Windows Vista still has about six months left until it will arrive on the retail market, but already it might be a good idea to start ponder about what hardware to get so that you are ready when Microsoft’s new operating system actually arrives. Many has been waiting for, or perhaps feared, the recommended specifications with Windows Vista as the operating system is expected to be extremely demanding. We have earlier reported about Microsoft’s Windows Vista Capable, which is a branding for the basic specifications required to run the entry model of the operating system where you e.g. will not be able to take advantage of the new 3D interface Windows Aero. Microsoft has now officially released the system requirements for Windows Vista and it has chosen to divide them into two segments of different users.
The entry specifications that has been rather vague earlier with things like “a modern processor” and similar has now been specified further and goes as follows;
A Windows Vista Capable PC should at least contain:
- A modern processor (at least 800MHz).
- 512 MB RAM.
- A DirectX 9 capable graphics circuit.
- 15GB available harddrive space.
This means that, to many’s great relief, that Vista willl run on most computers sold during the last couple of year. What could become a problem is a DirectX 9 capable graphics card. Those wants to be able to take advantage of as much as possible with Windows Vista should aim to fulfill the system requirements listed as Microsoft’s Windows Vista Premium Ready PC guide lines, which are not as pleasant;
A Windows Vista Premium Ready PC should at least contain:
- 1GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
- 1GB RAM.
- A graphics circuit sporting Windows Aero.
- 128MB graphics memory.
- 40GB harddrive with 15GB of free space.
- DVD-ROM unit.
- Sound card.
- Internet connection.
The processor requirement is hardly unobtainable, but the RAM is a bit worse as 1GB are the minimum requirements for a Premium Ready PC. Windows Aero is also a tricky, here you will need a DirectX 9 capable graphics card that sport, among others, WDDM and Pixel Shader 2.0.
Overall we see that the storage specifications has been increased quite a lot since last launch; Windows XP. The RAM module market has been having a good period lately and it will most likely just keep improving with these high requirements by Vista and we’re eager to see, although feeling a bit insecure of, how much RAM you will really need to get a Vista system to work at best.
Also the harddrive specifications are interesting as they specify a whopping 15GB of free space, I.e. no more 10-15GB C partitions. This is hardly a problem with today’s harddrives though, which usually have a capacity of a couple of hundreds of GB. But it will be a real kick in the face for the Solid State market where RAM or flash memory are used as storage media and the capacity quickly escalate the prices. Gigabyte’s i-RAM with its 4GB capacity isn’t even close to meeting the requirements.
