How good is Windows running on Mac?

Hi there,

I'm looking for a very quiet laptop PC and as Mac runs with Windows, I would think also about buying a Mac. As I work in Science where most people use Macs, it would be nice to have both OS.

However, I will 90% work with windows. Therefore my question:

How is Windows on Mac performance, is it really simillar to an equivalent IBM-Laptop? Can you really just install your windows games on the Mac and they run in same speed?

Anybody experiences with "raping" a Macbook in that way? Comments? Links?

Thanks a lot for your help, Tobias

PS. please please please let us not start discussing about the OS, there are people that like OS and some that don't. I prefer Windows and just want to know if its a good idea to run it permanantly on a Macbook Pro

 

why pay more if you could get more for less cost..

 

Running windows on a mac using bootcamp will be the same as runing windows on a pc. However if you run it using parallel you will see some lag because it is emulating windows instead of booting from it. SO, windows works fine on macs.

 

Beside the missing Del-button on the keyboard (that you can reprogram) I heard there are issues with bluetooth, are that sound from internal speakers is not switched off when you plug in headphones.

True? This would be a killer argument.

 

For gujeeh, It does not emulate Windows at all. It is a virtual machine, bug difference.

Anyway, no it is not a good idea. You are better off just buying a PC. The only reason to do something like this is if you need Windows for work and OS X for home. Or you want to use OS X, but need a Windows program or two. A MBP without any student/developer discounts costs $2000. You can get a very nice hp nc8430(?) for a little less and get a full blown Windows. As for Boot Camp, it is still in beta, so there are gonna be some little bugs.

 

Why is erverybody pushing me towards the NC8430? I was so close to buy but then I discovered the thread in the HP forum where everybody complains about the noise from the fan ?!?

Its just that MacBooks are so surprisingly silent when running, but I also think its not the best idea to run it mainly on Windows.

 

Because it is pretty much a Windows version of a MacBook Pro. It has the same exact components, and very good build quality. As for the fan being loud, well it is a Windows machine. Apple is more about silence.

 

emulation = virtual machine. whats the difference?

 

It's not being emulated. The only thing being emulated at all is the BIOS.
It's sharing resources. And if I remember right, Intel put some instructions in the CD chips that actually help boost performance of VMs.

But on topic... I wouldn't get a MBP if you're looking at using windows most of the time. It's possible that you may end up not using windows much at all anymore. I rarely do (except for games and testing web pages in IE and FF on windows).
You can get an equivelently equiped laptop for just windows for a bit cheaper.

I do wish that they had put a real delete key on the keyboard instead of a backspace labeled as a delete key. Gets annoying when you program a lot.

 

Just ran SuperPi 2 million calculation on a Windows XP Parallels client with 360MB of RAM and the calc was done in 1m15s... very impressive I must admit. I'm running a MacBook 2.0GHz, 1GB RAM and 5400rpm drive (stock). My 2.16 GHz 2GB HP nw8440 clocks in at 1m10s so I consider the Mac results VERY impressive especially running in a tight 360MB virtual machine.

I'm actually selling *myself* more on the Mac when I do these types of comparisons.

Cliff.

 

Only complaint i have is getting use to the CTL button on Windows..
I installed it to try it out.. and everything works.

As for bluetooth
My Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and MX900 mouse work fine in Windows..