Will your PC keep pace with Vista?

Microsoft is readying a second tool, currently called the Windows Upgrade Advisor, that will take a look at a PC and make recommendations on how its performance can be enhanced to run Vista better. The tool is most likely to recommend more memory or an improved graphics card, said Dave Block, a senior product manager in Microsoft's Windows Vista unit.

"Those are the ones that are most important and the easiest to solve," Block said in a brief interview after a presentation at the Intel Developer Forum.

Although Vista is months away from launch, Microsoft has yet to give much in the way of specifics on what hardware will be needed. Thus far, the company has suggested 512MB of memory, a graphics card with a Vista-specific driver and a modern processor.

Microsoft has given hardware makers a bit more to work with in the form of the Vista logo programme. This lays down guidelines for what capabilities are required for a new PC to display a "basic" logo (the machine is equipped for Vista) or a "premium" logo (the computer is designed to take advantage of Vista's new features). However, Microsoft has stressed that standards for the programme are not necessarily indicative of the final hardware requirements for the OS.

Analysts have said that, for all but a basic Vista system, at least 1GB of memory is probably a necessity. That means even consumers who have purchased a PC in the last couple of months might need an upgrade.

During February, about a quarter of notebook PCs sold at US retail stores shipped with 1GB of memory, while nearly 57 percent came with 512MB, according to Stephen Baker, director of industry analysis at NPD Techworld. On the desktop side, about half of all desktops came with 1GB of memory, while 35 percent came with 512MB.

However, Vista also puts a premium on memory throughput. That capability hinges on the speed of the memory chip used in a system, as well as whether it offers "dual channels" for data or only a single memory channel.

Bhavnani said that the ratings are a good idea overall, but may create some challenges in the short term, especially when it comes to people upgrading the operating system on a computer, as opposed to buying a new PC with Vista preloaded.

"You might buy a (Windows XP) system today and go buy a boxed version of Vista in November and get a (rating) number of 1," Bhavnani said. "Even though you just spent a grand on your notebook, you need to go spend $200 (£114)on your graphics card."

While it is important for PC owners to know whether their system can handle Vista, most people running the OS will be doing so on new machines, NPD's Baker noted.

"Even if they sell 5 million (upgrade) copies, that's still only 5 percent" of consumers with PCs, he said.