Logos 4 Mac v. Windows on Parallels Comparison

Posted by Kevin Purcell on Mar 22, 2011 in Bible Software, Digital Bible Study, Review, Software, Technology, Video | 2 comments

In the video below I compare how well Logos 4 runs in two different operating systems on the same computer. Thanks to Parallels I can run Logos 4 for Mac and Logos 4 for Windows on the same PC. As you will see the two run almost the same.

But that is not a good thing. A program running under a virtual operating is not the same as running it natively in an operating system. The VM is actually running inside the native OS. It is running using half the memory and has to draw the screens not only in the virtual OS but also in the primary OS. It should run slower. So here is the comparison:

• Boot speed – Mac = 17 seconds; Parallels = 60 seconds
• Overall usage speed – no difference
• Click response speed – Parallels is faster for most things
• Both have same hard drive, video card, and processor
• Parallels is only allowed 4GB of RAM while OS X has access to all 8GB

The above differences show that the only real difference between running Logos 4 on a Mac v. running it on a Windows PC is boot time. If you keep Parallels running all the time or factor that you only have to start it at the beginning of the day, that difference goes away.

My point is that I think Logos has some work to do on the Mac side. I don’t wan’t to beat this dead horse. I believe they are working on it. The only way I was able to make Logos comparable on a Mac was to install a Seagate Momentus Hybrid hard drive which uses a fast 7200 rpm traditional hard drive plus a 4GB SSD combined to add some speed. My research and experience shows that the Seagate is only slightly less powerful and fast than a regular SSD for many things.

Most people won’t be doing what I did; they will just take the basic 5400 rpm drive Apple offers. And they will have poor performance.