macbook pro on a dual boot

Question

any one using macbook pro 15" on a dual boot with win 7/8 ? any performance issues?

Gern47 · Answer

I have a macbook air with a windows 7 partition and run excel on there and it works well, but haven't tried to do much more. I use Boot Camp but have not tried the virtual machines like VMWare or Parallels. It would be easier but I know they are more resource intensive than going through boot camp. I made a 30GB partition, which is annoying, but should be plenty of space for whatever I do on windows. During bschool I think the biggest use of it will be to use the Windows version of Excel, and I might try to switch to one of the virtual machines when I go to school to save the hard drive space.

jumsumtak · Answer

yep. If you are using W7 only for excel, it completely makes sense to just use a virtual machine instead of partitioning. Have you done any performance intensive work on W7 (gaming etc.). Any heating issues?

During school, apart from Excel, I don't think there will be something that will cause a problem on a Mac. I will love to have a second opinion on this though.

bb · Answer

If all you want is Excel and office, then you can use the Mac Version (though it is a bit more challenging and less documented and fewer features but should be enough generally)....
Also, you will find quite a few of your classmates with macs..... here is something to put into perspective. This is undergrad but still - sends the message.

https://osxdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/macs-at-college.jpg

https://losingcontext.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/look-at-them-apples.jpg

jumsumtak · Answer

nice shot.

I'm a bit skeptical about the whole thing with mixed reviews on GC:
Against:
best-brand-of-laptop-for-mba-129679.html#p1066019

For:
2011-laptop-discussion-113516.html#p919673

and obviously, there are tons of posts supporting each !
Also read about some schools having a set specification standards for the laptops.

Although PC is a safer bet, I would like to go ahead with Mac.

BM · Answer

I would totally be ostracized in that class with my 2010 HP laptop.

RJSPO · Answer

Try Open Office 3.0,it's free .. A better alternative than having a partition .
All spreadsheets, word doc formats are compatible.... I use it on my Mac pro ....

jumsumtak · Answer

this looks like a secret Mac society meet to me.

jumsumtak · Answer

thanks. I'll try it out.

Gern47 · Answer

you can get the same thing with Microsoft Office for Mac, but some things do work differently. Excel seems to be "dumbed down" a bit and things like VBA macros do not work the same as they do on Windows. The point of having a partition or virtual machine is to run the windows version of programs so you are on the same page as your classmates, so I don't think the Open Office solution would work very well in this case.

jumsumtak · Answer

my thoughts exactly. thank you for clearing that out.

I think parallel or a dual boot is the way to go.

macbook pro on a dual boot

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards