| The requirements might surprise you because they're lower than anticipated. To run Vista, you'll need a 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) PC with at least an 800MHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and a Microsoft DirectX 9.0-capable video card. Microsoft says such PCs are now classified as "Vista Capable." To provide optimum performance and to qualify for the "Vista Premium Ready" label (so that you can utilize certain high-end Vista editions such as Vista Ultimate or Vista Home Premium), your PC must have at least a 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, a Windows Aero-compliant video card with 128MB of RAM, a 40GB hard disk with 15GB of free space, a DVD-ROM drive, and sound and Internet capabilities. Windows Aero-compliant video cards include DirectX 9.0-class graphics processors, a Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver, and are compatible with Pixel Shader 2.0. A graphics card with 64MB of RAM is enough to drive a 1024 x 768 display, despite the 128MB requirement for the "Vista Premium Ready" label. |
