Microsoft out with Windows Vista requirement details

Microsoft out with Windows Vista requirement details

Software giants Microsoft are due to launch the first major update to their primary operating system product Windows Vista early next year. And they have finally revealed the minimum hardware requirements for this update.

The company has launched a website outlining this requirement and this announcement comes less than a week before the company will host its Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Seattle.

During that presentation, Microsoft is expected to show how Vista will run on a variety of machines. They would also highlight the add-on technologies built in this operating system to enhance the usability and functionality of the Windows Vista operating system.

The website is called “Get Ready” and Microsoft has outlined the requirements for running both low-end versions of Vista or higher-end versions. The two setups are being called “Windows Vista Capable PC” and “Windows Vista Premium Ready PC.”

Interestingly, the bare minimum requirement for running the Vista operating system is not that high. It would just require a modern processor with a speed of at least 800MHz, 512MB of system memory and a graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.

On the other hand, a Windows Vista Premium Ready PC would require a 1GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor, 1GB of system memory, 128MB of graphics memory, 40GB of hard drive capacity with 15GB free space, a DVD-ROM drive, audio output capabilities and Internet access capability.

In addition, it would also require a high-end graphic card to make use of the Windows Aero technology. For this, the user would require a DirectX 9 class graphics processor that supports a Windows Display Driver Model Driver, Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware and 32 bits per pixel.

For using the Aero interface, the graphic card would require to have 64MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor less than 1,310,720 pixels; 128MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor at resolutions from 1,310,720 to 2,304,000 pixels; or 256MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor at resolutions higher than 2,304,000 pixels.

This is expected to disappoint a lot of hardware companies who would find it tough to sell their higher end hardware to regular PC users now that Vista does not require very high hardware profile.