Well dont know about you guys but im thinking that this may finally shut all the "you cant play games on a mac" haters out there.
Because looking at what i have been able to gather so far it looks like this can be the best of both worlds.
We've been able to play games on mac for years! I remember old B/W games on the MacSEII. That said, games on Windows have always been better and had more support. Sadly, its still true.
Yes you can game on Mac Hardware (since its a PC), but in order to run the good games, you have to buy and boot into Windows. That's not gaming on Mac Software. (Worse yet, you are giving MS more money by buying the retail licence rather than the subsidized cheaper licence that comes with a new computer. More money in MS pocket... I thought that's what you guys were against!)
Does VMWare let me install Linux too? I've already got Parallels 4.0 (the latest build last I looked) so that it works with kernel_task in 64 bit mode. I've got XP, Linux, and Linux64 VMs setup.
I've been waiting for Parallels 5.0 to come out so that 'experimental' can be replaced with ready for production use.
Does VirtualBox have DirectX 9 shader 3.0 support? If not, then for those people who need that for things like games, etc, VirtualBox is not an option.
From the Virtual Box Manual (Version 3.x.x)
4.8 Hardware 3D acceleration (OpenGL and DirectX
8/9)
The VirtualBox Guest Additions contain experimental hardware 3D support for Windows,
Linux and Solaris guests.2
With this feature, if an application inside your virtual machine uses 3D features
through the OpenGL or DirectX 8/9 programming interfaces, instead of emulating
them in software (which would be slow), VirtualBox will attempt to use your host’s
3D hardware. This works for all supported host platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux,
Solaris), provided that your host operating system can make use of your accelerated
3D hardware in the first place.
The 3D acceleration currently has the following preconditions:
1. It is only available for certain Windows, Linux and Solaris guests. In particular:
• For Windows guests, support is restricted to 32-bit versions of XP and Vista.
Both OpenGL and DirectX 8/9 are supported (experimental).
2OpenGL support for Windows guests was added with VirtualBox 2.1; support for Linux and Solaris followed
with version 2.2. With version 3, DirectX 8/9 support was added for Windows guests. OpenGL
2.0 is now supported as well.
2. The Guest Additions must be installed.
Note: For Direct 3D acceleration to work in a Windows Guest, VirtualBox
needs to replace Windows system files in the virtual machine. As a result, the
Guest Additions installation program offers Direct 3D acceleration as an option
that must be explicitly enabled.Also, you must install the Guest Additions
in “Safe Mode”; see chapter 13, Known limitations, page 221 for details.
3. Because 3D support is still experimental at this time, it is disabled by default
and must be manually enabled in the VM settings (see chapter 3.7.1, General
I am not sure why'd you be torn. For most people, the two serve two different purposes. VM Ware is going to be for people who rely on some Windows application a lot. Boot camp is more for people who may occasionally use a Windows program or don't need to constantly switch between both Mac and Windows programs.
For instance, for my work there is a program I use that only runs on Windows. I am constantly switching between my Mac email, Mac web browser, and this Windows program. With VM Ware I start up in the Mac OS and can seamlessly go between both Windows and Mac programs. I can also download a Windows program in the Mac version of Safari, and then easily drag it over to the Windows Desktop.
I couldn't do my work efficiently if I relied on Bootcamp because I'd have to keep rebooting the OS. I have run some older PC games on VM Ware, but I suspect Bootcamp works better for games though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by akf2000
Would love to see a review. I'm torn between bootcamp/ VM for Win 7.
Does VMWare let me install Linux too? I've already got Parallels 4.0 (the latest build last I looked) so that it works with kernel_task in 64 bit mode. I've got XP, Linux, and Linux64 VMs setup.
I've been waiting for Parallels 5.0 to come out so that 'experimental' can be replaced with ready for production use.
If you are affiliated with a University or know anyone that is, you can get Windows 7 for about $30.
I think most Mac users are against Microsoft because 1) they steal most of their ideas from Apple, 2) used their monopoly power to unfairly compete, and 3) for the most part make crappy products.
Other then that, I use Microsoft Word and like it better then the alternatives. Running games through emulation ultimately hurts Mac development because it takes away incentive to develop for the platform.
Quote:
Originally Posted by camroidv27
We've been able to play games on mac for years! I remember old B/W games on the MacSEII. That said, games on Windows have always been better and had more support. Sadly, its still true.
