# Virtual PC on a MAC ?



## absolute1973 (Dec 24, 2004)

I got a G4 550mhz sitting around my house collecting dust.
I have used MACS and I can say I don't like them (but that's besides the point)
Thing is I don't have the software to run it right now.....
My question is if I get the right OS X and I run Virtual PC and transfer all my windows software to run on it.... will that g4 550MHZ be faster than my AMD Athlon 1ghz.
I know macs are faster than pc's and that head to head I know the G4 is faster than the AMD I have.
but running an emulator on top of an OS diminishes a lot of things.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Hi and welcome. I don't know that much about Macs, however, Virtual PC slows down a PC, so I'm assuming you'll see some slow down on a Mac as well.


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## Rockn (Jul 29, 2001)

absolute1973 said:


> I know macs are faster than pc's and that head to head I know the G4 is faster than the AMD I have.
> but running an emulator on top of an OS diminishes a lot of things.


Huge fallacy...MACs in general are NOT faster than PC's. They skew their perfomance benchmarks big time ,especially on their newer systems.

Emulators tend to degrade the OS performance so on a 450MHz system you would jsut crawl. You can get 1GHz PC systems for next to nothing now.


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## nightstalker (Jan 29, 2004)

the emulator has to emulate an x86 prossesor meaning it will run alot slower also you will be running one os in anouther ital just be alot slower


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

I work on Macs and PCs, and both are good products. (And no, I'm not going to get into an argument about which is faster, better, etc.)

If you plan to keep the G4 and buy the software, consider how much RAM is already installed (you may need to bump it up if you're at the minimum), the size of your hard disk, what system software you are running (OSX is faster and more reliable), and what version of Virtual PC you plan to use (new OSX native?).

I honestly don't think you'll see much of a difference in speed, but it depends on the variables I've already mentioned.

The real question is, if you don't like using a Mac and have a PC, why invest in software (or additional hardware/software) just to use the computer? Sell that puppy. There are many Mac users out there who would love to buy a working G4 at a good price.


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## brushmaster1 (Jun 15, 2002)

I've done tech support for PC emulators on Macs (see my signature) and I can definitely tell you that running Windows under Virtual PC will be slower than running on the equivalent PC!


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## MSM Hobbes (Apr 23, 2004)

absolute1973 said:


> I got a G4 550mhz sitting around my house collecting dust.
> I have used MACS and I can say I don't like them (but that's besides the point)
> Thing is I don't have the software to run it right now.....
> My question is if I get the right OS X and I run Virtual PC and transfer all my windows software to run on it.... will that g4 550MHZ be faster than my AMD Athlon 1ghz.
> ...


Welcome! As others have said, its interesting that you seem to have desire to install new software and hardware for a computer system that you "don't like"...  In any case, it is extremely for anyone to say that a Mac or a PC is going to be faster for any particular person. There are so many other variables that come into play: RAM, video card, bus speed, softwares, hardwares, etc etc... However, if all can be made equal as possible, and if you are looking at say high-end graphics applications, then yes, an Apple for the most part would be faster. But, really now, what is this speed difference to most of us mere mortals? Rendering something in 2.2 seconds versus maybe 2.9 seconds really make that much difference to the majority of people?   IMHO, what is more important is the overall experience of using this tool, this machine. But, getting back to your query, yes Virtual PC will definately slow down a Mac - by how much depends upon tho' on the above mentioned variables. Now, if you would rather send them dust collectors to a home that would gladly take them... let me know!


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