Is your PC Vista-ready?

by Alan Rose { Jun 1st 2006 at 11:00AM }

Microsoft recently released the official hardware requirements of Windows Vista, and if you have a decent gaming rig, you should be ready to roll in January. A "Capable" Vista system will run on an 800MHz CPU with a half gig of RAM, while a "Premium" system requires a 1GHz CPU and a full gig of RAM. Both setups need a DirectX 9-compatible graphics card, and you should have DVD capability and at least a 40GB hard drive.

If these specs leave you questioning your PC's prowess, you can download Microsoft's Vista Upgrade Advisor, which will help you determine the amount of bells and whistles your current system will support. The real question is, will Vista be gaming-ready? Stay tuned for more details on how the latest Vista beta runs today's games.

See also: Windows Vista variations confirmed

Tags: microsoft, PC gaming, vista, windows

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Night Elve @ Jun 1st 2006 11:04AM

I found pretty stupid these High requirements, because even if your PC is ready for the "Premium" well Windows will be consuming all your resources, so im pretty sure you will have problems to run a game with decent settings.

Chris @ Jun 1st 2006 11:07AM

welcome to last week.

nice prompt news as always.

Derbeste @ Jun 1st 2006 11:08AM

Multiply all those specs by a factor of 4, and it may even run WELL.

Like the PS3, I really wonder if the added functionality of Vista is worth the added price of the system.

Ah who am I kidding? I know I'll get it. My PC can handle it already and windows is for more than just gaming.

Damn me and my need to feel current!!

rewris @ Jun 1st 2006 11:12AM

Wow! Did anyone happen to catch the news last night? The Berlin wall was broken down! Yes! The Berlin Wall came down! David Hasslehoff was there and everything. I wonder if he'll be back for a second season of Knight Rider.

It's funny. If MS brought Vista out and it looked like XP, people would complain like hell about how it looks. They upgrade the OS cosmetically and feature-wise and people are still bitching. Technology grows and it demands more power. It's how it works.

Aside from that, you do not HAVE to install Vista, you don't like it. Don't buy it, don't install it.

That is all. Bye bye kiddies :)

Have a great day!

epobirs @ Jun 1st 2006 11:15AM

This is much ado about nothing. Try buying a new PC that cannot run Vista. Unless you really go for the bargain basement such systems just don't exist at retail anymore.

The latest Vista beta runs fine on pretty minimal systems. The only area any new PC costing $500 or more might need an upgrade is in the video. By the time Vista is schedule to ship even that will have changed as all of the major PC chipset vendors have new generations with much stronger video due to be in stores alongside Vista.

If your PC cannot run Vista with all the bells and whistles, it's either long overdue for a replacement or at least a better video card. Even a 128 MB Nvidia FX5200, which has recently been offered for free after rebate deals, is sufficient for a low-end Vista desktop.

Geist @ Jun 1st 2006 11:24AM

@#4

If you want to play some new games, you will have to install Vista. I believe Vista has some functions that DirectX 10 needs, so if any games are running in DX10, you'll need Vista.

I think. I'm not terribly into the tech side of things, but this came up while I was talking to my more nerdy friends.

Jay @ Jun 1st 2006 11:26AM

Yea, welcome to yesteryear. An OS similar to the now old OSX with the only benefit being gaming. I must schedule in some time to get excited about Vista.
Any more news of dropped features? Have we been given a date when Vista will overtake OSX in terms of features?

David @ Jun 1st 2006 11:29AM

And people complain about Sony trying to "push" things down the consumers throats. I would be absolutely stunned if more then 90% of the worlds* pc's cannot meet the minimum requirements for vista. Lets just say it's a good thing there are gamers out there who need the vista upgrade for high performance gaming, ie dx10, because as an os I can guarantee that it won't be 'stable', a relative term because well we all know how 'stable' windows can be, for a good 1 to 2 + years with service pack updates.

game_on @ Jun 1st 2006 11:33AM

Hey Chris, if you want up-to-date news, listen to NPR. Regarding Vista, you pretty much need it to run DirectX 10 and newer games like Halo 3, which means it's a necessary evil.

David @ Jun 1st 2006 11:42AM

What does vista and dx10 have to do with Halo 3? Maybe Halo 2 you mean? By the way! Microsoft announced that Halo 2 on PC won't even support their new Live Anywhere feature, despite* requiring a vista upgrade... I mean if ever there were a game to carry the live anywhere wouldn't it be freaking halo?

retro_gamer @ Jun 1st 2006 11:45AM

Ahh, the good 'ol days with the IBM Personal Computer - command line prompts, Zork, and hours of fun. Who needs graphics??

unimental @ Jun 1st 2006 11:46AM

@ Jay - "Have we been given a date when Vista will overtake OSX in terms of features?"

It won't/can't. Don't forget OSX Leopard is right around the corner.

I myself am planning on picking up a MacTel in about 18 months that will run both Leopard and Vista.

And yes, the system requirements listed will run Vista but not much else. I've seen the Beta running on something a little more powerful than the "Premium" setup described above, and there's precious little remaining system resources to be allocated.

Marc @ Jun 1st 2006 11:49AM

Unfortunately nobody has an HDCP ready PC. Until video cards have HDMI outputs I won't be upgrading my PC for Vista.

Nico @ Jun 1st 2006 11:56AM

Well im not upgrading to Vista.

Nice move trying to use the ever first adopting group of gamers as a beta testing group. Im really tired of reinstalling XP every 6 or 7 months because it runs in slow motion.

Microsoft makes crappy products stay away.

