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MacTech finds Parallels beating VMWare Fusion again in annual virtualization rundown
MacTech has posted its annual rundown of benchmarks between two of the most popular virtualization solutions out there on the Mac: VMware Fusion 5 and Parallels Desktop 8. Both are of course used to run Windows-compatible software inside of an OS X environment, and especially on the high end IT side (which MacTech covers well and focuses on with its ongoing conference series), just a few measures of speed or performance can make a big difference in productivity. Or, as the benchmarking study shows, game playing. As you can see in the comprehensive report, MacTech set up a series of Mac desktops and laptops, and then installed and ran both VMWare Fusion and Parallels on them, along with a series of games (including the great Warhammer 40000: Space Marine) and other productivity and benchmarking software. So who won? "When we look at the 'big picture' of all the top-level test results," says MacTech, "Parallels is, once again, the clear winner." Parallels has been beating VMWare in these tests for the past few years, and this year won over 68% of the tests by a total of 5% score or more. So if you need a powerful, comprehensive solution for virtualization, MacTech says the choice is clear. However, MacTech also says once again that both of these pieces of software work very well, and that virtualization is more viable than ever as a way to run even the newest Windows software like Windows 8. Bootcamp is still another option for running Windows on your Mac, but if you want to do it without even leaving your OS X environment, either Parallels or VMWare's Fusion will serve you well.
Parallels 8 and VMware Fusion 5 go head-to-head in benchmark testing
Over the past two weeks, both VMware and Parallels released new versions of their flagship virtualization software for the Mac. First on the scene was VMware Fusion 5 (US$49.99 - $99.99), and last week Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac ($79.99) arrived. Both offer faster performance, compatibility with Mountain Lion and Windows 8, and new features for ease of use. Now MacObserver's Jim Tanous has done a side-by-side comparison of the two virtual machine apps, complete with detailed benchmarks of their performance in a variety of conditions. Tanous' detailed analysis shows that at least for the current incarnations of these two virtualization applications, Parallels Desktop 8 has the edge in terms of performance. He did see some anomalous results when running benchmarks on Windows 8 under Parallels Desktop 8, and chalked up the "too good to be true" performance figures to the way that Windows 8 is virtualized in Parallels 8. There are a plethora of charts to illustrate the results, and I suggest that you look at them over at MacObserver. Tanous brings up a final point that "Consumers may not be happy with the yearly paid update cycles, but the fierce competition between Parallels and Fusion has led the market to a mature and capable state and consumers of both products will likely be satisfied with their performance."
VMware intros Fusion 5 virtualization software with support for Win 8, integration with Mountain Lion
With Mountain Lion newly available and Windows 8 on the verge of shipping, now was a pretty good time for VMware to update its Fusion virtualization software, dont'cha think? The company just announced Fusion 5 with 70-plus new features, including support for Win 8 and tight integration with OS X 10.8. For instance, you can now view Windows programs in Mountain Lion's Launchpad, while VMware software updates pop up in the Notification Center. Fusion also supports AirPlay for the first time, and you can also run either Mountain Lion or Mountain Lion Server as a virtual machine. The company also added support for Retina Display MacBook Pros, so that everything looks crisp on that 2,880 x 1,800 screen. Also of note: Fusion now supports USB 3.0, and Linux users get some love in the form of Open GL 2.1 graphics support. The standard version of Fusion 5 is available now for $49.99, but people who bought Fusion 4 since the release of Mountain Lion can upgrade for free. There's also a professional version ($100 for one license), which includes all the above features, and also lets IT departments lock down settings for employees' virtual machines.%Gallery-163118%
