VirtualBox vs VMware Fusion vs Parallels

[Korreckj328]

Does anyone have any experience with the three of these?

I'm thinking of ditching my windows partition and I'm wondering about the performance of these three options when it comes to running the MS office suite and Visual Studio Enterprise Edition (thank you free school license).

Is there enough of a performance in the two paid for applications to warrant buying the software with my usage?

 

[Jasonnz2018]

Parallels is your best bet out of all on a mac

 

[pastrychef]

Years ago, I tried using Parallels to run Windows from my Bootcamp drive. It installed stuff all over the place and I eventually had to do a clean install so that I could boot from the Bootcamp drive again. Again, this was a long time ago and I'm sure they have made improvements but I never dared try it again.

I have been using Fusion for a long time (since about 2009?) and it has been very stable and never caused any problems on my Bootcamp drive.

I never tried VirtualBox because, as far as I know, I can't use it with my Bootcamp drive.

 

[Jasonnz2018]

Years ago, I tried using Parallels to run Windows from my Bootcamp drive. It installed stuff all over the place and I eventually had to do a clean install so that I could boot from the Bootcamp drive again. Again, this was a long time ago and I'm sure they have made improvements but I never dared try it again.

I have been using Fusion for a long time (since about 2009?) and it has been very stable and never caused any problems on my Bootcamp drive.

I never tried VirtualBox because, as far as I know, I can't use it with my Bootcamp drive.

give parallels another go, don't do the bootcamp way, fresh install windows, and it works great, and you can have dual os on 2 different monitors, and runs very smooth, I been using it for like 5 years now

 

[jed852]

Years ago, I tried using Parallels to run Windows from my Bootcamp drive. It installed stuff all over the place and I eventually had to do a clean install so that I could boot from the Bootcamp drive again. Again, this was a long time ago and I'm sure they have made improvements but I never dared try it again.

I have been using Fusion for a long time (since about 2009?) and it has been very stable and never caused any problems on my Bootcamp drive.

I never tried VirtualBox because, as far as I know, I can't use it with my Bootcamp drive.

You can actually boot from the Bootcamp partition on virtual box, but its a lot of hassle and it is not reliable.

Im with VMWare Fusion too, its just so simple and dependable, I really dislike parallels for the same reason as you, it drenches its roots everywhere on the installation I like the Virtual. machines to be as Isolated as possible File-wise, and I really dont like the way Parallels Floods your application folder with 'Windows Apps Shortcuts.'

 

[rapproducer714]

Parallels is your best bet out of all on a mac

Agreed, sir. I use Parallels.

 

[pastrychef]

I don't know if Parallels or Virtual Box has this feature, but VMware Fusion allows for the creation and use of macOS virtual machines. It's a built-in feature that builds a virtual machine from within macOS using the Recovery Partition of any macOS system.

I believe this feature will soon be extremely important to macOS users because Mojave is the last version of macOS with support for 32-bit apps. This means that if you have any legacy apps or games that are still 32-bit, they will not run in future versions of macOS. With VMware Fusion, we can easily create a macOS virtual machine to run these old legacy 32-bit apps and games.

This video shows how to build a macOS virtual machine from within macOS using VMware Fusion:

Please be aware that this site does allow the discussion of pre-built macOS virtual machines and/or images. Doing so will result in the post being deleted and the poster risks being banned. Discussions on building a macOS virtual machine from within macOS is allowed.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

I don't know if Parallels or Virtual Box has this feature, but VMware Fusion allows for the creation and use of macOS virtual machines. It's a built-in feature that builds a virtual machine from within macOS using the Recovery Partition of any macOS system.

I believe this feature will soon be extremely important to macOS users because Mojave is the last version of macOS with support for 32-bit apps. This means that if you have any legacy apps or games that are still 32-bit, they will not run in future versions of macOS. With VMware Fusion, we can easily create a macOS virtual machine to run these old legacy 32-bit apps and games.

This video shows how to build a macOS virtual machine from within macOS using VMware Fusion:

Please be aware that this site does allow the discussion of pre-built macOS virtual machines and/or images. Doing so will result in the post being deleted and the poster risks being banned. Discussions on building a macOS virtual machine from within macOS is allowed.

Yes, Parallels does let you install another instance of macOS or install from the Recovery partition. I have VMs for Sierra and Mountain Lion. It works well enough, though I find the performance hit just too much.

I actually like VirtualBox as it is much lighter on resources and doesn't send out all those tendrils to deep, dark places on your system, as mentioned above. Doesn't do Direct3D support completely though and often fails to render. You have to specify it in the extension-pack install. I haven't tried Fusion. I thought it was a paid for option if you wanted to create new VMs. Maybe I'm wrong nowadays?

 

[pastrychef]

Yes, Parallels does let you install another instance of macOS or install from the Recovery partition. I have VMs for Sierra and Mountain Lion. It works well enough, though I find the performance hit just too much.

I actually like VirtualBox as it is much lighter on resources and doesn't send out all those tendrils to deep, dark places on your system, as mentioned above. Doesn't do Direct3D support completely though and often fails to render. You have to specify it in the extension-pack install. I haven't tried Fusion. I thought it was a paid for option if you wanted to create new VMs. Maybe I'm wrong nowadays?

That's good to know about Parallels.

I never tried VirtualBox because I use my "Bootcamp" drive virtually in macOS and, as far as I know, VirtualBox isn't capable of this, at least not easily.

Yes, VMware Fusion is a commercial app, not free. I believe retail price is around $80. Once purchased, you are free to create as many virtual machines as you like.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

That's good to know about Parallels.

I never tried VirtualBox because I use my "Bootcamp" drive virtually in macOS and, as far as I know, VirtualBox isn't capable of this, at least not easily.

Yes, VMware Fusion is a commercial app, not free. I believe retail price is around $80. Once purchased, you are free to create as many virtual machines as you like.

This may be a dumb question but are you running the Bootcamp partition virtually on a Hackintosh? Does that mean I can install Windows and use say Parallels to run it? (Parallels can run a Bootcamp partition). I understand I can't actually 'boot' Bootcamp due to UEFI stuff and firmware, but if I can at least install Windows with it I'll give it a go!