
- #Vmware vs virtualbox direct3d install
- #Vmware vs virtualbox direct3d free
- #Vmware vs virtualbox direct3d windows
These are some of the descriptors that come to mind as I look back over the history of VirtualBox. And although it's hard to put all of Version 6.5's improvements into words, suffice to say that the old thoroughbred has never looked better.
#Vmware vs virtualbox direct3d install
Most users will be sold on Easy Install alone it's a feature that will make support professionals and developers instantly more productive. But even without ACE, Workstation 6.5 is compelling. Overall, VMware Workstation 6.5 is a worthwhile upgrade, especially for customers seeking to leverage VMware's ACE management features. I used the Automatic option during benchmarking. It's worth noting that Workstation 6.5 now allows you to manually override the underlying virtualization model, making it possible to force it to use one of three different modes (Binary Translation, Intel VT-x/AMD-V, Intel VT-x with EPT/AMD-V with RVI) or an Automatic option that selects the best mode based on your underlying hardware and operating system configuration. During preliminary benchmark testing using a Release Candidate build (and with the pre-release debugging features disabled), I achieved OfficeBench throughput levels slightly better (11%) than Version 6.0 but nowhere near native machine performance. Installation was a breeze, as with previous editions, and the new Easy Install option made provisioning and configuring new VMs nearly effortless.
#Vmware vs virtualbox direct3d windows
I tested VMware Workstation 6.5 under Windows Vista (64-bit) on a 4GB Dell XPS M1710. Together, the Easy Install wizard and ACE integration features truly take the drudgery out of VM creation, configuration and management. In fact, it seems clear that VMware intends for Workstation 6.5 to be your primary entry point into its ACE management environment, with similar one-click tools for creating ACE packages, including the popular Pocket ACE for USB sticks. You can now enable/disable ACE functionality for a VM with a single click, and given the depth and breadth of options available, one click may be all you need to securely lock down and manage a wayward VM. Whereas in the past you had to run a separate version of Workstation - the ACE Edition - to edit and apply ACE policies, Version 6.5 incorporates these features seamlessly into the base Workstation UI. Of course, the biggest changes involve Workstation's support for VMware's ACE technology. And, of course, any line-of-business applications that use Direct3D will also reap benefits. I've personally used this feature to resurrect some of my old favorites - games such as Starfleet Command III - that refuse to run natively on Windows Vista. When enabled, it allows applications in the guest operating system to render Direct3D objects with nearly native performance, allowing even demanding programs like DirectX-based games to run within a VM. If you spend a lot of time building and tearing down VMs like I do, you will instantly fall in love with Easy Install.ĭirect3D acceleration is another great feature. By the time you return, VMware has installed the operating system (including specifying product keys and default user accounts), slipstreamed its own VMware Tools suite and basically left you with a fully baked guest operating system image that's ready for work. Simply create a new VM, point it to the installation media for the desired Windows OS edition (client or server) and grab a cup of coffee. The change log is that impressive.īut where to begin? I suppose I could talk about my favorite new feature, Easy Install. And not just by a few inches - in the case of Version 6.5, think several feet. With each new major release, VMware raises the bar for would-be competitors. But as I mentioned in my preview of the Workstation 6.5 Beta earlier this year, the company simply refuses to sit on its laurels. What is there left to say about VMware Workstation? Few products have spent as much time at the top of the heap. And with Sun pouring its vast engineering resources into VirtualBox (for example, it just gained 64-bit guest operating system support), the real race may be to see whether VMware can continue to differentiate Workstation at the high end while VirtualBox slowly eats its lunch among less discriminating customers. This has made it the choice of anti-establishment types who balk at Workstation's retail price tag.
#Vmware vs virtualbox direct3d free
VirtualBox's primary claim to fame is that it's free (both as a closed-source downloadable and a more limited open-source exploitable). In Lane Two, you find Sun xVM VirtualBox, a product Sun acquired from tiny Innotek earlier this year.
