We charge $300 to add Windows to any rental machine for you. Alternatively, if you have the time and resources, you can install Windows on our rental machines yourself. Most configurations take one business day to complete, so please contact us in advance to set up the rental. Please note that Windows support is only available for an additional charge.

We offer the following configuration choices.

Operating Systems

Method

Advice on Windows Configuration Choices

Your choice of Windows on a Mac configuration depends on how you plan to use the computer. Check the system requirements of each Windows program you have to make sure they are compatible with your operating system and hardware choices.

Rental Computers
We recommend installing Windows on rental machines with at least 2GB of RAM. If you are planning to use Windows Vista with Parallels or VMware, we recommend 4GB of RAM.

Operating Systems
Windows XP (Service Pack 2)- This is the most commonly supported version of Windows. Many current programs on the market are compatible with Windows XP.

Windows Vista - This is the current version of the Microsoft operating system and includes some new bells and whistles. Overall it runs slower than XP because it demands more resources.

Method

Apple's Boot Camp - This method is best if you don't need to use the Macintosh operating system and Windows at the same time. It allows you to boot into the Macintosh or Windows operating system when you start-up the computer. This is the fastest and most compatible method to run Windows on a Mac. We recommend this method for games, 3D graphics, and heavy processing. Boot Camp requires partitioning (dividing) the computer's hard drive into a Mac side and Windows side. We recommend having at least 20GB for each side, beyond that you can give your extra storage space to either side or split it evenly. Choose your partition sizes carefully because they cannot be changed without erasing your entire hard drive and redoing everything.

Parallels Desktop - This application allows you to run Windows and Mac OS X simultaneously without rebooting. You are virtually splitting your computer in two by assigning part of its resources to Windows and the other part to the Macintosh. The Windows installation is called a virtual machine. Parallels supports assigning up to 1.5GB of RAM and one processor core to Windows. You can also run some 3D applications through Parallels with its limited DirectX 8 & OpenGL support. DirectX 9 with pixel shaders is experimentally supported and may not work with all programs. Click here for the list of 3D applications tested to work with Parallels. According to third party testing, Parallels runs Windows XP faster than VMWare.

VMWare Fusion - This method also allows you to run Windows at the same time that you are using the Macintosh operating system. I find VMWare to be easier to use than Parallels. VMWare can utilize up to 16GB of RAM and two processing cores. However, the 32-bit versions of Windows XP & Windows Vista can only utilize 4GB of RAM. VMWare is the only program that supports 64-bit versions of the operating systems, if you want to utilize more RAM. However, VMWare supports fewer 3D applications than Parallels, so it's not the best choice for programs that require DirectX or OpenGL. According to third party testing, VMWare runs Windows Vista faster than Parallels.

Combination - You can combine Boot Camp with Parallels or VMWare Fusion. This allows you to boot into Windows or run both operating systems side-by-side. However, you lose some features that VMWare Fusion and Parallels offer. For example, you lose the ability to create virtual machine snapshots, which means you'll need another method to back-up your Windows installation. You also lose the ability to compress or compact the Windows installation. This is because Boot Camp creates permanent partitions for each operating system so you cannot change the amount of space used without erasing your hard drive and redoing everything.