The feature list of Parallels Desktop 6 isn't what I'd call ambitious—the main focus of version 6 has been on the 64-bit host and increased speed, mostly for 3D and gaming. Dec 06, 2012 The virtualizers (VMWare Fusion, Parallels Desktop, Oracle VirtualBox) support a far wider range of Windows versions, but performance will be reduced. More Less Dec 6, 2012 5:06 PM.
It has been less than ten months since we reviewed Parallels Desktop 5, a competent but buggy release from Parallels. Shipping paid updates with stability issues seems to be the company's modus operandi, so I was a little skeptical when I saw that a new version was already being released, since the last one had so many issues that needed ironing out. The feature list of Parallels Desktop 6 isn't what I'd call ambitious—the main focus of version 6 has been on the 64-bit host and increased speed, mostly for 3D and gaming. Gaming was already Parallels' forte, but I was curious to see if the new version would finally make playing modern games with complex shaders, high resolutions, and high-quality audio a reality. If it doesn't come through, and suffers from stability issues, this could be a disastrous release for Parallels. Read on for the verdict.
Test Hardware
- Mac Pro dual quad-core Nehalem Xeon 2.66 GHz
- 24GB RAM
- 120GB OCZ Vertex Turbo SSD system drive with separate HD RAID disk for virtual machine disks
- Radeon 4870/Geforce GTX 285 testing scenarios
- Dual NEC WUXi 2490 Spectraview monitors
- OS X 10.6.4 64-bit kernel with graphics update
- Windows 7 64-bit VM specs:
- 8 cores
- 8GB RAM
- 256 MB VRAM and 3D acceleration and vsync enabled.
- MacBook Pro Core2 Duo 2.4GHz 15' Santa Rosa
- 4GB RAM
- 120GB OCZ Vertex SSD
- NVIDIA Geforce 8600M 256MB
- OS X 10.6.4 32-bit kernel with graphics update
- Windows XP SP3 32-bit VM specs:
- 2 cores
- 2.5GB RAM
- 256 MB VRAM and 3D acceleration and vsync enabled
System Requirements
- Intel Mac. 64-bit virtual machines require an Intel Core 2 Duo or higher
- Minimum 1GB of memory, 2GB of memory is recommended
- 500MB for Parallels Desktop application and support files
- Snow Leopard: Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.3 or later
- Leopard: Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.8 or later
Parallels Desktop 6 10.7.5 Free
Interface changes
Most of the interface changes in Parallels Desktop 6 are subtle tweaks, but they make the application feel more polished overall. The new VM Library window has a slight transparency-with-blur effect over the background:
Resuming and suspending VMs overlays a similar charcoal gray and glass feel:
AdvertisementWhen you attach a USB device, a slick little window pops up:
This consistent feel makes the whole Parallels experience a little slicker and more in keeping with Apple's interface design. This is also helped by changes to...
That icon
I don't think many applications have received as much hate over an icon change as Parallels has. How bad is it? Well, I noticed this when searching for installation info for Parallels:
Parallels Desktop 6 Torrent
When your icon is so contentious that it's trumping 'install' and 'increase memory' for support questions, I think it's safe to say people don't like it. I was no fan either—just look at this thing:
The updated icon attempts to right some of the wrongs, while keeping the 'parallel lines' motif:
The lines still feel lazily dropped on top of a decent stock icon, but it's an improvement, and the overlaid lines look okay on top of applications:
I'd still rather have the old icon back, but those pixels are behind us now.