Windows XP or Windows 7?

M

mike_ledbetter

Bit poster
Hi! First post here!

I need windows on my mac to run design/graphic programs such as GIS and CAD. I would like to know which version of windows runs best with parallels 7; and if is best 32 o 64 bit.

thanks!
 
Windows 7

If your software has a 64bit version *and* you can designate more than 4 or more GB of ram to the Parallels VM, go with 7 x64. Otherwise 7 x86 is fine. There aren't any significant speed differences between the two.
 
hello

I've tested Windows 7 32bit and 64 bit on 2GB system and it runs very well. There's many systems shipping with Windows 7 64bit running 2GB and they run fine. Of course if you use demanding apps then you could end up swamping more than necessary which will slow you down.

The main reason for going with the 64bit version is gaining access to more than 4GB for the OS and native apps.

http://www.techyv.com/questions/windows-xp-and-windows-7
 
Windows 7 64 bit runs well even with 1 GB, in fact, the memory footprint of Windows XP post-SP3* 32bit is similar to that of Windows 7 32 bit, in fact, windows 7 is more memory efficient.


*XP SP3 made considerable changes in memory requirements, SP2 ran well on machines with just 512 MB or less but after upgrading to SP3 these machines became sluggish, XP SP3 machines only run well with 1 GB RAM or more, I know this from experience.
 
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I've installed Windows 7 32 Bit with 1,5 GB RAM (max reccomended quantity). Windows seems to run fine while Lion is slowed down but not significantly. Do you suggest me to use 2 GB RAM with the virtual machine?

I've got a MacBook Pro with i5 2,3 Ghz and 4 GB RAM

I also setted 2 core for the virtual machine
 
Don't sets cores for the VM unless you really have to, this will slowdown the host (OSX), don't increase the Guest OS (win7) RAM if the HOst is already acting slow.
 
mike_ledbetter said:
Hi! First post here!

I need windows on my mac to run design/graphic programs such as GIS and CAD. I would like to know which version of windows runs best with parallels 7; and if is best 32 o 64 bit.

thanks!
Click to expand...

Windows 7 is the latest OS from Microsoft’s arsenal, the previous one being Vista. There was a big hype when Windows 7 was released that its performance will be better manifold when compared to its forerunner Vista. And you may visit this site in order for you to know which version of windows runs best,,>>
http://www.techyv.com/article/windows-7-vs-windows-vista
 
thanks for the answer yonpag; my choose was windows 7 (32 bit) but my problem has been solved since I don't need windows anymore on my mac. next time I'll probably choose XP SP3 since friends and experts (digital design professors) suggest me to install it on VM
 
Yes, this is what they told me. I ask here because I'm not skilled and I want to know more. What is your opinion? Instead of SP3 which XP do you recommend if Xp in your opinion is the right Microsoft OS?
 
That's not what I said in my previous posts, I recommended Windows 7. What I meant is that there no reason to recommend Windows XP SP3 (I wouldn't ever recommend an SP lower than 3 for security and compatibility* reasons even thou SP2 consumes much less memory).

Disclaimer: I have both Windows XP and 7 VMs.

* Many applications require SP3 as minimum and wont' work in SP2.
 
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It depends upon your use.

It depends upon your needs. I have both Windows XP and Windows 7 with dual boot on the single machine and use them for different purposes. When I have to play PC games or other entertainment purposes then I login to XP and when I have professional work to do then I login to windows 7.

You can also view http://www.techyv.com/node/731 for more information and reviews.

I hope it would be of some help.
 
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