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| What are the chances of getting a new cheap laptop that runs Windows Vista?
I ma trying to buy a laptop that would mostly be used for internet, documents, movies etc, so XP (with 512 Mb RAM, Intel integrated video etc, no expensive hardware) would work fine. I just find that buying an XP is pointless when the new OS is available (I don't want to feel stupid after 2 years and have to buy a new OS).
Can I make a laptop with 512 Mb RAM and integrated video work with Vista, including Aero, so that it is not terribly slow?
I might upgrade the hardware later, when I want to get more out of the Vista's features, but for now I do not want to buy an expensive laptop. |
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| You asked a bunch of questions ...
A laptop with 512MB will most probably NOT run Vista at any useful speed. 1GB is the minimum, 1.5GB or 2GB is even better.
Aero support depends on the laptop video chipset. If the model you buy runs Home Premium, it most probably also runs Aero. If it runs Home Basic, it doesn't run Aero -- and probably can NOT be upgraded to run Aero.
Don't know what you mean by "cheap". Quick online search showed that the laptops that have Home Premium install cost $800 and up. Cheaper ones run Home Basic, and IMHO, are not worth the money.
In terms of upgrading the hardware later, you mean only memory and hard drive? Right? Any laptop you buy will provide those options. |
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| Mark Phelps (3/15/2007)
A laptop with 512MB will most probably NOT run Vista at any useful speed. 1GB is the minimum, 1.5GB or 2GB is even better.
I thought that may-be 512 Mb could be able to run Vista Home Premium when some unnecessary features are turned off.
Mark Phelps (3/15/2007)
Aero support depends on the laptop video chipset. If the model you buy runs Home Premium, it most probably also runs Aero. If it runs Home Basic, it doesn't run Aero -- and probably can NOT be upgraded to run Aero.
Don't know what you mean by "cheap". Quick online search showed that the laptops that have Home Premium install cost $800 and up. Cheaper ones run Home Basic, and IMHO, are not worth the money.
It's possible to configure laptops when buying and to get the price even cheaper when ordering 512 Mb instead of 1 Gb. I wondered if it's worth a try, for example starting to use Vista Premium without Aero if necessary, until I upgrade the memory. (I'm actually satisfied with XP but do not want to buy a new licence for that).
Mark Phelps (3/15/2007)
In terms of upgrading the hardware later, you mean only memory and hard drive? Right? Any laptop you buy will provide those options.
Yes, I only meant buying more memory later.
Thank you. I guess I will first have to make sure that the video chipset is able to run Home Premium and then look into the amount of memory. And if I risk and buy only 512 and cannot make it run well enough, it'll be my fault.
(It just seems stupid that a new OS version becomes available, and it cannot be set to run on the same hardware where the previous version works fine). |
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| "(It just seems stupid that a new OS version becomes available, and it cannot be set to run on the same hardware where the previous version works fine)."
It has been a fact with each new version of an Operating System that it requires a bit more in hardware than the previous version. As developments in technology produce 'better' things the programmers/software authors realize they can have their program do more and look better to take advantage of the hardware which in turn gets the hardware producers looking at how to make their product work better whic in turn gets the software producers working as to take advantage of it. It's a cycle that never ends. If technology didn't advance we'd still be using the Commodore/Timex computer with the tape drive or the Abacus.
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| Berton (3/15/2007)
"(It just seems stupid that a new OS version becomes available, and it cannot be set to run on the same hardware where the previous version works fine)."
It has been a fact with each new version of an Operating System that it requires a bit more in hardware than the previous version. As developments in technology produce 'better' things the programmers/software authors realize they can have their program do more and look better to take advantage of the hardware which in turn gets the hardware producers looking at how to make their product work better whic in turn gets the software producers working as to take advantage of it. It's a cycle that never ends. If technology didn't advance we'd still be using the Commodore/Timex computer with the tape drive or the Abacus.
I don't really agree, but OK. Thanks for all the answers, guys. |
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| Just want to clear up any confusion with what I said.
I didn't say that Home Premium won't install on a 512MB machine; I said it won't run "at any useful speed".
I've installed Vista Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate on several machines and found 1GB of memory to yield barely acceptable performance. I upgraded the machines to 1.5GB and 2GB and found the performance to be much better.
Then again, I'm a "power user" and generally have 3-5 apps open at once -- so I need the memory to get decent performance.
Home Premium may "run" on 512MB, if all you're doing is surfing websites or writing email. But once you upgrade to 1.5 - 2GB, you'll never want to go back. |
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| OK, thanks. So I could hope that 512 would be usable with Vista, but it's probably wiser to get 512 and XP, if you want to spend money on getting a lighter and smaller computer instead of bigger and more powerful.
Thanks |
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| |  Posted 3/19/2007 8:38 PM | |
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