Parallels, the company behind the first ever virtualization program
for the Intel Mac, has recently updated its software to its fourth
version. I decided to pit it against VMware's recently released second
version of its Mac virtualization product, Fusion.
For those searching for buying advice, there was a clear winner.
Installation Results
I obtained and installed 30-day trial copies of the two packages in
question. Both installed easily and accepted the trial key I gave them.
For my tests I used a 20 GB pre-allocated virtual drive with each
program. Each virtual machine was set to give the performance advantage
to my copy of Windows XP, and each machine was configured with 512 MB
of RAM, host only networking, 3D graphics acceleration, and 2 virtual
processors.
All tests were conducted on my iMac, a Early 2008 20"/2.4 Ghz Core2 Duo
Penryn model, stock except for the upgrade to 2 GB of RAM. To test
the 3D functionality, I ran the tests in DirectX's diagnostics, keeping
an eye on CPU utilization.
Fusion Installation
I started my tests with VMware Fusion. I created a
new virtual machine and set its options to match the test
configuration. I opted to manually install Windows and started up the
machine. It immediately detected my Windows source disc and began
booting. Installation from that point forward was uneventful.
One perk I did notice was that the mouse automatically transitioned
at the virtual screen's edge during installation without the tools
being present. Also, during the most strenuous parts of the
installation, Fusion stayed between 100% and 110% utilization (total
possible utilization is 200% when both cores of my Mac's CPU are fully
loaded). I was able to continue work and listen to music in iTunes
without any detectable sluggishness.
I will cover my experience with the machine post-installation
below.
Parallels Installation
My tests with Parallels Desktop
did not go as well. In fact, my attempts to install Windows XP did not
go at all.
When I attempted to install Windows, Parallels shot my CPU load to
full, the program itself took greater than 190% of the total load. My
computer was so taxed that even after I managed to quit all other
running programs, the clock froze. This effect was most evident due to
the fact that my clock is set to display the time with seconds. At a
certain point, the seconds simply stopped incrementing.
However, the installation process continued to progress; everything
inside the installer window worked normally, but everything else,
including input, did not function. After 10 minutes, the installation
failed, citing a cryptic error message, and I regained limited control
over my computer. The clock started moving forward again, and I
regained jerky mouse control.
I managed to halt the frozen machine, but I had to manually use
Activity Monitor to kill every Parallel's process, which were still
locking up my machine even after I had quit the program.
Thinking I had a corrupt Parallels installation, I ran the
uninstaller, restarted, and tried again. After my fifth attempt at
trying to make it work, I gave up. I was only able to get a working
virtual machine after importing my pristine VMware Fusion file.
Trial Results
Using Fusion
In my testing, VMware Fusion continued to perform quite admirably.
Even during 3D tasks, the processor load never exceeded 120%.
Everything worked as advertised. Each of my printers was given its own
instance in Windows, and printing worked wonderfully; each job also
carried its job title over to the Mac, helping to sort and identify the
jobs.
I tested Unity, and though there were some graphics glitches,
everything worked well; as soon as I switched modes, my running apps
were given individual icons in the Dock.
Using Parallels
On the other hand, Parallels Desktop displayed more of its
shortcomings.
After the half-hour process of importing the VMware file, I began
tests. During 3D engagements, the CPU strain reached 150%. During
startup alone, the CPU usage shot to full and Parallels' consumed
greater than 190% of the total - so high that the same mouse and time
glitches seen during installation appeared. Thankfully the load dropped
down to hover around 100% after startup had completed.
Parallels' Coherence mode worked almost identically to Fusion's
Unity, even showing similar graphics glitches. However, much to my
chagrin, Parallels sorted the running programs by placing the Windows
taskbar right above the Dock. This cluttered the display and did not
help the whole concept of "coherence" with the Mac's apps and
interface.
When I went to test printers I found that a random color HP laser
printer driver had been installed. I discovered that I had to manually
switch which printer I wanted to print to in Parallels' interface, an
inconvenience. Also, every job simply displayed an identical generic
name, which in no way helped me to tell which job was which.
Will the Missing Software Please Raise Your Disk Image?
I am recommending VMware as the best commercial virtualization app.
Notice that I said commercial. Also notice that I left out
another virtualization solution: the open-source VirtualBox. Next time, I am going to
review and compare it to VMware to see which app reigns supreme for
running Windows on your Mac. 
Purchase Links
- VMware Fusion 2, currently $62.99 shipped from Amazon.com
- Parallels Desktop 4 for Mac, $79.99 download direct from Parallels, also CD
version $79.99 shipped from Amazon.com,
plus $20 mail-in rebate