Yes you can game on Mac Hardware (since its a PC), but in order to run the good games, you have to buy and boot into Windows. That's not gaming on Mac Software. (Worse yet, you are giving MS more money by buying the retail licence rather than the subsidized cheaper licence that comes with a new computer. More money in MS pocket... I thought that's what you guys were against!)
Anybody noticing any issues with Fusion 3 at all? Running alright??
I'm really hoping Fusion 3 + Win7 is less of a CPU/RAM hog than my current Fusion 2 + Vista setup. When I have a few large Photoshop files open (CS3 on OS X), along with VS2008/SQL2008 on Fusion, they seem to have a battle for RAM which ends up really slowing down my iMac (late '07 24" with 4GB RAM)
I've got my Win 7 DVD sitting right here and can download Fusion3 now, but I really don't want to introduce a new set of issues or come across any showstopping bugs...
Bootcamp works fine, but 32 bit version (x86) seems to be the right choice when installing. The biggest issue with Bootcamp and 7 right now is bluetooth. You have to (unintuitively) uninstall the Apple bluetooth drivers after installing all the Bootcamp drivers via your Snow Leopard disk, in administrator mode. To get your keyboard working. Lucky I use a Logitech Laser mouse, so I could do that.
Except when you go to their website to buy an upgrade, you can put it in your cart, and view your cart, but there is no checkout button. Tried it with Safari and Firefox, no go. Their website is non-functional with Safari anyway. Can't login. At least for me.
The website worked just fine with the latest Safari (4.0.3), but mind you, I did my upgrade download at 5:00AM PDST. I had no idea at the time just how lucky I was to do so.
I logged in, with Safari and downloaded the full version within 4 minutes (400+ MB).
Granted, the new license does not import from your 1.X or 2.X, but that's it.
Anybody noticing any issues with Fusion 3 at all? Running alright??
I'm really hoping Fusion 3 + Win7 is less of a CPU/RAM hog than my current Fusion 2 + Vista setup. When I have a few large Photoshop files open (CS3 on OS X), along with VS2008/SQL2008 on Fusion, they seem to have a battle for RAM which ends up really slowing down my iMac (late '07 24" with 4GB RAM)
I've got my Win 7 DVD sitting right here and can download Fusion3 now, but I really don't want to introduce a new set of issues or come across any showstopping bugs...
Split the RAM into 2GB's each for VMware and the Mac. Should be fine. I run XP with a lot of proprietary apps. No issues whatsoever.
Except when you go to their website to buy an upgrade, you can put it in your cart, and view your cart, but there is no checkout button. Tried it with Safari and Firefox, no go. Their website is non-functional with Safari anyway. Can't login. At least for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyHoyle
I can't even get that far.. apparently I have 'no eligible registered products' even though I have 2 registered copies of VMware fusion, and reregistering them does nothing.
Epic fail launch, really.. they should have at least made sure people could order the product.
Before you can checkout it displays the number of licenses you own according to your registered account, there is another text box on the far right side of the same line where you need to enter the number of licenses you need upgraded. Once you do that then you should be able to continue...
Hopefully this fixes the fact that Vmware fusion 2 running snow leopard and windows 7 is so slow that it is not-usable on a bottom end 13" mbp. It takes about 20 minutes to boot windows 7 in vmware fusion 2, and then things are so slow it is useless.
And yes i've installed the vmware tools about 70 times, doesn't make a difference.
Hopefully this fixes the fact that Vmware fusion 2 running snow leopard and windows 7 is so slow that it is not-usable on a bottom end 13" mbp. It takes about 20 minutes to boot windows 7 in vmware fusion 2, and then things are so slow it is useless.
And yes i've installed the vmware tools about 70 times, doesn't make a difference.
You may need to increase the memory in your VM settings.
You may need to increase the memory in your VM settings.
Doesn't really help. My 13" MBP has 4 gigs of ram and I have 2 gigs for each operating system.
My girlfriend only has 2 gigs of ram right now, and so she has 1 gig of ram for each.
Her system with 2 gigs is totally useless. Mine with 4 gigs still takes forever to load, and is a bit more useable when it actually does load, but basically useless.
The VirtualBox Guest Additions contain experimental hardware 3D support for Windows,
Linux and Solaris guests.2
With this feature, if an application inside your virtual machine uses 3D features
through the OpenGL or DirectX 8/9 programming interfaces, instead of emulating
them in software (which would be slow), VirtualBox will attempt to use your host?s
3D hardware. This works for all supported host platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux,
Solaris), provided that your host operating system can make use of your accelerated
3D hardware in the first place.
