Apple’s decision to ditch Intel processors and move the entire Mac lineup to using its homegrown Apple Silicon processors certainly appears to have paid off. Its M-series processors, including the latest M3 and M4 chips, deliver impressive performance and battery life – and even mean Macs have the graphics power to finally play decent games.
But, of course, there are still plenty of Windows apps and games that don’t run on Macs at all, and this is one area where older Macs using Intel processors had an advantage because they made it easier to run Windows and Windows. software on top of all your normal Mac apps. The Windows operating system was specifically designed to run on Intel processors, and the fact that Macs adopted Intel processors in 2005-2006 meant that they were also capable of running Windows, as well as macOS itself . This has been a real boon for many Mac users, as there are many professional-level applications in areas like graphics and design that are only available for Windows PCs – not to mention all those Windows games that never come out on Mac. So the ability to run Windows apps and games on Intel-based Macs gave Mac users the best of both worlds.
And, of course, many people still use Macs with Intel processors – I intend to hang on to my 27-inch Intel iMac for as long as humanly possible (although it’s possible that one new Mac Mini will soon feature an M4 processor). is rather tempting). So, for all my fellow hardcore Intel-Mac users, here are the options for installing Windows on your Mac, along with all the Windows apps, games, and other software you might need.
If you want to run Windows on a new M-series Mac, read our separate article that explains how to run the ARM version of Windows on an Apple SIlicon Mac.
Training camp
Intel Macs had – and still have – two options for running Windows, using either Apple’s Boot Camp software or third-party virtualization tools such as the popular Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion.
Boot Camp is software developed by Apple, which allows you to install the Windows operating system on your Mac, alongside macOS, so that you can switch between macOS and Windows at any time. Boot Camp is still supported by Apple today, although it no longer sells Macs using Intel processors, and you can read detailed installation instructions on Apple’s website.
It’s worth mentioning, however, that Boot Camp hasn’t been updated much since next-gen Macs launched with Apple Silicon, and it still seems to focus on older Windows 10, rather than the current Windows 11 However, there are millions of people around the world who still happily use Windows 10, so this isn’t necessarily a problem if you just want to run a few Windows apps or games on your Intel Mac.
Boot Camp software allows you to partition an Intel Mac’s internal hard drive or solid state drive (SSD), dividing it into two separate sections (called partitions). One partition continues to store macOS and all your normal Mac apps, but Boot Camp also lets you install the Windows operating system on the second partition, along with any Windows apps and software you want to use. Once done, you can use a simple keyboard shortcut to dual-boot your Mac, switching between macOS or Windows as needed.
The only downside to using Boot Camp is that you have to choose: you either boot (or boot) your Mac into macOS, or you boot into Windows. The two operating systems remain entirely separate, so you can’t run Mac apps and Windows apps at the same time. If you want to run the Mac version of Photoshop while you’re at work, but maybe switch to Windows for a quick lunchtime look at the Diablo 4 action, then you’ll need to keep restarting your Mac to switch between the two. macOS and Windows.
There is, however, another way to install Windows on your Mac – called virtualization – which allows you to run Windows and Windows applications alongside all your normal applications, without having to switch between the two operating systems.
Virtual machines
Check out our roundup of the best virtual machine software for Mac.
Programs such as Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion use virtualization – sometimes also called emulation – to install Windows on your Mac, and they will work with both Intel Macs and the current generation of Macs with Apple Silicon. These are two conventional Mac programs that can be installed on your Mac like any other program, and they allow you to create a virtual machine (or VM), which is software that emulates the operation of a physical PC.
When you create a virtual machine on your Mac, you assign a certain amount of your Mac’s memory and storage to the virtual machine, allowing you to install Windows on the virtual machine. You can even specify how many CPU cores you dedicate to running the virtual machine. You can then install other Windows applications on the virtual machine and run these Windows applications on the virtual machine. The virtual machine runs on your Mac like any other Mac app, so you can run your Windows apps alongside all your normal Mac apps. It’s more convenient than using Boot Camp, because you no longer need to constantly switch between macOS and Windows.
The downside to virtualization is that your Mac is effectively running two operating systems at the same time – macOS and Windows on your virtual machine – so you need a fairly powerful Mac with plenty of memory and storage to effectively run one. Windows virtual machine. Even with the most powerful Intel Macs – which, after all, are a few years old now – it’s difficult to get performance good enough using virtualization to play the latest Windows games requiring high-speed 3D graphics. If you need optimal performance for gaming or professional-level graphics work, it’s best to use Boot Camp to run Windows on an Intel Mac, as this will provide the best possible performance. However, a virtual machine running Windows can still give you good enough performance to run many Windows applications, such as Microsoft Office, or even some 3D graphics applications that may not be available for Mac, so it’s still an attractive option for many Mac users. .
There are other options as well, although they have their own drawbacks. Microsoft offers a streaming service, called Windows 365, that runs Windows on a special cloud server, then lets you stream Windows to your Mac — or other devices — over the Internet. This can be a useful option if you have a fast enough broadband connection, but it requires a monthly subscription and the service is primarily designed for business users. However, a one-month free trial is available and you can also read our article How to Use Windows 365 to Run Windows on a Mac for more information.
Finally, there are translation programs, such as CrossOver and Whiskey, that allow you to run Windows software without even needing to first install a copy of Windows. These are a little more specialized, however, so we cover them in more detail in a separate article.
