OT: Virtual PC vs "Real" PC

[Frank D. Engel, Jr.]

You might want to check out www.qemu.org.

On Aug 24, 2004, at 1:11 PM, Richard Gaskin wrote:

> On Fri, 20 Aug 2004, Sannyasin Sivakatirswami wrote:
>> But, I would be running VPC on OSX G4 dual-processor desktop model, 
>> (in
>> another room) to upgraded to a G5 soon... so I think the speed will be
>> acceptable.
>
> I have three physical PCs (Win XP, ME, and 95) and one copy of Virtual 
> PC running on my G4 laptop.  While running VPC is a great way to 
> spot-check Windows design issues and to make Win installers (I use 
> Wise Install), the speed is at the edge of tolerable.
>
> Under Micro$oft the new product is well optimized for running Win XP, 
> but even with these enhancements it's very slow compared to running on 
> native hardware.  And using any non-Micro$oft OS under VPC (it's a 
> snap to set up a virtual Linux installation) runs much slower still.  
> Sure, a dual-G5 will help, but the nature of the task means it will 
> never match native hardware.
>
> Beyond the sluggish performance inherent with emulation, a bigger 
> issue is that from time to time I'll come across issues in VPC that 
> aren't evident on a physical PC (mostly redraw issues).  True, these 
> get fewer and fewer with each new version of VPC, but something to 
> keep in mind.
>
> VPC is a great solution for ocassional Windows work while on the road 
> (unless you don't mind lugging two laptops <g>), but if you're working 
> at a desk you'll have a much more productive experience using a 
> physical PC, and one which will more closely mirror the experience of 
> your users.  You can have even greater productivity if you use the 
> software gadget Chipp is fond of which allows you to use one mouse and 
> keyboard across both systems as though the monitors are physically 
> connected (Chipp, what's that called again?).
>
> Best of all, with PCs being so inexpensive the cost difference is 
> trivial.  Unless you play games the Celeron-based machines are quite 
> suitable, and dirt-cheap (Mac users can only dream of the sort of 
> competitive pricing that happens once you break out of a manufacturing 
> monopoly). I got one from HP for under $500 that performs enviably 
> well compared to my $2600 Mac (Quartz, while pretty, is a processor 
> hog), and cheaper bargains are available if you shop around; even used 
> ones can be a great value, and often $200 or less (roughly the same 
> price as VPC).
>
> And if you're only using the machine for tweaking/testing, you'll have 
> plenty of hard drive space available if you choose to reformat to have 
> a dual-boot so you can run Linux on that box too.
>
> -- 
>  Richard Gaskin
>  Fourth World Media Corporation
>  ___________________________________________________________
>  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com       http://www.FourthWorld.com
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