Jay @ Jun 1st 2006 12:03PM

oh yea, I won't be upgrading my PC's to Vista. I have a little ol' P3 500mhz machine that struggles with XP. it's cute really. The other, the main desktop will not be upgraded. I like everything to run smooth, and anything slower than what XP runs on my 2.5ghz is just a no-go. XP itself is smooth its just clogged up with virus scanners etc... unless Vista has no need for them I'll be on XP for a while still.

I can't wait for Leopard. Just hope it runs well on my G4!

inlogic @ Jun 1st 2006 12:23PM

#1

"I found pretty stupid these High requirements, because even if your PC is ready for the "Premium" well Windows will be consuming all your resources, so im pretty sure you will have problems to run a game with decent settings."

And you are pretty stupid, I just hear all these Windows naysayers and that it 'consumes' all your resources and what not and I feel and urge to beat the guy who says that, just because you don't have hands to use a computer and keep it clean it with your use it doesn't mean it's the OS fault, I haven't re-installed my Win XP for the last 2 years and it's been months since I had an hung-up and I've had quite some in my Linux Distro Ubuntu, and I use my computer in a daily basis.

#14
"14. Well im not upgrading to Vista.

Nice move trying to use the ever first adopting group of gamers as a beta testing group. Im really tired of reinstalling XP every 6 or 7 months because it runs in slow motion.

Microsoft makes crappy products stay away."

Yea, and Apple rocks my world... :| I would sincerely recomend you to move into a Macintosh, since according to what you say you've got to re-install your XP every 6 or 7 months, with OSX you won't have that problem, you got less ways to screw your OS.

Every OS is crappy if the guy that uses it is a crappy user by himself.

Just my €.

Night Elve @ Jun 1st 2006 12:42PM

@inlogic

So .... do you like to insult people or you just need some love that a woman cant give you?

I said that is pretty stupid to use the Ubber Gaming Edition of Windows Vista because it will be cluttered with a lot of shit.

And one thing is for sure i know how to use a computer, i havent formated my PC for the last 12 months and i defragment it and clean it (Registries, TMP, Cookies etc) almost every day just to keep my computer as fast as it can be.

But yeah congratulations for being an Smart Ass.

Martin @ Jun 1st 2006 1:00PM

I see the arguing point from a lot of Mac enthusiasts that the only way Windows XP can keep running is by service pack installations. Is there such a fundamental difference between, say, Windows XP SP1 / Windows XP SP2 and OSX 10.4.1 / 10.4.2 / 10.4.3 / 10.4.4 etc?

They seem the same thing to me. They're both frequent, they're both free, and they both fix bugs and issues (the ones that CAN be fixed without revamping the entire system).

cringer8 @ Jun 1st 2006 1:11PM

I don't feel like reading about this OS, so I'll ask you guys; is Vista a 64 bit or 32 bit os? I'm running on XP 64 right now with my Athlon 64 and I love it. VERY stable and FAST os. Some games don't work and some drivers don't exist yet, but it's worth it.

I may upgrade to Vista (since my comp specs double the "Premium" setup), but I certainly won't PAY for it.

k11 @ Jun 1st 2006 3:02PM

Not worth the trouble if I have to forgo bittorrent for Vista. On top of that developers sure know that many people still gonna stick with Dx9 for sometimes.

John @ Jun 1st 2006 3:26PM

Well Im looking forward to vista.
Im way above the recommended requirements and I think the whole idea of vista is something to look forward too. The interface is slick.

Though, I really would like a mac in the future, I've heard so many great things about it and the interface looks very similar. Maybe M$ stole i mean were inspired by the macs OS.

Anyways, Im looking forward to Vista, so I'll be one of the early adopters I assume.

Todd H. @ Jun 1st 2006 3:32PM

I'll stick with WIN2K...

lordroba @ Jun 1st 2006 3:36PM

Wow! a whole f****n' gig of ram! XP is already a ram whore as it is. I think I might start considering getting a Mac.:P

mountain_rage @ Jun 1st 2006 4:38PM

Im staying away from vista for the simple reason that they were originally gonna implement trusted computing, or paladin for those who know it under that name. Even if they didnt I can see it becoming an update or maybe there will be a crippled version of it. But slowly it seems microsoft among a swath of other big name pc companies want to take your control of your pc away from you.

http://www.lafkon.net/tc/

bladestar @ Jun 1st 2006 4:44PM

Why do some of you feel like you [have] to have vista? don't get it if you don't want to. Switch to Linux there are plenty of games to play there only to name a few (Tetris, pacman, and more), and It's open source and free. You can even modify the kernel and make the OS do wherever you want (But play today's video games) Linux DirectX support anybody. I also suggest you don't buy MAC since Microsoft owns like 40% of MAC's shares; so you will be simply making Microsoft richer. I think most of you anti-Microsoft people have a better change if SONY or Nintendo come out with an OS for your PC if you want to play any decent video game. So, whether you like or not you are Microsoft’s bitch so get use to it. Stick to you console (PS3 or Wii) and keep away from computer gamming.

TigerClaw @ Jun 1st 2006 5:24PM

Another reason why most people will not make the switch to Vista is cause of its system requirements, In order to view HD content thru Vista, You need a video card and a monitor that supports HDCP, If they don't, The HD video will downgrade to a lower quality.

Asdf @ Jun 1st 2006 9:08PM

The only reason i'll get it is for DirectX 10 (Direct3d 10?) The new directx 10 graphics cards will be 30 to 40 percent faster, because of some elimination of something. I think the gui, i forget (i got that from PC Mag, but i've heard it elsewhere) Oh yeah, and Crysis is Vista exclusive!