Bootcamp or Parallels for 3D softwares

Hi.
Need advise on which is better to use, Bootcamp or Parallels for 3D software (Autocad and Vectorworks... max 3 softwares) for my 15 inch MBP (2012) (base model)
Thanks.
S

That convenience comes with a price. And dual boot to run Windows natively is another price!
But in the end you have the option for when you do need to or find the VM just runs too sluggish to be useful.
Depends on amount of RAM at the disposal of the system, the processor (more cores, not just more threads), and even if the VM or Mac or Windows are on an SSD can help too.
A VM is another large app running along Mac OS that is itself running Windows running your CAD or 3D or other apps and processes.
Dynamically assigning RAM and processes is the smart way to allocate but has been slow in reaching the desktop. Servers have done it for years if not decades.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_VMware_Fusion_and_Parallels_Desktop

Similar Messages

  • Mac Pro running Parallels for 3D software apps-who has experience?

    I'm just throwing this out to the educated audience in hopes to find whether running the Mac/PC bridge "Parallels" will work.
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    I am either looking to get a purpose-specific PC workstation for this OR upgrade to the big dog MacPro running parallels.
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    This is what their web site says for system requirements:
    Rhino runs on ordinary Windows desktop and laptop computers, with:
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    512 MB RAM. 1 GB or more is recommended.
    OpenGL graphic card recommended.
    IntelliMouse recommended.
    3-D digitizer optional.
    3-D printer optional.
    Operating systems:
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    *Vista requires Rhino 4.0 Service Release 1 or above.
    Rhino 4.0 will not run on Windows NT, 95, 98, or ME.
    Native Windows x64 is not supported and will not be until the required development tools and libraries are available. There will be a free service release available as soon as possible after 4.0 ships. Rhino 4.0 does run as a 32-bit application on Windows x64.
    Rhino 4.0 does not run natively on Mac OS X, but it is under development. Details...
    Rhino 4.0 does not run natively on Linux, or any other operating system not listed above.

  • Bootcamp or parallels for new macbook pro user

    I am about to make the switch from pc and purchase one of the new macbook pros that came out today. I don't fully understand how bootcamp and parallels work yet and which would be better for my needs.
    I am an architect and will need to run windows for 3d modeling and rendering occasionally. Most likely I will have to use XP pro since Vista isn't yet supported in my work environment. Although I am used to pc operating systems, I think most of the rest of my work could be done using a mac os. Ideally, I would be able to use both simultaneously, but I have heard that parallels is slow.
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    Hi,
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    However there are a lot of postings that this worked for one and that this has destroyed the BootCamp Windows for others.
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    Given the fact that you most certainly need a BootCamp Windows in order to run your architecture programs, I would propose to this first.
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  • Bootcamp or Parallels for windows games?

    I only use Bootcamp generally to play windows games on my Mac. It is a pain to have to constantly reboot each time to play the game and then switch back to my Mac side and vice versa. I just learned about Parallels for mac. Is it worth it to change to this system to avoid the rebooting? Basically the most important concern: Will the games run as well using Parallels as they do on the Bootcamp only version?
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    Hi,
    Parallels (and VMWare Fusion, too) have only support for DirectX 8.1 with experimental (limited) support for DirectX 9.
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  • Bootcamp or Parallels for Windows 7

    I would like to know, which option is better for installing Windows 7 on iMac ( 500 GB, 4 GB RAM)
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    Do Apple provide support for Windows hardware drivers?

    Open Boot Camp Assistant in your Utilities folder and click on the large Print Documentation button. Read it carefully.
    You can find out about Parallels at their website.
    Windows on Intel Macs
    There are presently several alternatives for running Windows on Intel Macs.
    1. Install the Apple Boot Camp software.  Purchase Windows XP w/Service Pak2, Vista, or Windows 7.  Follow instructions in the Boot Camp documentation on installation of Boot Camp, creating Driver CD, and installing Windows.  Boot Camp enables you to boot the computer into OS X or Windows.
    2. Parallels Desktop for Mac and Windows XP, Vista Business, Vista Ultimate, or Windows 7.  Parallels is software virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.
    3. VM Fusionand Windows XP, Vista Business, Vista Ultimate, or Windows 7.  VM Fusion is software virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.
    4. CrossOver which enables running many Windows applications without having to install Windows.  The Windows applications can run concurrently with OS X.
    5. VirtualBox is a new Open Source freeware virtual machine such as VM Fusion and Parallels that was developed by Solaris.  It is not as fully developed for the Mac as Parallels and VM Fusion.
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    You must also have an internal optical drive for installing Windows. Windows cannot be installed from an external optical drive.

