Virtual Machines We recommend using a virtual machine program, ideally or, to run Windows applications on a Mac without rebooting. For maximum performance, which is particularly necessary for gaming, we recommend instead. A is one of the best ways to run Windows desktop software. They allow you to install Windows and other operating systems in a window on your Mac desktop.

Windows will think it’s running on a real computer, but it’s actually running inside a piece of software on your Mac. You don’t have to use your Windows program in the virtual machine window, either—many virtual machine programs allow you to so they can appear on your Mac desktop. However, they’re still running inside the virtual machine in the background. You’ll need a Windows license to install Windows in a virtual machine. If you already have a product key, you can download and install it in a virtual machine program. RELATED: Popular virtual machine programs for Mac include.

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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. You can also use the completely free and open-source, but its 3D graphics support and Mac operating system integration aren’t as good. Parallels and VMWare Fusion both, so you can try all these programs and decide which is best for you.

Note: We don’t often recommend paid software, but in the case of, it’s something we use at How-To Geek every single day for testing software and running Windows. The integration with macOS is amazingly well done, and the speed blows away VirtualBox.

In the long run, the price is well worth it. 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. Yes, it can work—especially with older games—but you won’t get the best performance, even in an ideal situation. Many games, especially newer ones, will be unplayable. That’s where the next option comes into play.

Boot Camp RELATED: Apple’s allows you to. Only one operating system can be running at a time, so you’ll have to restart your Mac to switch between macOS and Windows. If you’ve ever, it’s just like that. 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.

When you install Windows on your Mac, you’ll be able to use Windows and Windows applications with the maximum possible performance. Your Mac will perform as well as a Windows PC with the same specifications. The downside here is that you can’t run macOS applications and Windows applications side-by-side at the same time.

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If you just want to run a Windows desktop application alongside your Mac applications, a virtual machine will probably be ideal. On the other hand, if you want to play the latest Windows games on your Mac, Boot Camp will be ideal.

As with virtual machines, you’ll need a Windows license to install Windows on your Mac. Wine RELATED: Wine originated on. It’s a compatibility layer that allows Windows applications to run on other operating systems. Essentially, Wine is an attempt to rewrite the Windows code that applications depend on so they can run on other operating systems. This means that Wine is nowhere near perfect. It won’t run every Windows application, and will have bugs with many of them. The can give you some idea of which applications are supported, although it focuses on Linux support.

Nevertheless, Wine is one way to try running Windows applications on a Mac. Because it doesn’t require you actually use Windows, you don’t need a Windows license to use Wine. It’s completely free. CrossOver Mac is a paid application that will run Windows programs on Mac. It uses the open-source Wine code to accomplish this, but CrossOver provides a nice graphical interface and focuses on officially supporting popular programs. If an officially supported program doesn’t work, you can contact CodeWeavers and expect them to make it work for you. CodeWeavers contributes their improvements back to the open-source Wine project, so paying for CrossOver Mac also helps the Wine project itself.

CrossOver offers a free trial it you want to try it out first. You can also before buying.

While CrossOver focuses on compatibility, it’s still based on Wine, and won’t work with everything. Most people will probably be happiest going for a virtual machine program and a Windows license. With CrossOver, you don’t need to run a Windows virtual machine—but, if you do run a Windows virtual machine, you’ll be able to run almost any Windows program with less risk of bugs. CrossOver does theoretically allow you to run Windows PC games on a Mac with better performance than you’d get in a virtual machine, but you’ll risk running into bugs and unsupported programs. Boot Camp may still be a better solution for that.

Remote Desktop RELATED: If you already have a Windows system, you could skip running Windows software on your Mac completely and to access the Windows machine from your Mac’s desktop. Organizations with business software that runs on Windows can host Windows servers and make their applications available to Macs, Chromebooks, Linux PCs, iPads, Android tablet, and other devices.

If you’re just a home user who also has a Windows PC, you could configure that Windows PC for remote access and connect to it whenever you need a Windows application. Bear in mind that this isn’t ideal for visually intensive applications like PC games. If you’re a Chrome user, you can even to connect to a Windows PC running Chrome from your Mac running Chrome.

All these tricks obviously require more work than simply installing a Windows program on a Windows PC. If you have a Mac, you should focus on using Mac software when possible. Windows programs won’t be as integrated or work as well. You may have to buy a Windows license for your Mac to get the best compatibility, whether you’re using a virtual machine or installing Windows in Boot Camp. Wine and CrossOver are nice ideas, but they aren’t perfect.

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