Is My Computer Ready For Windows Vista?

Question

I have a 2005 HP Pavilion With a 160 GB Harddrive 512 MB DDR Ram and Intel Extreme Graphics. I would like to upgrade to the newest windows OS which is Windows Vista. But I want to add 256 mb to my computer to make it go faster.

Answer 1

Well you did not ention your processor spee, nevertheless i guess your system will catch up easily with windows vista and probably you dont need an upgade, if u want one, go for graphics card.. sum 256 mb by NVIDIAprobaly above 7200 , that will boost up your performance with windows vista cuz its looks r gr8 n better graphics is required...
my pc has a very basic config of just 2.26 ghz celeronD, with 256 mb DDR 333 memory n 80 GB seagate barracuda PATA harddisk and VIA P4m800-m mainboard with only 32 mb of internal graphics memeory,,, n it carries on vista well except windows aero func.. now al u need is upgrade graphics, if u wish n u can also use a USB 2.0 falsh disk to speed up ur computer by virtually adding ram to it... mail me for more info

Answer 2

I think a better question would be:

Is the computing world ready for Vista???

Most of the reports I have read really question if the OS itself is truly ready to be given over to the public world. Seems there are still a lot of technical issues with it, licensing issues, etc. The other side of the question is: Are folks PC capable of running an OS like Vista that is so demanding on PC resources?

Personally, I don't understand why so many people are ready to hop on the Vista bandwagon! Why not wait a year and let the issues and problems be resolved before you drop another $130 on a new version of the MS OS.

Not only that but in your particular case, your PC hardware is less than optimum for Vista. Your hard drive capacity is fine, your RAM is far to little - 1G RAM is what is see recommended in most cases. Additionally, you don't mention what your CPU speed is, and that is a concern also.

You also need to know that there are several versions of Vista coming out. Some will run with minimal capabilities and are probably okay for a machine like yours currently is.

However, if you want the Vista version with all the bells and whistles you better do some research before you spend your bucks on it, and then have to spend a lot of money upgrading your PC just to accommodate the OS.

Hope this helps you do a little thinking before you leap into Vista.

Answer 3

Vista requires 15Gigabytes of drive space.

Vista won't run on less than 1Gb of RAM.

Vista is riddled with DRM. And it requires that you respond to each 'certification/registration' pop-up.

Vista requires that all hardware must be 'Microsoft Certified'.

If your system was built before the recent release of Vista to trusted partners for testing, it won't work, as is. The cost of 'upgrading' your hardware will exceed the cost of a new system.

Then, your present system can run upto 50X faster, if you want it to. http://pclinuxos.com is free, and includes 1900 free games, programs, network tools, programmer tools, compilers, apps., suites. The freedom to choose is yours.

It will make you smarter, if you try. Then you can actually make an intelligent choice, instead of trusting, believing, some advertising executive at some huge corporation who is reading from a script.

Answer 4

U have a good comp dude. The only thing you should upgrade is ur ram like u said. i recomend at the LEAST 1GB or ram to get the fullest out of vista. Yea u can upgrade it without the extra memory but it just means u wont have them kool graphix it has like transparent glass effect or the 3d window scroller which looks sweeeeeet! And depending what ur using it for like gaming it is a big must for extra memory. if u can get 2-4GB or ram depending on how much your motherboard supports it would be very very good.

Answer 5

i have a much lesser computer and i can run vista, it is just kind slow. I'm sure yours would be fine.. one thing though. vista uses an effect called glass and your video card needs to support i believe it is shader 2 in order to run it. Mine doesn't, but you can just turn the glass effect off. I might end up just getting a new video card when vista comes out. if you are goign to pay top dollar for the software you might as well be able to use it to its fullest. go to microsoft's website. they have a liitle program you can download that will check to see how compatable your computer will be with vista and it will tell you what is good to go and what exactly needs upgrading.

Answer 6

For best performance your PC should have,

**1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor1.
**1 GB of system memory.
**128 MB of graphics memory (minimum),
** Minimum 15 inch Monitor preffered 17 inch for 32 bit colors
**40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.

So here you need 512mb more RAM, 128MB Graphics card(if there leave it), you brought it in 2005 means your processor may up to mark.

For more download and install "Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor" and check your system,

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=65926&clcid=0x409

Answer 7

Check the microsoft site. Off hand your memory is minimal, and youm ay find your cpu may not be as fast as you'd want. I have the same computer as yours. Instead of upgrading I am leaning towards junking it and perhaps getting an apple g5 or the equivalent pc capable of the same speed in crunching graphics.

Answer 8

Is ANYONES pc ready...Windows Vista may not be the best operating system yet, its very new and will have a lot of bugs. I know from some friends that Vista degrades some SERIOUS performance of your pc...regardles of how nice it looks.