
For this to work, you'll need to be running macOS 10.14 Mojave or later. This means you can run software like Autodesk 3ds Max 2020 or games like Fallout 4, all while taking advantage of your Mac's hardware. Parallels Desktop 15 adds support for DirectX 11, as well as DirectX 9 and 10, via Apple Metal.

You can run Parallels Desktop on macOS versions as old as 10.12 Sierra. This is great if you need to run an older version of macOS for compatibility purposes. That said, you don't need to have Catalina installed in order to run Parallels 15. Running a full-fledged instance of Windows 10 lets you access the files on these drives without worry.Īs the version number hints at, Parallels 15 is optimized for macOS 10.15 Catalina. This is handy since macOS doesn't support writing to NTFS drives by default, and even the existing options can be risky. Parallels supports mounting external hard drives. The software offers a full screen mode, which essentially lets you run Wondows on Mac just as you would if you had installed Windows via Boot Camp.Īs we've looked at before, there are plenty of advantages to virtual machines instead of dual booting.
Best parallel desktop for mac for mac#
On the other hand, if you need the full Windows desktop experience, Parallels for Mac can handle that as well. When you go to launch the Windows app, Parallels quietly runs the virtual machine in the background. If you need to open an app all the time, you can keep it in your Dock as you would with any macOS app. This is handy if you just need to run one key app that only works on Windows. Instead, Windows runs in the background, while only the applications you run via Parallels are displayed. In this mode, you don't get the standard full virtualized desktop. Parallels Desktop can take this even further with its Coherence mode.
