Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac

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Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac

Prasad Naik, Feb 28, 2010 0930 hrs IST

Best way to run Windows on a Mac

Fast performance, DirectX and OpenGL support, Windows Aero support, seamless integration with Crystal and Coherence mode

Too many customization options may overwhelm novice users, default sharing of Windows and Mac user folders, MacLook theme does not work well,a bit expensive

Expert Rating :

Expert Review

Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac is a virtualization software for the Mac OS X platform, which allows users to run other operating systems such as Windows or Linux on their Mac without having to dual boot. Now in its version 5, Parallels offers a lot more features and claims to offer improved performance than its previous versions. Let's see if it manages to do that.

Getting started

To test Parallels 5, we used a 2.26GHz, 13" MacBook Pro, with 2GB of RAM and Nvidia 9400 graphics. We used Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate as the guest OS. Parallels also supports older versions of Windows up to XP along with other OSes like Linux. Parallels gives you the option to install from a CD or from an ISO file. You can also import virtual machines from other software such as VMWare Fusion or VirtualBox. If you have a Boot Camp installation, Parallels Desktop can also import that.