The 3D acceleration currently has the following preconditions:
1. It is only available for certain Windows, Linux and Solaris guests. In particular:
? For Windows guests, support is restricted to 32-bit versions of XP and Vista.
Both OpenGL and DirectX 8/9 are supported (experimental).
2OpenGL support for Windows guests was added with VirtualBox 2.1; support for Linux and Solaris followed
with version 2.2. With version 3, DirectX 8/9 support was added for Windows guests. OpenGL
2.0 is now supported as well.
2. The Guest Additions must be installed.
Note: For Direct 3D acceleration to work in a Windows Guest, VirtualBox
needs to replace Windows system files in the virtual machine. As a result, the
Guest Additions installation program offers Direct 3D acceleration as an option
that must be explicitly enabled.Also, you must install the Guest Additions
in ?Safe Mode?; see chapter 13, Known limitations, page 221 for details.
3. Because 3D support is still experimental at this time, it is disabled by default
and must be manually enabled in the VM settings (see chapter 3.7.1, General
settings, page 46).
DirectX 9 support does NOT mean "DirectX 9 Shader 3.0 support." That's what is needed to get full aero effects, for example. VirtualBox is fine for many people, but not all. And, it still doesn't support booting from a Boot Camp partition.
Hopefully this fixes the fact that Vmware fusion 2 running snow leopard and windows 7 is so slow that it is not-usable on a bottom end 13" mbp. It takes about 20 minutes to boot windows 7 in vmware fusion 2, and then things are so slow it is useless.
And yes i've installed the vmware tools about 70 times, doesn't make a difference.
I had a similar issue with VM2 and SL. I tried a trick I read on the Fusion forums which was cutting back to one Virtual Processor and it sped things up dramatically.
I've been using 3.0 since early this morning haven't had issues with stability. No issues with peripherals and yep - I'm running 64-bit kernel. Haven't done testing to know if it's faster.
Well dont know about you guys but im thinking that this may finally shut all the "you cant play games on a mac" haters out there.
Because looking at what i have been able to gather so far it looks like this can be the best of both worlds.
i don't think the kind of people that complain about the lack of mac gaming are going to be happy with running them in fusion. hardcore gamers' main complaint is usually the lack of choice in high end graphics cards. that crowd isn't going to run windows in a virtual environment and shut up about it.
Comments
Well dont know about you guys but im thinking that this may finally shut all the "you cant play games on a mac" haters out there.
Because looking at what i have been able to gather so far it looks like this can be the best of both worlds.
We've been able to play games on mac for years! I remember old B/W games on the MacSEII. That said, games on Windows have always been better and had more support. Sadly, its still true.
Yes you can game on Mac Hardware (since its a PC), but in order to run the good games, you have to buy and boot into Windows. That's not gaming on Mac Software. (Worse yet, you are giving MS more money by buying the retail licence rather than the subsidized cheaper licence that comes with a new computer. More money in MS pocket... I thought that's what you guys were against!)
I've been waiting for Parallels 5.0 to come out so that 'experimental' can be replaced with ready for production use.
Does VirtualBox have DirectX 9 shader 3.0 support? If not, then for those people who need that for things like games, etc, VirtualBox is not an option.
From the Virtual Box Manual (Version 3.x.x)
4.8 Hardware 3D acceleration (OpenGL and DirectX
8/9)
The VirtualBox Guest Additions contain experimental hardware 3D support for Windows,
Linux and Solaris guests.2
With this feature, if an application inside your virtual machine uses 3D features
through the OpenGL or DirectX 8/9 programming interfaces, instead of emulating
them in software (which would be slow), VirtualBox will attempt to use your host’s
3D hardware. This works for all supported host platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux,
Solaris), provided that your host operating system can make use of your accelerated
3D hardware in the first place.
The 3D acceleration currently has the following preconditions:
1. It is only available for certain Windows, Linux and Solaris guests. In particular:
• For Windows guests, support is restricted to 32-bit versions of XP and Vista.
Both OpenGL and DirectX 8/9 are supported (experimental).
2OpenGL support for Windows guests was added with VirtualBox 2.1; support for Linux and Solaris followed
with version 2.2. With version 3, DirectX 8/9 support was added for Windows guests. OpenGL
2.0 is now supported as well.
