How To Get Ready For Vista

Although Microsoft's Windows Vista is still months away from general release, your customers and users are most likely pounding you with questions about the new OS now.

In this Recipe, I'll cover the known hardware requirements for the upcoming OS, what components you need to be looking at for the new systems you'll be building and what updates are likely to be needed for existing systems to run Vista.

Regardless of when Vista is released, it's not too soon to examine the OS' key selling points: ease-of-use, top-notch security, robust search and better management functionality.

On the ease-of-use front, Vista's user interface has been redesigned to be intuitive and visually appealing. It also features a slick new GUI called Aero, which is optional. Aero's certain to be one of the reasons that people are drawn to Vista, but it requires hefty graphics horsepower.

On the security side, Vista is more tightly integrated with Microsoft's anti-malware tools than WinXP. Also, Vista supports advanced security features, such as hard-drive encryption and a new feature called Windows Service Hardening, which helps prevent virus, spyware and other malware.

Vista System Requirements

Microsoft is pushing two main systems requirements categories: Windows Vista Capable and Windows Vista Premium Ready. This allows manufacturers and systems builders to build and sell systems today that will support all or most of the Vista functionality as it's released.

These are the official Windows Vista Capable minimum requirements:

• 800-MHz processor
• 512 MB of RAM
• 15 GB of free hard-drive space
• DirectX 9-capable graphics card (An old-school Super VGA graphics card will work too.)
• Here are the Vista Premium Ready minimum requirements:
• 1-GHz processor
• 1 GB of RAM
• 15 GB of free hard-drive space
• DirectX 9-capable graphics card with 128 MB of memory and support for WDDM and Pixel Shader 2.0
• The main difference between Capable and Ready is a lot more RAM--I believe Microsoft's recommendation of 1 GB is conservative--and a more robust graphics card. The bottom line: The more RAM and graphics horsepower, the better your customer's Vista experience is likely to be.
• Once you have a handle on Vista's basic requirements and versions, check out Microsoft's Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. Currently in beta, the program lets you test a system's readiness to run Vista. It also evaluates which edition would be best for your customer.
• Building Vista-Ready Systems
• Keep a few things in mind as you start to build Vista-ready systems. First, make sure your motherboards can support plenty of RAM. Capacity of up to 2 GB should cover you. Next, don't skimp on power supplies; don't go with less than 400 watts or so on newer systems.
• Also, customers are more concerned than ever about system reliability and data security. Vista looks to address those two issues. With a user-friendly GUI and slick new features, it's sure to drive a lot of interest in either updating components or going to new systems altogether.
• Peter Hagopian is a Philadelphia-based freelance writer.