Parallels Desktop vs. VMware Fusion: Shootout Update 1

The original Shootout: Parallels Desktop vs. VMware Fusion has easily been the most popular article on this blog since it was written.   So far it has been viewed by over 6,600 people.  Since so many people are still reading it, I thought it would be a good idea to write updates based on the latest versions of these two virtualization tools.  I’ll start with Parallels since that is the one I use day-to-day.

The latest Parallels Desktop Release is 3.0 Build 5160, which was released on September 11, 2007.

Coherence

Parallels has greatly updated its Coherence functionality. Windows windows (it’s always weird to write that) are now treated separately by OS X and work correctly with Expose.  When dragging them around, there are very few artifacts that I notice.  I find myself using Coherence all the time now and miss it when I am using a Linux VM.

Performance

Parallels performance has also been improved since the original 3.0 release.  Right now I’d say it’s back to what it was in the last 2.5 release.  I find performance in Windows XP and Ubuntu to be very good.  Performance with Vista is terrible, though, but more on that below.

Related to performance, I came across an article, Fast XP on VM, on how to configure Windows XP for optimal performance on a VM.  It is written for Microsoft Virtual PC, but the techniques apply equally well to Parallels Desktop.
Boot Camp

I have Vista set up in Boot Camp and as a “Boot Camp VM” in Parallels. As I allude to above, performance is terrible. It’s so slow that I no longer even bother using the Boot Camp VM anymore. When I need to use Vista, I just reboot into it. I’m much happier that way and so is Vista. Unfortunately because I’m already a committed Parallels user, I never had a chance to test Fusion’s Boot Camp capabilities. I’d be hard-pressed to believe it’s any worse than Parallels is though.

I don’t really know if this is a problem with Vista or with Parallels, but it doesn’t really matter to me.

Other Notes

The disk compaction tool is now available again, but I haven’t had a need to use it yet.  I also haven’t needed to use the explorer tool, but it could come in handy for getting a file from a VM that is not online.

I’m glad Paralllels is getting regular, free updates. And I find that it works quite well for my needs.  The Parallels forums have more than their fair share of complaints about bugs, but I have to say that I’ve noticed none of these.  For me, Parallels work just fine.  And in case you’re interested, this is the software I use with Parallels Desktop:

• Windows XP Professional SP2
  • Visual Studio 2005
  • VPN into Windows network
  • Remote desktop
  • REALbasic and remote debugger
  • Firefox
  • Internet Explorer
  • Visual Basic 6
  • Outlook
  • Microsoft Office 2003
  • Rhapsody
• Ubuntu 7.04
  • REALbasic and remote debugger
  • Firefox