Should you upgrade to Windows Vista? (for PC Novices)



Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2008

by Tim Wakeling
Computers One Step at a Time

Lots has been said about Windows Vista – but it seems like everyone wants to talk about all the fancy little features that you'd hardly ever use.

If you're wondering whether you should splash out on upgrading to Windows Vista there are a few questions to ask yourself first.  Going through these will make it much easier to decide whether it's worth it for you.

What specification PC do you have?

To run Windows Vista you need at least:

1) A reasonably modern processor (at least 800MHz) – but I'd recommend at least 1.2GHz* to be honest.

2) 512MB of memory (RAM)

3) A graphics processor that can run DirectX 9

That'll run Vista Basic.  To run the more advanced features in Vista Premium, you need to have at least a 1GHz processor (I'd recommend at least 1.5GHz), 1GB of RAM and 128MB of memory specifically for graphics. 

To be sure your PC can run Vista, you should can download a little program from Microsoft's website to check.  Even if it says you can, I wouldn't recommend it unless your PC is a bit better than the absolute minimum I've listed above.

What do you use your PC for?

If you only use your PC for sending emails, browsing the Internet, and occasionally using a word processor or spreadsheet and if you're happy with Windows XP (or 98 or whatever version you have) then you may well be better off not changing.  It would only mean learning all the bits that are different. 

 Don't feel you have to upgrade just because everyone's talking about it!

Do you work with other people who use it?

If you work freelance and the people you work with will be upgrading then you might want to upgrade so you're using the same system.

Are you likely to buy a new PC soon?

If you are then there's probably not too much point in getting Vista now.  Instead you could wait until you're ready to buy a new PC and get one with Vista already on it – saves you the cost and effort of installing it yourself.

Would you feel comfortable doing the installation?

It's not especially hard to install Windows Vista but if you're nervous about installing software then you might want to get someone else to do it for you. 

What programs do you use?

Some older programs may not run properly on Windows Vista.  You can check with the supplier whether it should work or if there's an updated version (and whether you have to pay extra for it).  If you don't use the program much you may be able to get around it by using an alternative.  But if it's crucial to what you do, you might want to wait until there's a Windows Vista compatible version.
 
More helpful tips and advice… Tim Wakeling also writes a monthly newsletter of tips and advice for PC novices.  You can read more and sign up for it for free at www.helpfulbooks.co.uk  
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Ben Morrish
 3 years 143 days ago.
48 fans.
Good article.
 
With Windows 7 on the horizon, there's little point spending money to upgrade to Vista at present.
 
Sure, it does look prettier than XP (if your computer can handle the Aero interface), and has much improved media management abilities (pictures, video and music are much easier to handle than in XP, although free software is available for XP that brings this kind of functionality).
 
If you're getting a new PC, it'll probably come with Vista - great.
 
If you're thinking of paying to upgrade to Vista make sure you have a good reason for the upgrade - there's no point doing it just for the sake of it. A question not mentioned in the article, but worth thinking about is "What will Vista help me do better than I can with my current OS?"
 
If you want to do anything more than basic Internet surfing with Vista I'd strongly recommend a minimum of 2GB RAM.
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