vista on a lap top..

[ron24151]

Is this the right place for this question?

I am looking to buy New lap top, but cant wait until vista arrives, so the thing is what does one need now to handle vista then?

i read somewhere that computer companies will start putting little stickers on the cases saying vista compatable..

so i am looking for a laptop that can handle all vista's hoopla, graphics and all,

is this making sense?

if you need more info let me know

ron

 

[StumpedTechy]

If you want full GREAT Vista experience but you have to buy hardware now this is what I would do.

!) Buy something that is advertised as "Vista capable"

2) Buy something is currently advertised as a high end gaming laptop even if you won't be using it for gaming.

3) Look at the 3 main specs CPU speed, RAM, and video card. I probably would go over 2ghz on CPU, go to 2ghz on RAM, and get something that will be known to support DX 10.

Just remember Vista capable and running smoothly are NOT synonamous so thats why I dinciate looking at the specs. you don't want a low end laptop that touts vista capable and then put vista on it and have it crawling even more.

 

[Eriksrocks]

StumpedTechy, I think you messed up on the RAM:

I probably would go over 2ghz on CPU, go to 2ghz on RAM, and get something that will be known to support DX 10.

I would go with at least 1GB, 512MB is the very minimum. And yes, make sure to get something that supports DirectX 10!

 

[StumpedTechy]

I have ALWAYS quadrupled MSes recommended specs when it comes to RAM.

Their recommended for XP was 128 and I always ran at 512 or more.
Their recommended for 98 was 24mb and I always ran that at 128 or more.

Just force of habit but I'll tell you I have never once complained about having a slow machine.

Oh and just a good word of wanring look at your memory config if your buying low spec and oging higher. Don't buy a 512 meg laptop that has 256 sticks in both slots and no more slots free. Or your buying all new memory for the laptop when you want to upgrade.

 

[Eriksrocks]

So you recommend 2GB of RAM then? Seems a little high to me, but when I think about how XP is running... Yeah, that should be good.

 

[StumpedTechy]

Well the rig I have it in right now is 1gb ram but I think that IMHO, if I was buying for it, I would buy high. Also the rig I have is my backup rig and my gaming rig is 2GB

Whenever I buy computer hardware its this motto... Always better to buy more than you need than to go buy less than you need and have to replace it for what you need.

This is why I only upgrade about once every couple years rather than every 6 months.

 

[southernlady]

Even Vista Capable isn't Vista READY! I have an Acer Aspire that says Vista Capable, running Vista on it right now, the graphics are HORRID becuase the graphics card is a joke and NO way to upgrade.

So if you want to run Vista on a laptop, make sure it says Vista READY not Vista Capable.

A Windows Vista Capable PC includes at least:

* A modern processor (at least 800MHz1).
* 512 MB of system memory.
* A graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.

Windows Vista Premium Ready PCs
To get an even better Windows Vista experience, including the Windows Aero user experience, ask for a Windows Vista Capable PC that is designated Premium Ready, or choose a PC that meets or exceeds the Premium Ready requirements described below. Features available in specific premium editions of Windows Vista, such as the ability to watch and record live TV, may require additional hardware.

A Windows Vista Premium Ready PC includes at least:

* 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor1.
* 1 GB of system memory.
* A graphics processor that runs Windows Aero2.
* 128 MB of graphics memory.
* 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
* DVD-ROM Drive3.
* Audio output capability.
* Internet access capability.

Oh, and my laptop lied, it SAYS it's Vista capable but it can't run Directx 9.0. Liz

 

[StumpedTechy]

Even with Vista Ready I would still look at my suggestion number 3. Those are going to be the MAIN points you need to worry about with your system and it running smoothly. And as I said before you can always buy too much computer but its alot worse if you buy too little and try to get it "up to snuff".

 

[Autumn_kiss]

I just bought a new Sony Vaio laptop two weeks ago and the box had something on it that said it was capable of upgrading to Vista.

 

[Ciberblade]

I'm running Vista on a Sony Vaio laptop with the following specs:
AMD Athlon XP1600+ (1.4GHz)
512Mb RAM
20Gb HD (partitioned 50/50)
ATI mobility M1 graphics

It runs alright....loaded a generic driver for the graphics from the start with a 16bit and 24bit options -- when set at 24bit it would not load games that required a min of 16bit -- Odd.

Downloaded the driver for the M1 graphics....first installation run, said that it was not compatible with Vista. The it automatically popped up a dialog box that asked if I wanted to cancel or try again with recommended settings -- I tried again....it ran for a while installing....then rebooted and installed some more...then rebooted again. But the driver installed with all expected options. Though I still do not have DirectX installed....tried both the web-installer and the direct download install....and after the installation completes, a command line error is issued. (this does not happen on the desktop system I'm testing with).

Just an FYI

 

[doj]

well i would say all computers are different i have xp pro on a pentium 3 ,,,448 mhz ,, 348 ram and it runs faster than the other one that is pentium 4 ,,, 1.6ghz ,,348 ram but the pentium 3 no good for games,,,,, also processors specs are different,,, amd 1.6ghz might be better than 1.6ghz from a different processors,,, i would not go for minimum spec,,, you need at least double,,,, ram has different specs too and some are better than others ( doj )