You’ll find this information on the ironically named “Test Setup & Methodology” page.Ģ) We submitted our results and methodology to both Parallels and VMware to give each company a chance to respond. Let me clarify for you:ġ) The exact models and specifications for the testing hardware are listed in the article, along with the methodology used for the tests. If there is a benchmark or scenario that you’d like us to test that isn’t covered here, let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best to accommodate your requests. Either way, we hope these benchmarks can give you an idea of what to expect, and where to start on your own OS X virtualization journey. You may find that you need less power or fewer capabilities than you thought, or you may prefer the particular features of one app over another. If not, grab the free trials of both Fusion 8 and Parallels 11 and give them a shot (Parallels offers a 14-day trial period, while you can use Fusion for up to 30 days free). Check out the free VirtualBox first to see if it meets your performance and capability needs. Therefore, our advice for those new to virtualization software, or for existing users thinking about upgrading or crossgrading, is to start small and cheap. While both apps have occasionally maintained one type of performance advantage in consecutive years, it’s a safe bet that at least one significant performance crown will change hands each fall. Both the Parallels and VMware engineers are working hard to one-up each other every year, introducing new features (like Windows Quick Look support in Parallels) or making huge performance leaps (like the big improvement in Fusion 8’s graphics engine). That’s why it’s often difficult to answer in any universal way when we’re frequently asked “should I buy Parallels or Fusion?” And compounding that question further is the fact that the scenarios we just outlined above are only valid today. Still others only need a Windows VM to run that one old productivity app that their job requires, and in that case VirtualBox can likely suffice without having to buy anything other than a Windows license. In that case, Parallels 11 is probably your best bet. Others may want the absolute best battery life for lightweight workloads, need to transfer lots of small files out of their VM, or appreciate a VM that boots before they can even get their first sip of coffee down.

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