Installing Windows as a real operating system on your Mac is the best idea if you want to play Windows games or use demanding applications that need all the performance they can get. If you’ve ever dual-booted Linux on your Windows PC, it’s just like that.

Only one operating system can be running at a time, so you’ll have to restart your Mac to switch between macOS and Windows. RELATED: How to Install Windows on a Mac With Boot CampĪpple’s Boot Camp allows you to install Windows alongside macOS on your Mac. That’s where the next option comes into play. Many games, especially newer ones, will be unplayable. Yes, it can work-especially with older games-but you won’t get the best performance, even in an ideal situation. There’s one big downside to virtual machines: 3D graphics performance isn’t amazing, so this isn’t the best way to run Windows games on your Mac.

In the long run, the price is well worth it. The integration with macOS is amazingly well done, and the speed blows away VirtualBox. Note: We don’t often recommend paid software, but in the case of Parallels Desktop, it’s something we use at How-To Geek every single day for testing software and running Windows. Parallels and VMWare Fusion both offer free trials, so you can try all these programs and decide which is best for you. You can also use the completely free and open-source VirtualBox for Mac, but its 3D graphics support and Mac operating system integration aren’t as good. Each of these is a paid program, so you’ll have to buy both a Windows license and a copy of your virtual machine program of choice. Popular virtual machine programs for Mac include Parallels and VMware Fusion. RELATED: How to Seamlessly Run Windows Programs on Your Mac with Parallels If you already have a product key, you can download Windows installation media for free and install it in a virtual machine program. You’ll need a Windows license to install Windows in a virtual machine. However, they’re still running inside the virtual machine in the background. You don’t have to use your Windows program in the virtual machine window, either-many virtual machine programs allow you to break Windows programs out of your virtual machine window so they can appear on your Mac desktop.

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