| What You'll Need To Run Windows Vista |
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| Saturday, 20 May 2006 | |
 To run the lower-end versions of Windows Vista, a PC must have an 800-MHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, a 20-GB hard drive with 15 GB of free space, and a graphics chipset that is capable of handling DirectX 9.
Does your computer make the grade for running Windows Vista? That is the question Microsoft is trying to help everyone answer with the launch of its new "Get Ready" Web site. The site is designed to familiarize everyone with the minimum set of requirements necessary to run the next-generation OS. It also is intended to prepare users for the type of performance they can expect to get from Vista when they install it on their existing PCs. Earlier this year, industry observers had warned that the requirements for running Vista would make the OS unattainable by all but the owners of the most high-end computers. The actual requirements, however, are far below what many had anticipated they would be, causing bloggers, analysts, and other industry observers to express a great deal of surprise. Easy Check For those who are not spec-masters, the Get Ready site (microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/) includes a downloadable tool that will tell you what features and which of the five versions of Vista your existing PC can run. The Upgrade Advisor tool, which is currently in beta, essentially eliminates the need for those who are less savvy about technology to match the list of Vista requirements to the specs of their PCs. With the advisor tool, you can learn, for example, whether your PC has the necessary components to watch and record TV through Vista or enough graphics power to handle the new Vista interface, called Aero. Tech Specs Paul Jackson, an analyst at Forrester Research, said that even if consumers have relatively new PCs, they likely will need to upgrade unless they were specifically designed for the advanced Vista features. "To be fair, they will still be able to run the Basic or Ultimate Home editions fairly happily," he said. "It's just that some of the whiz-bang effects won't be quite as good." For those who are more technically savvy, Microsoft has listed on the new site the basic requirements for two levels of Vista: "Vista Capable" and "Premium Ready." To be Vista Capable, a new PC must have an 800-MHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, a 20-GB hard drive with 15 GB of free space, and a graphics chipset that is capable of handling DirectX 9. To be Premium Ready, a PC must be able to support Aero and other advanced Vista features. For this classification, PCs must have at least a 1-GHz processor, 128 MB of dedicated graphics memory, 1 GB of RAM, and a 40-GB hard drive.
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