The single most frequently-asked Windows Vista question I get is, "What are the hardware requirements?" To date, Microsoft hasn't yet answered that question, though arguably even the eventual answer will be useless anyway, since the minimum requirements for Microsoft operating systems are usually hopelessly weak. However, I can present the next best thing today for the first time: the hardware Microsoft will recommend for Windows Vista. That is, this level of hardware should present users with an acceptable experience, complete with all the graphical bells and whistles.
A few preliminary comments: First, Microsoft believes that the majority of Windows XP machines purchased in 2005 will be Windows Vista capable. That doesn't mean that they will be Longhorn-savvy, however. Instead, all 2005-era XP machines should at least provide an XP-like experience in Windows Vista. In order to get the full meal deal, so to speak, however, you'll want to ensure that your hardware purchases this year meet certain requirements.
Second, because of the advanced graphics technology in Windows Vista, you will need a graphics card that is supported with a Longhorn Display Model Driver (LDDM). In mid-2004, Microsoft described these cards as being DirectX 9 compliant, though it's unclear whether the requirements will increase. Microsoft will provide clearer graphics card guidelines during the Windows Vista beta testing cycle, according to documentation I've viewed.
Here are Microsoft's Windows Vista hardware recommendations:
Desktop CPU: 3 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor with Hyper-Threading Technology 530 (or higher) or 3 GHz Intel Xeon processor with 2 MB L2 cache, or AMD
Athlon 64, Sempron, or Opteron 100, 200, or 800 processor, single or dual-core versions.
Mobile CPU: 1.86 GHz Intel Pentium M processor 750 (or higher), or AMD Turion 64
Mobile Technology, Mobile Sempron, or Mobile Athlon 64 processor.
Memory: 512 MB of RAM or more, all platforms.
At WinHEC 2005, Microsoft did reveal a vague set of specifications for PCs that will run Windows Vista, and provide the advanced Aero Glass interface. A modern Pentium 4-based PC (or the AMD equivalent) with 512 MB of RAM and a dedicated graphics card capable of DirectX 9.0 compatibility will run Windows Vista just fine, I was told. Systems with fewer graphical resources--like most notebook computers and systems with Celeron processors--will default to the low-end Aero Express user interface, Microsoft says.