It is not always possible to buy a new PC to try a new operating system, considering that often the PC on which we will perform the installation is also used to work or to carry out other important operations such as studying or preparing documents. In these cases, virtual machines come in handy which allow you to "emulate" the operating systems by exploiting a part of the resources available on the main machine, so as to have operating systems "in the window" ready to be used in any test or occurs.
It will not be like installing the system on a real machine, but it will allow you to test its full potential.
The most used virtual machine program is Virtualbox, but in this guide we will present you the best alternatives that you can find both in free and paid versions.
READ ALSO: VirtualBox guide to start a Linux Live CD virtual computer on Windows
Technical characteristics to run virtual machines
Running one operating system inside the other is very expensive in terms of resources, so we will necessarily have to focus on a powerful computer in order to have one or more windows with virtualized operating systems.
The technical characteristics that we recommend to use in order to manage virtual machines are:
- CPU : a core of modern processors will be reserved for the virtual machine, so it is better to focus on processor models with at least 4 cores or higher (even processors with Intel with HyperTreading are fine);
- RAM : a part of the physical RAM will become the "virtual" RAM of the machine, better to focus on at least 16 GB of RAM or higher to start most of the machines (which require at least 2 or 4 GB of dedicated RAM);
- Hard disk: also in this case a part of the disk space will become the virtual hard disk of the machine, therefore it is better to focus on hard disk models of at least 1 TB or higher.
We don't use SSDs for virtual machines: the high write and read operations can easily ruin it!
- Video card : many virtual machines use the hardware acceleration on the PC to make the graphics of the virtualized operating system run even faster, so we focus on performing video cards with at least 2 GB of video memory;
- Advanced features: in order to take full advantage of virtual machines, our processor must support instructions designed for virtualization and nested paging, which will make communication between the two machines (the real one and the virtual one) even more immediate.
We cannot get this information easily, but we can use a program like CPU-Z to check the technical characteristics of the processor in use on the PC.
The rest of the features are not important even if they can make the experience lived on the virtual machine even more realistic, in particular if we have USB peripherals that we want to use at all costs even in the virtual machine.
Alternatives to Virtualbox
After seeing what features our PC must have in order to properly run any program for virtual machines, let's discover together the best alternatives to Virtualbox.
1) VMware Workstation Player
The free higher level alternative is certainly VMware Workstation Player, available for download here -> VMware Workstation Player
This program is the free version of a very expensive paid suite, freely usable for personal purposes (therefore we cannot use it in the company or in the shop).
Creating a virtual machine with this program is very simple: let's get the ISO of the operating system to be tested then click on Create a New Virtual Machine .
Now we will be asked for the location of the ISO image or DVD disc, as well as information on the type of operating system to be virtualized.
In the last screen we will only have to choose where to save the file that will work from a virtual hard disk and start the installation of the operating system as if it were on a real PC.
Virtualization with this program is practically perfect, also thanks to the technology adopted (among the best in the world) it will seem to be on a real PC on many occasions.
2) QEMU
Another completely free program that we can use to emulate virtual machines and mobile devices is QEMU, downloadable from here -> QEMU .
This program will allow us to emulate virtual machines with Linux or any similar operating system in a simple and immediate way.
Although apparently difficult to use (most of the operations are to be done in the terminal), QEMU works quite well with any operating system we want to virtualize.
Its main strength is the speed of virtualization, obtained thanks to dynamic translation.
If we want to learn how to use it, we recommend reading the user guide available here -> QEMU Documentation .
3) VMware Workstation Pro
The first paid alternative that we can recommend is Workstation Pro, the paid version of the program first reviewed on this guide.
You can download it from here -> VMware Workstation Pro .
This version boasts all the technology already seen in the free version accompanied by advanced options to achieve personalized virtualization, the ability to connect to multiple virtual machines in the cloud or on another PC on the network and synchronization between multiple different locations, so you can manage even virtual servers as if they were real.
Program within the reach of a few, but which we recommend buying only if you own a company or an office (since it is not possible to use the Player version in professional fields).
4) Parallels
If we own a Mac, a good commercial program for virtual machines is Parallels, available here -> Parallels .
Thanks to this program we can effectively virtualize all versions of Windows (even 10) to use them within a Mac window, so you don't have to buy a PC with Windows!
The virtual machines communicate effectively with Mac OS, so as to have an unprecedented integration, which will avoid you having to use Bootcamp and restart the Mac every time.
While the list continues with the best programs for virtualizing operating systems, one cannot forget that in Windows 10 and Windows 8.1 there is already an alternative to Virtualbox.
It's called Hyper-V, which you can search for and start from the start menu directly.