2. The Guest Additions must be installed.
Note: For Direct 3D acceleration to work in a Windows Guest, VirtualBox
needs to replace Windows system files in the virtual machine. As a result, the
Guest Additions installation program offers Direct 3D acceleration as an option
that must be explicitly enabled.Also, you must install the Guest Additions
in “Safe Mode”; see chapter 13, Known limitations, page 221 for details.
3. Because 3D support is still experimental at this time, it is disabled by default
and must be manually enabled in the VM settings (see chapter 3.7.1, General
settings, page 46).
For instance, for my work there is a program I use that only runs on Windows. I am constantly switching between my Mac email, Mac web browser, and this Windows program. With VM Ware I start up in the Mac OS and can seamlessly go between both Windows and Mac programs. I can also download a Windows program in the Mac version of Safari, and then easily drag it over to the Windows Desktop.
I couldn't do my work efficiently if I relied on Bootcamp because I'd have to keep rebooting the OS. I have run some older PC games on VM Ware, but I suspect Bootcamp works better for games though.
Would love to see a review. I'm torn between bootcamp/ VM for Win 7.
Does VMWare let me install Linux too? I've already got Parallels 4.0 (the latest build last I looked) so that it works with kernel_task in 64 bit mode. I've got XP, Linux, and Linux64 VMs setup.
I've been waiting for Parallels 5.0 to come out so that 'experimental' can be replaced with ready for production use.
And I don't believe VirtualBox works with a BootCamp partition. I like having the option of booting into Windows if I have to.
- Jasen.
I believe there is a solution for this: http://dotneverland.blogspot.com/200...indows-xp.html
I think most Mac users are against Microsoft because 1) they steal most of their ideas from Apple, 2) used their monopoly power to unfairly compete, and 3) for the most part make crappy products.
Other then that, I use Microsoft Word and like it better then the alternatives. Running games through emulation ultimately hurts Mac development because it takes away incentive to develop for the platform.
We've been able to play games on mac for years! I remember old B/W games on the MacSEII. That said, games on Windows have always been better and had more support. Sadly, its still true.
Yes you can game on Mac Hardware (since its a PC), but in order to run the good games, you have to buy and boot into Windows. That's not gaming on Mac Software. (Worse yet, you are giving MS more money by buying the retail licence rather than the subsidized cheaper licence that comes with a new computer. More money in MS pocket... I thought that's what you guys were against!)
I'm really hoping Fusion 3 + Win7 is less of a CPU/RAM hog than my current Fusion 2 + Vista setup. When I have a few large Photoshop files open (CS3 on OS X), along with VS2008/SQL2008 on Fusion, they seem to have a battle for RAM which ends up really slowing down my iMac (late '07 24" with 4GB RAM)
I've got my Win 7 DVD sitting right here and can download Fusion3 now, but I really don't want to introduce a new set of issues or come across any showstopping bugs...
Bootcamp works fine, but 32 bit version (x86) seems to be the right choice when installing. The biggest issue with Bootcamp and 7 right now is bluetooth. You have to (unintuitively) uninstall the Apple bluetooth drivers after installing all the Bootcamp drivers via your Snow Leopard disk, in administrator mode. To get your keyboard working. Lucky I use a Logitech Laser mouse, so I could do that.
Except when you go to their website to buy an upgrade, you can put it in your cart, and view your cart, but there is no checkout button. Tried it with Safari and Firefox, no go. Their website is non-functional with Safari anyway. Can't login. At least for me.
The website worked just fine with the latest Safari (4.0.3), but mind you, I did my upgrade download at 5:00AM PDST. I had no idea at the time just how lucky I was to do so.
I logged in, with Safari and downloaded the full version within 4 minutes (400+ MB).
Granted, the new license does not import from your 1.X or 2.X, but that's it.
Faster, stable with a few more nice touches.
Anybody noticing any issues with Fusion 3 at all? Running alright??
I'm really hoping Fusion 3 + Win7 is less of a CPU/RAM hog than my current Fusion 2 + Vista setup. When I have a few large Photoshop files open (CS3 on OS X), along with VS2008/SQL2008 on Fusion, they seem to have a battle for RAM which ends up really slowing down my iMac (late '07 24" with 4GB RAM)
I've got my Win 7 DVD sitting right here and can download Fusion3 now, but I really don't want to introduce a new set of issues or come across any showstopping bugs...
Split the RAM into 2GB's each for VMware and the Mac. Should be fine. I run XP with a lot of proprietary apps. No issues whatsoever.
Except when you go to their website to buy an upgrade, you can put it in your cart, and view your cart, but there is no checkout button. Tried it with Safari and Firefox, no go. Their website is non-functional with Safari anyway. Can't login. At least for me.
