Hi all,
Dear Dal,

I am about to purchase a second computer, either a laptop or a tower.

I would like to know the following to help me with the purhase;

1) The optimal spec for ram, processer etc to run Vista
2) The minimum spec to get reasonable performance.

I know some of these things are subjective but I want a good operating system and will need to weigh up performance versus price and I don't wish to be misled by computer salespeople. I think if I know what I want it will make it easier to compare between brands.

Thank you in advance.

Terry

Hey Terry, it Depends on what version of Vista you choose to buy. In my opinion stay away from home basic its very...well, basic. Home Premium seems the best bet for most and if you can get your hands on a student or further eduation card you can get the academic version, (it a cheaper price than the average joe would pay)
If you do decide to go home basic your Min Specs will be lower due to the lack of Aero.
Min Specs
Home Basic / Home Premium / Business / Ultimate

800 MHz processor and 512 MB of system memory

20 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space

Support for Super VGA graphics

CD-ROM drive

Recommended Specs
Home Basic
1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

512 MB of system memory

20 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space

Support for DirectX 9 graphics and 32 MB of graphics memory

DVD-ROM drive

Audio Output

Internet access (fees may apply)


Home Premium / Business / Ultimate

1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

1 GB of system memory

40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space

Support for DirectX 9 graphics with:

WDDM Driver

128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)

Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware

32 bits per pixel

DVD-ROM drive

Audio Output

Internet access (fees may apply)

From what I've heard 1GB RAM is a BARE minimum. 2GB or more is probably better.
The listed specs will get you adequate performance is most respects. In most cases turning off the new program in Vista, Aero, it basically makes the user interface look pretty, its also a system hog. Turning this off will improve performance.

Choosing a Version depends on what you want to do.
Visit http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...ns/choose.mspx to see the difference in versions.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...a/default.mspx also has more info about min specs ect. Hope this helps.
regards,
Dan

Thanks very much, this info will be of great help!

Cheers,

Terry

In real life, if you want to enjoy Vista, I'd recommend:
CPU - approx. 2.0 GHz
RAM - 2 GB
Separate video card with 512 MB of RAM
Hard drive - no less then 200GB