to bootcamp or not to bootcamp ?

[rienm]

I am new to Mac, bought an iMac recently ( the old one) ; used VMware server on Win machine.

My question : is it wise to install BootCamp or is it just as good to install Fusion and install a WinXP virt machine without BootCamp ? Differences in quality / speed in using XP ?

[getwired]

A critical question (in my opinion) is what type of software you ever plan to run in it. Games? Use BootCamp. Just Office, or other productivity apps? I'd stick to Fusion. Frankly I use both, since i have both scenarios.

[rienm]

well, perhaps photoshop CS2, an only windows program for banking ( very old fashioned) , PTlens. I am certainly no gamer

[jgl1975]

You might be better with bootcamp if you want to use Photoshop...

Photoshop loves loads of memory ;-).

However, I think that you can exchange your Photoshop license to a Mac one if you ask Adobe.

[Deryni]

However, I think that you can exchange your Photoshop

license to a Mac one if you ask Adobe.

Although keep in mind that CS2 is not a Universal binary program. CS3 is.

[aliasme]

The decision to use Boot Camp comes down to two things (for me at least).

1) How much time do I spend in one of the OS. Can I do all of my work in Windows? If so having Windows open all day in Bootcamp might be the answer. This won't work for me because I have loads of documents, E-mail, artwork, data, etc. on the Mac side, so use Fusion and Mac on dual screens. This is the best of bost world's I think. You get the Mac's better user experience and Unix underpinnings with the ability to run apps and dev environments compatible with your colleagues.

2) Do I need specific OS features that won't be available within VMware or Parallels? For example, CS3 is also GPU accelerated and you won't benefit from this unless you are running a native Mac version or Bootcamp. Gaming will be a decisive factor for most people.

[rienm]

what I ment : I will install Fusion, should I install Bootcam+ XP first , thereafter VMW fusion and use the bootcamp partition or just install fusion and intstall Xp within .

[bflad]

You should look at aliasme's questions/suggestions to answer that. It's more a matter of what you are going to be doing with XP to decide how to install it.