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The time has almost come for Microsoft to officially release Windows Vista to consumers. On January 30th, consumers will be able to purchase a new computer pre-installed with one of the many Vista versions or as a standalone product to install on a self-built or already running computer. But the big question that everyone is talking about is, "Do you really need Vista?" That answer can be a little complicated, but this short and useful guide should help clear up any confusion.
The first question you should ask yourself is, am I buying a new computer or am I going to upgrade an existing computer to Windows Vista? If you are buying a new computer, then you do not really have to worry about it being compatible with Windows Vista because it will come pre-loaded with Vista. If you buy a new computer before January 30th, you will get a computer with Windows XP, but Microsoft will allow you to order a Windows Vista upgrade CD for free once it is released at the end of January.
If you are planning on upgrading your current computer from Windows XP (if it runs anything older, you'll want to probably buy a new computer) to Windows Vista, there are a few things that you'll need to consider. First off is the current age of your computer, if it is anything older than around 2004, you'll probably want to either upgrade the internal components (such as CPU, RAM, video card) with more up-to-date equipment. If your computer is newer than 2004 and was a pretty high-end system at the time that you bought it, you can probably just buy the Windows Vista upgrade. However, you'll want to make sure your system meets or exceeds the system requirements for Vista. Microsoft's set of recommended system requirements are as follows...
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1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
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1 GB of system memory
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Support for DirectX 9 graphics with a WDDM driver, 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum) , Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel
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40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space
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DVD-ROM Drive (Remember, the Vista installation disc is a DVD, not a CD)
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Audio output capability
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Internet access capability
However, in our opinion, these specs are a little light if you are planning on doing more advanced computer tasks, such as photo editing, playing video games, or running many programs at once. If you really want to make sure your system will run Vista and then all of your other programs without any slow downs, you'll want to make sure your system at lease has...
- 2GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
- 1.0-2.0GB of RAM
- DirectX9 Graphics card w/ WDDM driver and at least 256MB of graphics memory for video gaming (128MB for casual computer use)
- At least 100GB of hard drive space (Close to 200GB if you are planning on storing/editing digital photos or playing large and intensive video games; Hard drive's with large capacities are not too expensive)
If you are planning on upgrading an existing computer to Vista, make sure that you really want to because you cannot rollback to Windows XP from a Vista upgrade like you could in previous versions. You also should download and run Microsoft's Vista Upgrade Advisor, which will scan your system and tell you about any hardware/driver incompatibilities.
Besides all of the above, you should also consider the cost of upgrading a computer to Vista. Another issue that is actually new to the decision of whether or not to upgrade to Vista is the many different versions of Windows Vista itself. There are four different versions of Vista that are available to consumers and each has its own constraints on whether or not it is upgradeable from a certain pervious version of Windows. The following chart is an exact duplicate of the chart located at Microsoft's Vista Upgrade page, which also has other valuable information about upgrading.
- Vista Home Basic ($199 new; $99.95 upgrade)-Offers parental controls for children, but lacks the new Aero interface and other digital media features.
- Vista Home Premium ($239 new; $159 upgrade)- Comes with the new Aero interface and digital media features, such as Media Center and Windows DVD Maker, as well as backup and other advanced features. (Most home users will want to purchase this version; it is comparable to Windows XP Home Edition)
- Vista Ultimate ($399 new; $259 upgrade)- This version is perfect for the advanced computer user who likes to tweak around with settings as well as knows the in's and out's of a computer. It combines all of the features of both the home editions and the business edition; it contains all of Vista's features.
- Vista Business ($299 new; $199 upgrade)- Includes the new Aero interface, as well as Group Policy support, IT features and advanced network connectivity, file sharing, and file backup.
Lastly, we wanted to run through some of the things that we love and hate about Windows Vista.
Things We Love...
- Aero Interface- The new interface is just about as good as you can get, in our opinion. It makes everything very clean-cut and easy to use. Microsoft definitely nailed this one.
- Improved Wireless Network Management- The wireless network management in Windows XP was downright bad, but in Vista, it is significantly better.
- Search Integration- One other downside to previous Windows versions was the lack of search integration throughout the operating system (unlike the Mac OS), but in Vista, search functionality has been put all over the interface (the best location is on the newly redesigned Start Menu).
Thinks We Hate...
- Price- There's no doubt that the retail versions of Windows Vista are the priciest yet.
- User Permissions- Every time a program needs to perform an administrative task, Windows stops what you are doing and prompts you to authorize the action, which is a good idea on paper, but Microsoft has made it so it pops up every few seconds...way too naggy.
- Hardware Requirements- The hardware requirements are without a doubt the most intense ever; be prepared to spend a lot of money on upgrading a new PC or buying a whole new one.
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