News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.
April 24, 2006
Parallels Workstation vs. Boot Camp comparison chart
Authored by Aaron Freedman at 10:04 AM
Category | Software » XP on Mac
If one wishes to turn to the dark side by installing Windows on their Intel Mac, there are two ways to go about it, by using either Apple's Boot Camp or Parallels Workstation. Each way has its advantages and disadvantages, but it can sometimes be hard to tell which one's for you. That's why I decided to create a chart that compares the features of the two. Hopefully, my chart will be very helpful in making the choice of which path to the evil is the best.
| Apple Boot Camp | Parallels Workstation Beta | |
| Basic Information | ||
| Cost | Free | Free trial ($39.99 when full version released) |
| Version | Beta | Beta |
| Method | Dual-boot | Virtualization |
| Installation | ||
| Requirement of Full Partition (a.k.a. have to fully erase drive) | No | No |
| Types of Operating Systems Supported | Windows XP SP2 Home or Pro | Windows 3.1, 3.11, 95, 98, Me, 2000, NT, XP, 2003, any Linux distribution, FreeBSD, Solaris, OS/2, eComStation, MS-DOS |
| Ability for Hard Drive Size to Increase Over Time | No | Yes |
| Usage | ||
| General Speed (in comparison to running OS by itself on the computer) | 100% | 90-95% |
| Maximum Number of Operating Systems (not including OS X) | 1 | Infinite |
| Maximum Number of Simultaneously Running Operating System(s) (including OS X) | 1 | Theoretically infinite (up to five without crashing tested by Macworld) |
| DirectX and OpenGL Support | Yes | Yes (but can't do 3D Games and DVDs for slow) |
| 3D Graphics Acceleration Support | Yes | No |
| Full-Screen Mode | Yes | Yes |
| Dual-Monitor Support | Yes | Yes |
| Networking (Ethernet and WiFi) Support | Yes | Yes |
| Ease of Use and Bugs | ||
| Simple, Graphical Installer | Yes | Yes |
| Bugs | Very few | Fair amount |
Recent Entries
About MacUser
MacUser is your source for news, info, and opinion about Apple, the Mac, and the iPod. Our dedicated team of bloggers covers everything that is relevant to Mac users — and, okay, some stuff that’s not quite relevant, but is still a lot of fun.
Subscribe/RSS
- Blog Posts
- Blog Comments
- Podcast (RSS) (iTunes)
Tip us off!
- Email: macuser [at] macuser [dot] com
Recent Comments 
- The Gabe on Some major bands shun iTunes
- DJ Ren on Some major bands shun iTunes
- t on Rumors of Steve's demise are greatly exaggerated
- Jack on Psystar says Apple has trust issues
- William on Television ads misleading? Say it ain't so!
- vectr on Reunited: an Apple Remote and an Apple TV
Categories
- Apple (211)
- Advertising (148)
- Events (219)
- Huh? (170)
- Humor (251)
- News (143)
- People (240)
- Rivals (379)
- Speculation (154)
- Steve Jobs (157)
- Stores (196)
- Apple TV (56)
- Business (424)
- Games (137)
- Geekery (449)
- Hardware (885)
- Accessories (69)
- Intel Macs (161)
- Ihnatko (18)
- Internet (438)
- Legal (216)
- MacUser (91)
- Money (162)
- Music (328)
- Podcasting (98)
- Photography (70)
- Security (235)
- Software (1470)
- Updates (502)
- Tips (347)
- Troubleshooting (182)
- Video (379)
- Windows (205)
- iPhone (192)
- iPod (574)
- iPod Accessories (92)
- iPod Software (58)
- iTunes (110)
- iTunes Store (415)
Archives
- August 2008 (166)
- July 2008 (175)
- June 2008 (171)
- May 2008 (185)
- April 2008 (234)
- March 2008 (217)
- February 2008 (215)
- January 2008 (239)
- December 2007 (169)
- November 2007 (164)
- October 2007 (187)
- September 2007 (167)
- August 2007 (195)
- July 2007 (152)
- June 2007 (223)
- May 2007 (243)
- April 2007 (286)
- March 2007 (288)
- February 2007 (250)
- January 2007 (266)
- December 2006 (244)
- November 2006 (293)
- October 2006 (307)
- September 2006 (250)
- August 2006 (268)
- July 2006 (288)
- June 2006 (293)
- May 2006 (297)
- April 2006 (351)
- March 2006 (366)
- February 2006 (110)
- January 2006 (107)
- December 2005 (23)
Mac Publishing Sites
Links
Comments
I'd like to see this chart but its not working. tried to download the linked file and am greeted with the message that its not in right format...and I have the Microsoft Office. Hmmm...must have been done on a PC. (smiles)
Posted by: Michel | April 24, 2006 07:51 AM
"Hmmm...must have been done on a PC. (smiles)"
Hey, I consider that very insulting. But seriously, I don't know why it didn't work. It worked when I downloaded it from off the server.
Posted by: Aaron![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.macuser.com/nav-commenters.gif)
|
April 24, 2006 07:54 AM
It is a MS Excel file. it is posted very wierd. You might try downloading it and opening with firefox.
Posted by: David | April 24, 2006 08:21 AM
Doesn't work for me either. What format should it be in ? After download it is .txt
Posted by: Gerald | April 24, 2006 08:21 AM
Try it now.
Posted by: Aaron![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.macuser.com/nav-commenters.gif)
|
April 24, 2006 08:28 AM
Download doesn't work for me either. Link points to and brings back this page.
Posted by: Amar | April 24, 2006 02:21 PM
That's the point. The chart is right below the post.
Posted by: Aaron![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.macuser.com/nav-commenters.gif)
|
April 24, 2006 02:25 PM
I tried both on my iMac & ended up removing boot camp after less than an hour because I didn't like having to reboot to use Windows. I'm now using Parallels Workstation both on my iMac and my MacBook Pro. The latest beta is very stable and it runs faster than my old Dell laptop. I now have Outlook & a MS Access application running in Windows XP while I'm working in Mac OS X on my iMac, which is exactly how I want to use Windows.
Posted by: mike3k![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.macuser.com/nav-commenters.gif)
|
April 25, 2006 07:44 AM
The "90-95%" speed for Parallels Workstation Beta is too optimistic. In reality, virtualization is between 70% and 80% for normal applications and less than 10-15% for apps that require graphics acceleration or overlays (e.g. a DVD/movie player).
Posted by: Eugenia | April 26, 2006 12:51 AM