Apple’s Boot Camp provides the fastest Windows environment available on a Mac. And because you're truly running Windows, not using a virtualization product, running Windows in Boot Camp is generally more stable, and works with a wider variety of peripherals, than any other Mac-based option.
- Runs Windows at your hardware's native speed
- Guides you through the setup process
- Includes all of the drivers that Windows needs
- Doesn't integrate easily with the Mac OS
- Makes it difficult to create multiple Boot Camp partitions
- Limited to Intel Macs
- Part of OS X 10.5 and later
- Easy to set up
- Includes all of the drivers Windows needs
- Works with any Intel-based Mac
- Supported by Apple
Apple’s Boot Camp is really two programs in one: Boot Camp Assistant and Boot Camp. Boot Camp Assistant allows you to easily partition your hard drive, reserving one partition for Windows, without harming any of the data that's already on the drive. Boot Camp Assistant's other purpose in life is to restore your Mac to its original condition if you decide to remove Windows.
The purpose of the Boot Camp program is to recognize Windows disks at boot time, so you can choose between the Mac OS and the Windows OS when you boot your Mac.
The ability to partition drives and recognize Windows disks may not sound like much, but Boot Camp has a fundamentally important feature: it can run Windows at your hardware's native speed, without the virtualization layer that programs such as Parallels and Fusion require. That's both good news and bad news, depending on your particular needs.
When you use Boot Camp, it runs Windows natively on your Mac hardware. That's bad news if you want to share data between Windows and the Mac OS. (There are ways to share data between the two OSes, but not conveniently.) But it's good news if you want to run processor-intensive Windows applications, such as video editors, CAD programs, and fast-action games. Running natively provides the best performance and the best compatibility.