  • Running Aflac software on Mac via Bootcamp or Parallels

    Does anyone know if it is technically possible and acceptable to Aflac to run their proprietary software on a Mac running either Bootcamp or Parallels? If the answer is yes, has anyone had any experience with this?

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  • I want to run Lexware on my imac and was told I need bootcamp / parallels for this. Are there any downsides to this?

    Hello, I need to run bookkeepting/ bill writing/ store management software on my imac and would like to use Lexware's German product (equivalent of Quickbooks), which can directly link to the German tax autorities. I was told I can do this from my imac via Bootcamp (they dont do a mac version).
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    There shouldn't be any issues as Boot Camp allows installation of Windows which runs natively just as if you were on a PC. The only downside is that you have to buy a Windows full install disk. Be sure it is the right version for your software.

  • How should I install/setup a single OS of windows 7 to run through bootcamp and parallels 7 on my new macbook pro?

    I just bought a new macbook 8g ram and 750g harddrive and want to be able to run windows 7 through bootcamp and parallels. How do I setup that up and install a single version of windows (want to be able to utilize heavy programs - photoshop, 3D modeling CAD etc. - by installing them once and being able to use them through parallels 7 or bootcamp)? Please let me know of anything that may red flag by doing this and clear concise instructions of which to do first/ settings for bootcamp and parallels

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    A free virtual machine option is VirtualBox, but it might not have all the bells and whistles of the payware options above, but works just  fine.
    We can't provide detailed installation instructions, it's too much, you will have to read Apple's instructions and the manual for your virtual machine software.
    http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/boot_camp_install-setup_10.7.pdf

  • Should I Use Boot Camp or Parallels for use of a Windows Desktop?

    I am migrating from a PC to a Mac; I want to take advantage of having a Windows desktop to run some apps until i buy Mac equivalent software;
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    Hi,
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    Regards
    Stefan

  • Need HDCP-recognizing Bootcamp Windows driver for MacBook Pro's screen

    I need a Bootcamp Windows driver for my MacBook Pro 15/Retina (MBR) that recognizes that the MBR's built-in screen in HDCP-compliant.  The current Bootcamp drivers for Windows do recognized HDCP on an external HDMI-connected display, but do not recognized HDCP on the internal display.
    BTW, I've read some statements that Windows drivers don't recognize HDCP via DisplayPort connections, so I wonder if Apple is using internal wiring that acts like it's a DisplayPort connection?
    Please do not suggest things that only enable disabling DRM HDCP protection from Blu-Ray discs.  I need a solution that to cooperate with DRM HDCP protection for content from live tuners, not from a Blu-Ray or DVD disc.
    My application is using Windows Media Center (WMC) to play streaming content from my Silicon Dust HD HomeRun Prime (HDHR3) cable TV tuner on my MBR's built-in screen.  This works fine with an external HDMI-connected (HDCP-capable) display, but I also want to get this working on my laptop's screen for when I'm stuck in bed (illness, bad back, etc.).  The only application Silicon Dust offers for viewing HDHR3 tuner output on Windows (or any platform, as far as I know) which supports all protected cable channels is WMC, and WMC relies on the Apple-provided Windows NVIDIA drivers for HDCP capability.  The NVIDIA Control Panel explicitly recognizes my external HDMI-connected monitor's HDCP capability, but does not recognize the MBR's internal screen has having any HDCP.  This causes WMC to prevent the display of any TV channels at all from the HDHR3 when the only screen is the internal one (and it blocks DRM-protected channels if both screens are active in parallel).
    I'm thinking that the best solution would be an NVIDIA driver for the built-in GeForce GT 650M for Windows 8 (or 7) which recognizes HDCP capability via DisplayPort.  Is there anything like that?  Or, alternately, some add-in driver that adds a layer of HDCP capability recognition to the standard drivers?
    Is there any currently-available solution?  . . . something that will enable the internal screen to play all the tuner's cable channels including DRM-protected ones (either on Bootcamp'ed Windows or on the OS X side)?
    P.S. -- FYI, the only other potential app I've read about for using an external tuner with a MacBook is an OS X version of MythTV, but (a) that requires an excessively long list of geek tweek steps (install an SQL application, create an SQL database, do lots of command-line tweaks, add & configure a backend app and then a frontend app, ... ) and (b) even then it seems it doesn't support channels that aren't marked "copy-freely", i.e., HDCP-enabled DRM protected content.

