What does the following specs mean please?

Question

AMD Athlon (TM) xp 3000+
2.17 GHZ
512 MB of RAM
160 GB
i'm desperate to know if i can install vista in it.
many thanks

Answer 1

Here is what it all means
Your processor is an Athlon 3000+ running at 2.17 Ghz. That means your computer runs at 2.17 billion cylces per second. This processer is ok to run vista on.

512 MB of Ram. That is your memory, or where your computer temporarily loads and runs programs from. In all reality, you should have at least 1GB (double what you have) to run vista. this isn't a problem as ram is relativly cheap. If you order it from http://www.newegg.com, it will cost you only about $30 for a 512 MB stick of ram.

160GB is your hard drive, you have plenty room on that to run vista. All you should do is upgrade your ram..

However, i would recomend you wait until Micro$oft releases a service pack for vista before upgrading. There are a lot of bugs currently.

Also, if you want the full vista experiance, you would need to have a decent graphics card. Anything geforce 6800 series or above would be plenty to run Vista Aero (the cool graphics for vista)

Answer 2

I believe you can, but I do not believe it will run very well with only 512 Mb of RAM. AMD Athlon (TM) xp 3000+ is a kind of video card, made by AMD. 2.17 GHZ is the processor speed, I believe that's what speed my Windows Vista is running on. 512 MB of RAM isn't that much, it's suggested to have 1 GB or more, 2 GB if you want to run Aero Glass which is an array of Visual Improvements: when you mouse over a window in the task bar it'll show you a live image of what that window looks like (Visual ToolTip), Flip 3D which is a pretty alternative to alt+tab (by pressing WindowsKey+tab it shows all the windows and each time you hit tab they shuffle around until you release tab or windows key), transparent borders on all your windows, when you minimize or maximize you actually see the window getting smaller as it heads for it's bar on the task bar, things like that... I'm guessing that 160GB is referring to your harddrive size, that's quite a large harddrive and should work fine. I'm only using a 100GB drive and I have plenty of space left over.

Another comment... I'm a Software Developer and I've been using Windows Vista as my developing platform (meaning that every program I create is run and tested on Windows Vista.) Not only have I been doing my work on Vista, but everything I would do at home I do as well. Internet, email, school papers, games, and work. Vista seems a lot more stable then people are willing to give credit. Vista is also very secure. Vista is not just a piece of Eye Candy. It's a very capable Operating System, even if you're not a developer.

Answer 3

It's a pretty good current machine.
AMD 3000+ is the processor
2.17 G is thee REAL speed and is a useless spec
512 is quantity of Ramm, you need to add at least 512 more and it woulf be better to add even more
160g is size of HD. Again a relatively useless spec now because hds are so cheap. The rpm of a drive (5400, 7200 or 10000) the interface (ata1, sata2, eide, etc) and the cache (1M, 2M, 4m, etc) are more important specs.


Vista is more than just those specs. Specs are for sales people who want you to compare an orange to a grapefruit (notice I didnt say apple, theyre great machines but not a part of this post)

Run the Upgrade advisor on the microsoft webpage. It will tell you if the rest of your hardware, your programs, your drivers, etc are good too. For instance, sound cards and printers, esp those crummy "all in ones" are notorious for not having vista complaiance. I'd add more ramm 2g total is what my company recommends for Home premium and 1g for Home basic. If there is no compelling need to upgrade right now, why not wait a while till after sp1 comes out?

Answer 4

I would add more memory to it. 512 MB is not enough to support Vista. You need at least 1 or 2 GB of memory.

Like everybody said, I would wait to have Vista installed on my PC. Too many bugs, with everything including the installation itself.

My new laptop has a Free Vista Upgrade but I am not installing it. I would say at least next year

Answer 5

Before you install Vista, i would suggest getting at least another 512 MB of RAM. To run Visa at a decent speed, you need at least 1 GB of RAM.

The other piece of info you need to give us is which video card you have. You can find out which one you have by:

Right-Clicking My Computer
Choose Properties
Go to the Hardware Tab
Click on Device Manager
Click on Display Adapters

It probably will say Radeon or GeForce, with a number after it.
Which video card you have greatly determines whether your machine can handle Vista.

Answer 6

For Microsoft’s stated requirements go here;
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/systemrequirements.mspx

But be STRONGLY advised that only meeting minimum requirements means that all features will NOT work, and those that do will do so poorly.

For some more opinions;
http://reviews.cnet.com/windows/microsoft-vista-home-basic/4505-3672_7-32013641.html?tag=prod.txt.3

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2088443,00.asp

My personal advice, I’d go with at least an upgrade of that machine to 1Gb.of ram.
Further thoughts, what’s the rush?
The only real reason would be if their was some program you wanted that required Vista to run, and only a few games require that, and their not out yet!
Next pricing of consumer electronics is constantly getting lower, so if you wait like till the pre Xmas sales you’ll get more for your money, and Microsoft will have improved Vista by then.

Answer 7

I dont know about running vista on it but I would advise you not to bother. Windows Vista is quite new so there is not much on the market that is compatible with it (vista) just-now. Vista doesn't really have anything extra, its basically just XP that looks different and is slightly re-arranged.

Answer 8

Hello. Ok here we go. DVD RW- Standard equipment Processor- Old and ok, not a trail blazing fast cpu 15.4 display - Good size 512mb memory - Standard amount of memory for a laptop 80g HD - Standard size HD for a laptop 915 Graphics - The worst integrated garphics ever made! Substandard to a commodore 64 Wireless lan 802.11g/b - Standard on all laptops Worth $200 tops I reccomend for a Windows laptop, Dell, Sony Vaio or Acer. Or try a MAC. Good luck laptop hunting. :)

Answer 9

You need to know if the other hardware in it is compatible, or you can end up with no display, network, sound or various other drivers available. Support for Vista is very shaky.

Answer 10

Vista would run on that computer. Those specs are not bad at all and would run smooth any operating system you put on it.