Graphics in Virtualization: VMware Fusion vs. Parallels Desktop

Ever wonder what graphics really looks like side by side comparing VMware Fusion 3 to Parallels Desktop 5? This video will show them to you with two machines running side by side with multiple examples of speed, smoothness, and more importantly, compatibility with graphics standards and the issues you may face.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• MacTech
• Virtualization
• Mac
• Windows
• VMware Fusion
• Parallels Desktop
• Benchmarks
• FurtureMark
• 3DMark

[leobaby]

Why did you decide to leave the menu bar on in vmware?

[mactechlive]

See below. That's not the menu bar -- it's VMware's default state for when you are doing full screen. It's the VMware "menu" for controlling it. (BTW: A nice feature in my opinion.)

[leobaby]

Yes, we all know it is default because VMware doesn't want newbies stuck in full screen. Are you in this category? On, Auto, Off. The question is why did you leave it on? Would you not want to eliminate even the most obvious variable differences to make you conclusions more trustworthy?

It looks and smells funny. Which makes it curious you didn't detail the guest operating systems.

Guest Tools?

Why XP? 32bit?

Results under Win 7????

I see notification for updates, did you update XP?

[mactechlive]

@Leobaby: check out the full article for the answer to your questions. In short, however, we stuck with defaults of VMware because by selecting that as the default, VMware is indicating that's how they want to be perceived by most.

[dertbox]

Looks to me like someone forgot to update the gfx card drivers on the VM mac.

[mactechlive]

Nope.  No drivers necessary on this type of installation.

[edwinhawthorne]

How does this compare with the new VMware Fusion 3.1 Beta?

[arnantrsyd]

How about running anything remotely useful for any length of time? I've always found Parallels to sacrifice stability to be that little bit faster, or add some feature that doesn't quite work as well as their competitor.

I'll stick with Fusion - it might not run some games as well as Parallels (yet) but it's rock solid, and that's more important to me.

[theapeman10]

hangon when you say you left the defaults with vmware - the directX mode driver is NOT enabled on the vmware virtual machine you have to tick it for windows VM - your link page page has ZERO info - you haven't said the anything hardware specs and you haven't said the virtual machine config settings - pretty useless comparison without proper technical information - sounds fishy.

[PCEggo]

Fusion: owned

[hraqhraq]

Thank you very much for this video.

[voodoovoodooo]

VMWare Fusion makes EMC2 looks bad.....

[SniperLi0n]

this is a pretty comprehensive video in my opinion -- this is exactly the kind of questions i find myself wondering too!

thanks for the upload of this video! :)

[emilner5]

Which is the best way to run Windows 2000 on a Mac? Windows 2000 doesn't work on BootCamp. I'd say Parallels, and as far as games, not too many.

[adaliu7]

can you compare the new VMware 3.1 since it is indicating significantly faster than its previous version 3.0

[AstAMoore]

@edwinhawthorne I have tried this very same benchmark under Fusion 3.1 (release version) and the experience is the same, unfortunately. I have noticed no improvement on the graphics side.

[ebutuoyjg]

thanks this was helpful, but could you possibly now go a step further and show us the same kind of thing but comparing a pc with an honestly similiar build to a mac running in virtualization? not to try to test which is better per se, but just so that we can see what exactly we are missing out on.

thanks

[piccioneITA]

Why wast time on VM for play when you can use Wine/Bottler!!

one exemple?

SPORE, EVE-ONLINE etc...

all working on wine...