    Strange -- sig's comment seems gone now.  I wonder why.
    Anyway, I did try the latests NVidia drivers yesterday, afterall they explicitly say they added HDCP over DisplayPort, but no joy.  In the NVidia control panel (for Windows), external displays via HDMI have a left-menu section for HDCP that explicitly shows it's working, but there is still no such indication for the internal display, and I am still unable to use WMC with HD HomeRun Prime cablecard tuner to play anything on the screen except channels that the provider marks "copy freely" (e.g., Bloomberg news channel 722 isn't playable, but MSNBC 723 is playable). 
    My guess is that maybe laptop internal displays don't explicitly have internal DisplayPort and HDCP technology but have some kind of exception that normally allows playback?
    As an alternative I wish there were cablecard tuner playback software on the OS X side that could play more than "copy freely" cablecard-tuned material, but there doesn't seem to be anything comparable to Windows Media Player that supports that.  (Now it should be clearer why this discussion belongs under MacBook Pro and not under Bootcamp where the moderators moved it.)

  • BootCamp or Parallels 6? Windows 7 or Windows XP?

    Hello all!
    I have this question that has been haunting me for a pretty long time, but now that I got a copy of windows XP and windows 7, I've decided to ask and get rid of this dilemma.
    So, first let me give you the main directions:
    1- I have a 15" 2010 model, macbook pro core i5 2,4.
    2- I need the longest-lasting battery life. Even if the difference is only 15-30 minutes, that's a lot for me.
    3- I need windows for playing games.
    Based on that, should I use windows 7 or XP, for better battery life?
    How about performance, is windows XP so much faster than 7?
    And finally, considering what's above, should I run windows with bootcamp or parallels 6?
    Thanks!

