Apple’s decision to abandon Intel processors and move its entire Mac lineup to its own Apple Silicon processors certainly seems to have paid off. Its M-series processors, including the latest M3 and M4 chips, deliver impressive performance and battery life; It even means Macs have the graphical horsepower. play some decent games finally.

But of course there are many Windows apps and games that don’t run on Macs, and this is one area where older Macs using Intel processors have an advantage because they make it easier to run Windows and Windows. software in addition to all your regular Mac applications. The Windows operating system was written specifically to run on Intel processors, and the adoption of Intel processors in 2005-2006 meant that they could run Windows as well as MacOS. This was a real boon for many Mac users, as there were many professional-level applications in areas such as graphics and design that were only available on Windows PCs; Not to mention all the Windows games that were never released on the Mac. So having the ability to run Windows apps and games on Intel-based Macs has given Mac users the best of both worlds.

And of course, many people still use Macs with Intel processors; I intend to use my 27-inch Intel iMac for as long as humanly possible (although the possibility of a new Mac Mini with an M4 processor coming soon is quite tempting). So, for all you die-hard Intel-Mac users, here are all the Windows apps, games, and other software you may need to use, along with options for installing Windows on your Mac.

if you want Run Windows on a new M series Mac Read our separate article explaining how to run the ARM version of Windows on the Apple SIlicon Mac.

Training camp

Intel Macs had, and still have, two options for running Windows, using Apple’s own Boot Camp software or third-party virtualization tools like the popular Macs. Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion.

Boot Camp is a piece of software developed by Apple that allows you to install the Windows operating system as well as macOS on your Mac, so you can switch between macOS and Windows whenever you need. Boot Camp is still supported by Apple today, although it no longer sells Macs using Intel processors. You can read detailed installation instructions at: Apple’s website.

However, it’s worth noting that Boot Camp hasn’t been updated much since the release of the new generation of Macs with Apple Silicon, and it still seems to be focused on older Windows 10 rather than the current Windows 11. Millions of people around the world are still happily using Windows 10; so if you just want to run a few Windows apps or games on your Intel Mac, this isn’t a problem.

Boot Camp software allows you to partition an Intel Mac’s internal hard drive or solid-state drive (SSD) by splitting it into two separate partitions (known as SSDs). sections). One partition still stores macOS and all your regular 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 this is complete you can use a simple keyboard shortcut. Dual boot your MacSwitch between macOS or Windows as needed.

The only downside to using Boot Camp is that you have to choose between starting (or booting) your Mac into macOS or booting into Windows. You cannot run Mac apps and Windows apps at the same time as the two operating systems remain completely separate. If you want to run the Mac version of Photoshop while you work, but switch to Windows for a quick spot of Diablo 4 at lunch, then you’ll need to keep restarting your Mac to cycle through the Diablo 4 action. macOS and Windows.

There’s another way to install Windows on your Mac – called virtualization – which allows you to run Windows and Windows apps alongside all your regular apps without having to switch between the two operating systems.

Virtual Machines

See our summary Best virtual machine software for Mac.

Programs like Parallels Desktop And VMware Fusion Use virtualization (sometimes called emulation) to install Windows on your Mac; these will work with both Intel Macs and current-generation Macs with Apple Silicon. These are both traditional Mac programs that can be installed on your Mac like any other program, and they allow you to create a virtual machine (or VM), a piece of software that mimics the operation of a physical computer.

When you create a virtual machine on your Mac, you assign a certain portion of your Mac’s memory and storage to the virtual machine, which allows you to install Windows on the virtual machine. You can even specify the number of processor cores you allocate to run 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 application; so you can run your Windows apps along with all your regular Mac apps. This is more convenient than using Boot Camp as you no longer need to switch between macOS and Windows.

The downside of virtualization is that your Mac effectively runs two operating systems at once (macOS and Windows in your virtual machine); Therefore, you need a fairly powerful Mac with plenty of memory and storage to effectively run a Windows virtual machine. Even on the most powerful Intel Macs (which are, after all, a few years old) it’s difficult to get good enough performance using virtualization to play the latest Windows games that need high-speed 3D graphics. If you need peak performance for gaming or professional-level graphics work, it’s better to use Boot Camp to run Windows on Intel Mac; because this will ensure the best possible performance. However, a virtual machine running Windows can give you good enough performance to run many Windows applications such as Microsoft Office and even some 3D graphics applications that may not be available for Mac; so it’s still a valuable option for many Mac users. .

There are other options, although they have their own drawbacks. Microsoft has a streaming service called Windows 365which runs Windows on a private cloud server and then allows you to 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 fee and the service is designed primarily for business users. However, a one-month free trial is available, and you can also read our article on How to use Windows 365 to run Windows on Mac for more information.

Finally, there are translation programs like CrossOver and Whiskey that actually let you run Windows software without even needing to install a copy of Windows first. But these are a little more specialized, so we will cover them in more detail in a separate article.