14 DAY TRIAL // Parallels Inc. has released a new maintenance update for users of its powerful virtualization application, Parallels Desktop. Performance research conducted by Crimson Consulting Group has shown that Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac performs 22% faster than the nearest Windows-on-Mac competitor in standard productivity testing of Windows 7 64-bit on a MacBook Pro.
Parallels Desktop 5 is up to 300% faster for virtual machine operations than the previous version, benchmarking has shown. Tested under the industry standard 3Dmark 2006 Professional test suite, the new version performs up to seven times better, as far as 3D and graphics performance is concerned. According to the release notes, the latest version of Parallels Desktop fixes stability issues in virtual machines with Parallels Internet Security installed on Nehalem-based iMac and Mac Pro, and improves performance of Windows virtual machines.
"As the OS battles rage between Microsoft, Apple and Linux, we provide a completely customizable solution that enables people to use the applications they need with the fastest performance available, regardless of the operating system," Serguei Beloussov, CEO of Parallels, said at the time Parallels Desktop 5 was introduced to the market. "Parallels continues to build on its proven track record of innovation, responding to our customers by providing the fastest, smartest and most powerful Windows-on-Mac experience available."
The software requires an Intel-based Mac (1.66 GHz or faster), 512MB of minimum available memory (1 GB recommended), and somewhere around 15 gigs of hard drive space for a regular Windows or Linux guest. There are additional requirements depending on what OS the customer plans to install, how many virtual machines will be employed, how they will be used, etc.
Parallels Desktop for Mac has been supporting Windows 7 since version 4.0, beating Apple in the race to support Microsoft’s new OS version by a long shot.