    timelover wrote:
    BobTheFisherman wrote:
    This is becoming very confusing given you are asking questions in two threads.
    You should/can only install one version of Windows using Bootcamp. I'd go with Windows 7. If you install Windows using Bootcamp to take advantage of all the computer's resources (better gaming performance), you can then if you want install Parallels and tell Parallels to use your Bootcamp installion of Windows 7. Then to get best performance boot into Windows 7 for gaming and if you want you can start parallels with the same Windows 7 installation for running other Windows programs.
    You seem to be under the impression that you need to install Windows using Bootcamp and again using Parallels. You don't install Windows twice. You install Windows using Bootcamp once then tell Parallels to use this same installation as its target OS.
    Hey you were the one that told me to ask my questions over here!
    True. But you continued posting over there.
    I'm aware that I dont need to install windows twice. I will install it using bootcamp for gaming, mainly.
    Good. XP is no longer supported by Microsoft so you won't get security updates. IMHO, install Windows 7 and move on. Windows 7 has many advantages over XP including: more secure, supported, better user interface, better networking, etc.
    However, i've read that when you are running OSX and then use parallels, there were supposed to be a difference in terms of performance if you choose the "already installed by bootcamp windows partition", instead of letting parallels create it's own partition from the windows installation DVD.
    Whenever you run an OS in Parallels or any other similar software such as Fusion, you get a performance hit because Parallels uses part of your computer's resources and OSx uses part of your computer's resources. For example, if your computer has 4GB of RAM, Parallels will use say 2GB for Windows and OSx will use 2 GB for OSx. If you install Windows using Bootcamp, Windows can use all 4GB of your computer's RAM.(You need to install the 64bit version of Windows to take advantage of more than 3GB of RAM.
    I need to know that to make the decision: use windows XP or windows 7 with parallels, since I'd like to be on OSX but, at the same time, have the possibility of pressing a button and switching to Windows.
    That is what Parallels allows. If you install Windows (either version) using Bootcamp then specify in Parallels to use the Bootcamp installation of Windows as the target OS you can be in OSx then start up Parallels showing a Windows with Windows 7 (or XP depending on what you installed using Bootcamp) running in it. Or, because you installed Windows (either version) using Bootcamp, you have the option of booting Windows natively, without running OSx at any time to benefit from the performance advantage for running games. Regardless of whether you boot Windows from within Parallels or natively, it is the same Windows installation, and associated data files, that you are running and accessing.
    What's really on my mind is this: Is Seven outperformed by XP when on a VM, like parallels? If so, can Seven overcome this disadvantage by the process of choosing the bootcamp installation instead of creating a new one?
    The issue is running any version of Windows in Parallels will result in less performance than running any version of Windows natively from the Bootcamp partition.
    If windows XP runs smoother/has better performance, I'll go with XP. If Seven has the leverage, i'll go with it.
    XP never ran "smooter" than Windows 7 for many reasons: stability, age, security, etc. etc.
    Thanks

  • Installing Bootcamp with Parallels installed

    Hey guys.
    I need to install Bootcamp to run Rhinoceros and Grasshopper with full graphics support. It isn't a good idea to run these programs only on parallels. However, I am told that I need to install Bootcamp BEFORE parallels if I want them to share the same Windows copy. I already have parallels installed, along with Revit and the full Microsoft Office suite. I don't want to delete all of my installed programs to install windows onto Bootcamp. Is there anyway to salvage this without having to dig up old codes and trying to get all my software back?
    My end-goal is to be able to work in Bootcamp for serious CAD and drafting software, whilst still maintaining the capability of opening these same files for viewing and light edting in Parallels while running Mac. I would be using Bootcamp ONLY for Rhinoceros Grasshopper and Revit. Excel PPT word and other microsoft applications would be run exclusively through parallels.
    Thank you for your views and responses
    - Thomas

    without knowing anything about parallels and feeling that the parallels forum would likely be a safer place to confirm your questions then
    I would think that they mean that you just have to have installed bootcamp before creating the virtual machine in parallels which is to access the windows partition  not wait with installing the virtual machine software(parallels) itself
    but as stated parallels is about the only virtual machine software I have no experience with at all

  • How should I upgrade hard drive with bootcamp partition & Parallels too

    I need to replace the hard drive in my 24" iMac (model 8,1 - early 2008).  My major concern is how to deal with my Windows XP in Parallels using a Bootcamp partition.  I have yet to find software that runs in OSX 7 (Lion) that will clone both the OSX partition and the Bootcamp NTFS partition.  It would appear that the most practical approach would be to use bootcamp assistant to remove the NTSF bootcamp partition and then clone just the OSX partition to my new drive and then recreate the bootcamp and parallels installations and reinstall Windows XP from scratch.   Seems rather inelegant, so I'm hoping someone has advice based on experience.  I'm truly hoping there is a more elegant way and any suggestions are appreciated.

