Microsoft has unveiled their new website aimed at preparing people for Windows Vista, their next major Operating System and the sequel to Windows XP – Windows Vista: Get Ready. Not slated for release until the end of this year (more than likely next year), nonetheless you can start looking at whether or not notebooks you purchase this year will be capable of running Vista (or more importantly, running it well). Among the information, the official requirements for the two classifications of computers that can run Windows Vista:
Windows Vista Capable PC (Minimum):
* A modern processor (at least 800MHz1).
* 512 MB of system memory.
* A graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.
Windows Vista Premium Ready PC (Minimum):
* 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor1.
* 1 GB of system memory.
* A graphics processor that runs Windows Aero2.
* 128 MB of graphics memory.
* 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
* DVD-ROM Drive3.
* Audio output capability.
* Internet access capability.
You can read about the various versions of Microsoft Windows Vista here, that will be released (covering every situation from individual users up through corporations). One thing to note for notebook users who maybe thinking about a Tablet PC – there won’t be a seperate Tablet PC Edition, as the Tablet PC capabilities were folded into the normal Vista lineup (whether that’s to make it easier for support and distribution or whether that’s a sign of faith in the platform, especially now that Ultra Mobile PCs are out, who knows).
Last month, ArsTechnica had a great article about the differences between the the two specifications, and yesterday they voiced the opinion that you need at least a 2.5GHz CPU to run it well.