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Media Debate: Windows Vista Hardware Requirements
By Jeff Rosado
December 8, 2006

Once again, the media is out to completely confuse the public when it comes to Windows Vista. In the latest round of news frenzy, there are reports that most users will need major hardware upgrades in order to use Windows Vista, and on the other side are articles that say that the majority of mid to high end computers sold in the past three years "will run Windows Vista just fine." Then of course there are the articles comparing prices between XP systems and Vista system. When someone compares a P4 524, with 160 GB Hard Drive and 512 MB RAM for $299 after rebates (the XP system), against a P4 531, 160 GB Hard drive and 2 GB of RAM for $830 (the Vista sytstem), and then hypes the 64% difference between them, well, any person with common sense can figure that you can buy the $299 system and upgrade the RAM and even toss in a fairly nice graphics card for a lot less than the difference between those two systems.

The truth of the matter is that if you have a system that is a couple of years old that was in the mid range when you bought it, you may only need to toss in a stick of RAM, and maybe upgrade your video card to get the full Vista experience. Sure, running a Core 2 Duo, with 2 - 4 GB of high dollar RAM, and a $300+ video card will give you an aweseome experience, but you can easily run Vista Home Premium, or even ultimate with full Aero effects on a system that sells for $500 or even less today.

So, what am I running Vista on? Well of course I have a Core 2 Dou system with 2 GB of PC-6400 RAM, SATA II hard drives and dual ATI graphics cards, but I also have Vista Ultimate and Home Premium running on a AMD 64 3200+ with 1 GB of PC-3200 RAM and an ATI x300 graphics card (a sub $400 computer today), and on a new AMD Sempron 3200+ laptop with 768 MB PC-2700 RAM, and integrated ATI Express 200M graphics (a $399 Walmart special, with a $35 stick of extra RAM). Both systems run full Aero Glass, and although they are certainly not gaming machines, they have been running every day for the past few weeks without any noticable issues.

Now of course there are the shabby merchants who will tout their Vista ready cheapo systems to consumers, without explaining the difference between Windows Vista Basic, and Home Premium or Ultimate. Not to mention that I have my doubts that a laptop with 512 MB RAM that shares out 128 MB for video memory will even intstall Vista Home Premium; although I have seen a few so configured that come with Media Center 05 and tout the Home Premium upgrade coupon. The best advice for consumers who are interested in upgrading to Windows Vista, or are purchasing a new system is to take a little time and do a bit of research before making the plunge. Who should you believe? Well you can read plenty of blog posts and articles from people who have been working with Windows Vista since the early Beta stages, or you can believe some kid working in a super store who doesn't know the difference between RAM and ROM.