    Kinda sticky, but there is a way.  You'll need three separate tools for the job:
    The External Hard Disk: Indispensable.  Get one that's at least 2x bigger than your current internal drive.  You'll need it as an interim storage point
    Winclone:  This free software will allow you to image the Boot Camp volume.  Since the developers closed shop, it's off to MacUpdate for a copy. Run it and clone the data to the external drive
    Carbon Copy Cloner 3.4.3: Same as above, but for your OS X volume.  This essentially puts a slick front-end on Disk Utility's cloning powers, but it really works well.  Get it at http://www.bombich.com/
    As for restoring the volumes:
    Restore the Mac side first from Snow Leopard, using the created image from CCC.  Let it take up the full of the new drive
    Now, run Boot Camp Assistant to size up a new Windows volume. You should not need to reload Windows--that's where Winclone comes in.
    Use Winclone to recover the XP side now, and if necessary, resize the volume.
    If done correctly, you'll keep XP as you update to Lion on the Mac side--but you can't upgrade the drivers past 3.2.
    Nate

  • Bootcamp and Parallels - Activating windows

    Hi Guys,
    I know some of you run both Bootcamp and Parallels.
    How do you go about activating XP for both bootcamp and parallels at the same time, have any of you seen any problems?
    Cheers
    Andy

    This is not entirely correct. Here's the info from the MacInTouch coverage:
    I'm no software licensing expert, but it appears to me, from reviewing the license for Windows Vista Home, Home Premium and Ultimate [license PDF 1] and Windows Vista Business [license PDF 2], that Vista Business and Visa Ultimate (the priciest versions) may be the only versions that can be installed in a virtual machine under, say, Parallels or VMWare's forthcoming solution. Here is the text in the Vista Home and Home Premium licenses which bans the software's use in virtual machines:
    "You may not use the software installed on the licensed device within a virtual (or otherwise emulated) hardware system."
    A licensed device is a "physical hardware system". Use in Boot Camp would still be OK. Moreover, the licenses for Vista Business and Vista Ultimate allow use in a virtual machine but state that, if you do so, you're not allowed to use any content protected by DRM. It states:
    "You may use the software installed on the licensed device within a virtual (or otherwise emulated) hardware system. If you do so, you may not play or access content or use applications protected by any Microsoft digital, information or enterprise rights management technology or other Microsoft rights management services or use BitLocker. We advise against playing or accessing content or using applications protected by other digital, information or enterprise rights management technology or other rights management services or using full volume disk drive encryption."

  • Which do you prefer -  Bootcamp or Parallels ?

    What is the major difference between these two and which do you prefer on your system ?
    Do you have to partition for both and how much do they recommend as a minimum for partition size ?

    Bootcamp and Parallels both have different values to me so its hard to judge.
    If youneed direct access to firewire devices (Firewire sound or video) Parallels ain't gonna do it for ya as there is no device interface level firewire support
    Parallels being just a virtual machine does not have its own native file system. Instead it emulates a filesystem on a hard disk. It does this by creating a big file on the hard disk in the Mac OS X filesystem and that big file is treated as the hard disk in the virtual machine. With that in mind you don't need to do any partitioning of your OSX system to install parallels. Parallels as a virtual machine application is not revolutuionary and in my opinion is no better or worse than Virtual PC or VMWare in their repective hosted environments. I lot of the giddy-up surrounding Parallels was pure hype. Don't get me wrong its a good product and I use it. I just don't it as the next coming of the antimicrosoft savior.
    BootCamp on the other side provides a capable fast Win-XP system. It does require a seperate partition but installing Bootcamp will allow you to configure that. MacDrive 6 allows you to access your HFS drives in windows XP so both O/Ses have read write access to both file systems. OSX natively only has read access to NTFS Partitions. You have to run Fat32 to allow OSX to read _and write_ to it. Win-XP will natively restrict you to 32GB size for FAT32 even though you can create larger prtitions in other applications. I have sucessfully done so as an act of futility, but if you want a simple setup environment then keep your XP partition under 32GB.
    I came from a PC environment and wound up setting up XP several times to get partitioning right. I will be resetting again in a week or two to reduce my XP partition in size as I find I use OSX more than XP. Without doubt my XP setup is the fastest laptop environment I have ever used run /seen and use it almost exclusively to run Traktor DJ software as it doesn't run well at all under Rosetta and universal binaries are 3-4 months off.
    Bootcamp gives you near full device level access to all the Mac hardware devices Built in sound and the camera being two that need work and apple note it in their release notes for bootcamp. Everything else including Firewire works great.
    At the end of the day I use both but thus far don't use Parallels too much at all. Both have their own advantages.
    Phil

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