Think about the computer you have right now. Think about how big the hard drive, how much memory it has, whether it has a separate graphics card or if the video uses shared memory. If your computer is running flawlessly with Windows XP right now, it will probably be a dog with Windows Vista.
I don't have the inclination to stop and compare the requirements, but I'll briefly mention what Windows Vista requires at a bare minimum (and note what my laptop, about a year old, has):
- A modern processor (at least 800MHz) - I squeak past with my AMD Turion 64.
- 512 MB of system memory (if you have a separate graphics card, 1 GB if it's on the motherboard) - I have exactly 1 GB with the video on the motherboard.
- A graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable - I'm safe, I'm already running that version of DirectX.
- A 40 GB hard drive with 15 GB free - I rarely see anything less than 60 GB hard drives for sale, mine is 80.
So you see, my laptop will barely run Windows Vista if all the eye candy and special features are turned on. I run Windows XP with damn near every extra feature in place and it runs like a champ. I can run modern video games on it, but they're choppy at best.
Windows Vista will be released to the general public in the next few days. If you've got a screaming PC with way more than the minimum, I say go for it if you can afford it. As for myself, no thanks.