I can't even get that far.. apparently I have 'no eligible registered products' even though I have 2 registered copies of VMware fusion, and reregistering them does nothing.
Epic fail launch, really.. they should have at least made sure people could order the product.
Before you can checkout it displays the number of licenses you own according to your registered account, there is another text box on the far right side of the same line where you need to enter the number of licenses you need upgraded. Once you do that then you should be able to continue...
Hopefully this fixes the fact that Vmware fusion 2 running snow leopard and windows 7 is so slow that it is not-usable on a bottom end 13" mbp. It takes about 20 minutes to boot windows 7 in vmware fusion 2, and then things are so slow it is useless.
And yes i've installed the vmware tools about 70 times, doesn't make a difference.
Great!
Hopefully this fixes the fact that Vmware fusion 2 running snow leopard and windows 7 is so slow that it is not-usable on a bottom end 13" mbp. It takes about 20 minutes to boot windows 7 in vmware fusion 2, and then things are so slow it is useless.
And yes i've installed the vmware tools about 70 times, doesn't make a difference.
You may need to increase the memory in your VM settings.
You may need to increase the memory in your VM settings.
Doesn't really help. My 13" MBP has 4 gigs of ram and I have 2 gigs for each operating system.
My girlfriend only has 2 gigs of ram right now, and so she has 1 gig of ram for each.
Her system with 2 gigs is totally useless. Mine with 4 gigs still takes forever to load, and is a bit more useable when it actually does load, but basically useless.
From the Virtual Box Manual (Version 3.x.x)
4.8 Hardware 3D acceleration (OpenGL and DirectX
8/9)
The VirtualBox Guest Additions contain experimental hardware 3D support for Windows,
Linux and Solaris guests.2
With this feature, if an application inside your virtual machine uses 3D features
through the OpenGL or DirectX 8/9 programming interfaces, instead of emulating
them in software (which would be slow), VirtualBox will attempt to use your host?s
3D hardware. This works for all supported host platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux,
Solaris), provided that your host operating system can make use of your accelerated
3D hardware in the first place.
The 3D acceleration currently has the following preconditions:
1. It is only available for certain Windows, Linux and Solaris guests. In particular:
? For Windows guests, support is restricted to 32-bit versions of XP and Vista.
Both OpenGL and DirectX 8/9 are supported (experimental).
2OpenGL support for Windows guests was added with VirtualBox 2.1; support for Linux and Solaris followed
with version 2.2. With version 3, DirectX 8/9 support was added for Windows guests. OpenGL
2.0 is now supported as well.
2. The Guest Additions must be installed.
Note: For Direct 3D acceleration to work in a Windows Guest, VirtualBox
needs to replace Windows system files in the virtual machine. As a result, the
Guest Additions installation program offers Direct 3D acceleration as an option
that must be explicitly enabled.Also, you must install the Guest Additions
in ?Safe Mode?; see chapter 13, Known limitations, page 221 for details.
3. Because 3D support is still experimental at this time, it is disabled by default
and must be manually enabled in the VM settings (see chapter 3.7.1, General
settings, page 46).
DirectX 9 support does NOT mean "DirectX 9 Shader 3.0 support." That's what is needed to get full aero effects, for example. VirtualBox is fine for many people, but not all. And, it still doesn't support booting from a Boot Camp partition.
Great!
Hopefully this fixes the fact that Vmware fusion 2 running snow leopard and windows 7 is so slow that it is not-usable on a bottom end 13" mbp. It takes about 20 minutes to boot windows 7 in vmware fusion 2, and then things are so slow it is useless.
And yes i've installed the vmware tools about 70 times, doesn't make a difference.
I had a similar issue with VM2 and SL. I tried a trick I read on the Fusion forums which was cutting back to one Virtual Processor and it sped things up dramatically.
I've been using 3.0 since early this morning haven't had issues with stability. No issues with peripherals and yep - I'm running 64-bit kernel. Haven't done testing to know if it's faster.
Well dont know about you guys but im thinking that this may finally shut all the "you cant play games on a mac" haters out there.
Because looking at what i have been able to gather so far it looks like this can be the best of both worlds.
i don't think the kind of people that complain about the lack of mac gaming are going to be happy with running them in fusion. hardcore gamers' main complaint is usually the lack of choice in high end graphics cards. that crowd isn't going to run windows in a virtual environment and shut up about it.