Parallels vs VMWare Fusion

[C-Man 27184]

This isn't a gaming question but my last computer question on "Can You Help Me With This?" got zero responses so thought I'd try in here.

I have a MacBook Pro 2018 and have run Windows 10 flawlessly in VMWare Fusion 11 since buying the computer. Without really thinking, I upgraded my MacOS to Big Sur last week and immediately Fusion 11 no longer worked. Googling showed it was no longer compatible so I downloaded Fusion 12 and got it updated. Everything was a-OK until I opened the new virtual machine and the performance is not good at all. More Googling showed lots of frustration among users late in 2020 -- like it wasn't working, etc. Mine "works" but the performance is shit. On a whim, I tried a free 2-week trial of Parallels and it seems to be running much smoother.

Anybody have the same issues I have with Big Sur upgrade and Fusion. My inclination is to leave everything as-is due to convenience but I want the better performance. I'd need to copy over a TON of files/programs from Fusion's virtual machine to Parallels. I also think I'd need to get another copy of Windows as I'm not sure it's transferable. (I'm using a free d/l of Windows right now but if I make the switch, I'm going to want the full version.)

Thoughts on this?

[immamac 42835]

Can't you just dual boot on the intel based macbooks? 

I think you are always going to have shit performance and both are heavily virtualized and you will likely just have to use parallels.

[atomheartbevo 89624]

9 minutes ago, C-Man said:

I'd need to copy over a TON of files/programs from Fusion's virtual machine to Parallels. I also think I'd need to get another copy of Windows as I'm not sure it's transferable.

Slightly old, but should (maybe) still work - convert your Fusion VM to PD:

https://www.parallels.com/blogs/convert-vmware-to-parallels/

I have Fusion 12 running on a 2018 Mac mini, but I was only using it for a class I was taking that needed me to do some programming and database stuff using Microsoft products, so it wasn't like I was sitting around waiting on it to do something.

I'm currently using Parallels on an M1 MacBook Air, and it's pretty fucking fast, even for running x86 stuff under Windows on ARM.  But apples, oranges.

[Dr Fear 1268]

There's a lesson to be learned here, Mac boy.

Edited January 22, 2021 by Dr Fear

[atomheartbevo 89624]

2 minutes ago, immamac said:

Can't you just dual boot on the intel based macbooks? 

I think you are always going to have shit performance and both are heavily virtualized and you will likely just have to use parallels.

As long as you have the memory and drive space, and hopefully a quad-core, Windows in a VM runs fine on Intel Macs made within the last 5-6 years, at least for typical productivity apps.  I had to use it for some classwork involving Microsoft stuff, but I also use it throughout the week for some apps that don't have Mac versions.

Now trying to run some newer games or serious video or photo editing in a VM, then things can take a real nosedive.  At which point, if you can't dual-boot, use Wine/Crossover (and I've been running Ultima Online and a few other games under CrossOver/Wine for 8 or 9 years).

 

[C-Man 27184]

59 minutes ago, immamac said:

Can't you just dual boot on the intel based macbooks? 

I think you are always going to have shit performance and both are heavily virtualized and you will likely just have to use parallels.

You mean like Boot Camp? Sorry, despite owning an iMac since 2012 or so and this MacBook since 2018, I still know PC's better. I liked Fusion because I could just flip back-and-forth from the Mac to the virtual machine like it was another window. I didn't think Parallels acted that way. Looks like I was mistaken.

 

50 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

As long as you have the memory and drive space, and hopefully a quad-core, Windows in a VM runs fine on Intel Macs made within the last 5-6 years, at least for typical productivity apps.  I had to use it for some classwork involving Microsoft stuff, but I also use it throughout the week for some apps that don't have Mac versions.

Now trying to run some newer games or serious video or photo editing in a VM, then things can take a real nosedive.  At which point, if you can't dual-boot, use Wine/Crossover (and I've been running Ultima Online and a few other games under CrossOver/Wine for 8 or 9 years).

 

For how I use it, my virtual machine might as well have been a regular PC. You couldn't tell a difference. But now the pointer skips a bit rather than glides and a few programs seem slightly glitchy from time to time. Meanwhile, some of those programs -- haven't been able to try all -- seem to work perfectly in Parallels. I don't mind paying $75 for Parallels but would like to be sure that's the way to go before doing it.

Thanks for the guidance, gents.