFR said:

Skrambles said:

Does anyone on here use Parallels to run Win 10 on their Mac?

I've been running Win 10 in Bootcamp on my late 2014 iMac (i7, 16 gb) for about 6 years and I'm quite keen to try Parallels for a few reasons: the iMac has hybrid drives and Windows only boots on the non-SSD; Win 10 always seems to do updates at inconvenient times for my work; and the Mac OS looks so much cleaner and brighter than Windows.

So my question: is there a big performance hit running Win 10 in Parallels?

It's really not that difficult to junk the Hybrid drive and replace it with an SSD. It's well worth it and not even that expensive these days.

My machine is an older 2012 MBP with a 1TB SSD with a 200GB Windows bootcamp partition and both Windows and MacOS are fast and slick when booted independently.

I'd been tempted with trying parallels, I really liked the idea of using the same Windows installation either virtually or natively woth a reboot. Today I discovered that VMWare Fusion is now free for personal use and can use your existing bootcamp partition.

I wont lie getting Fusion set up has been a bit of a ballache to get it running but once running I've been pretty impressed. Pretty decent performance in full screen and I haven't had any issues using Unity mode.

LMK if you want to try Fusion and I'll give you some pointers.

I looked into replacing the HDD, but with this model it's a delicate exercise that I know I'll bodge. My brother has the slightly older iMac and said it was a doddle. I think he said the screen's held on with magnets on his.

I'll have a look at Fusion, thanks. I get a special deal on Parallels (half price) so might give that a crack first.

[JimbobVFR]

I see what you mean now with the adhesive strip nonsense. I've done the upgrade for my Sisters iMac but I guess that was a different model where the screen was pulled off with suction cups.

I'd certainly give it a go myself but on reflection can see why you wouldn't.