December 15, 2006

Are you ready for Windows Vista?  The final consumer release is set for the end of January.  If you are considering upgrading, I will cover a few issues you might want to consider.

As I stated in my update discussion and my new pc discussion, if you are considering Windows Vista, then if you want my opinion, you should purchase a new computer.  As I've stated before, upgrading the operating system will either go smoothly, or it will be the experience from hell.  More than likely, it will probably be the later.

Windows Vista is a completely new operating system, on the order of when Microsoft updated from Windows 95 to Windows 98.  Older hardware and software just won't be that compatible and the headaches trying to get things to work aren't worth the frustrations.

Keep in mind, there are no revelations in the new Windows.  Most of the new stuff is eye candy, so you may want to reconsider if you have a computer which performs well now.

If you want to take the plunge, the following are the minimum requirements to change your box to a Vista machine:

First, there are four different versions of Vista.  To run Windows Vista Home Basic, the minimums are an 800-MHz or faster processor, 512MB of memory, graphics hardware capable of SVGA (800 by 600) resolution, a 20GB hard disk with at least 15GB of free space, and a CD-ROM drive.

If you want Vista's Aero interface (and you do) and the Media Center stuff, you will need the Home Premium version.  You'll need a graphics card that can handle DirectX 9 graphics APIs with Pixel Shader 2.0 3D texturing, has a Windows Vista Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver and at least 128MB of graphics memory, and supports 32 bits per pixel.

If you connect to a Windows server domain (very few people do), you'll need the Business Edition.

If you want the Media Center and need business features, you'll need the Ultimate Edition.

If you click here you will be taken to the Microsoft upgrade advisor, where you can find out everything you need to know about your system compatibility.

With the price of the computers today, it doesn't pay to try to upgrade an old computer.  You will still have an old computer, and it won't perform nearly as well as a new system.