256MB GDDR To Be Vista Ready

[pop pop]

This is an extract from http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050928_160055.html

It's about Dell's XPS high-end series, but I found interesting what Michael Dell says will be "minimum system requirements" for any PC to be "Vista ready". Microshaft has not officially and publically released what the recommended minimum requirements are but if past practice holds true, you know they will low ball them. If what Mike says is true, your basic PC using onboard graphics controllers--a huge share of the market-- will be SOL. Or maybe Mike is just putting the market spin on the XPS line. We'll see.

By way of saying Dell's new XPS computer line will indeed be "Vista ready," Mr. Dell told reporters that any computer that should be so described, requires at least 256 Mbyte of GDDR, as well as high-capacity SATA hard drives, "more" system RAM for "wider pathways" and a high-resolution display. Microsoft has yet to publicly announce its minimum specifications for systems to qualify for a Vista logo, though it's widely believed that Microsoft has released preliminary specifications to supporting companies, including Dell.

[saphalline]

From what I've read, Windows Vista will indeed have some pretty hefty hardware requirements, especially related to the graphics adapter. Most industry analysts (or "guessers" as I like to call them) suspect that Intel's GMA900 onboard video will be the bottom-end of Vista support because of that new AeroGlass GUI. Now that Longhorn has matured to the point of having a name and knowing that Aero is still going to be included, I don't think Michael Dell's claims are too far off...

Aero will definitely lean heavily on DX9 hardware support, and Vista itself will have or will soon have DX10 (which is another barrel of monkeys). Given that and the fact that Aero looks so pretty, 256MB of vid RAM on a DX9-part vid card seems like a very real requirement. I would have thought that 128MB would be enough, but I'm not "in the know" like M$'s release partners.

In the mean time, Vista's system RAM requirement continues to float. Some say 512MB will be enough, others say that will be Vista's minimum. For now, I think 1GB is a safe number to go by. But perhaps Vista will rush us towards 2GB faster than we think. CPU-wise, whatever we have now should be sufficient. In this time of 3GHz value CPU's and dual-core mid-range CPU's, we're ready for anything! Hard drive-wise, I think Dell has another good point. SATA has been around for awhile, and SATA hard drives by default are very good performers. It would be a safe bet for M$ to just require a SATA hard drive, perhaps even saying that 80GB should be its size, in order for a system to qualify for a "Vista ready" sticker. I've seen many OEM systems lately that are SATA-capable, but have IDE hard drives in them instead. Vista could change that.

So what does all of this mean? Well, those of us who build our own should be fine. ;) But most of the other people out there may just have to buy a new "Vista ready" system to keep up with the Jones'. Another move by M$ that basically says "we have a new OS. Everyone upgrade!" :rolleyes:

[PrntRhd]

Dell wants to move a bit upmarket because they overdid the cheap system thing:
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-5884928.html?tag=zdfd.newsfeed

[jlreich]

OK, big dollar machines. The questions will be are they going to use quality parts? And will the machines be balanced? I mean will the $1800 model ship with $1000 PD - Nvidia 6600 - 80GB HDD - and 512MB ram (2x256) - non SLI??

That's a typical unbalanced Dell type setup. When it should be more like $500 PD - 7800GT - 250GB HDD - 1-2GB ram - SLI mobo.

[i an not a nerd]

About Vista... Does anyone know where there are any screenshots/videos the Vista in action?

[rond36]

Michael Dell probably got his information from one of his tech support guys in India. The one that only knows one sentence in English. "Use the Dell restore CD to reinstall the Windows operating system on your computer".

Michael Dell is the enemy; he is evil, don't listen to him...

oops sorry about that, I'm OK now!!!

For more information on Microsoft Windows Vista (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/default.mspx) go to the people that wrote the program.

I would trust Bill Gates before I would trust Michael Dell! :eek:

Oh no! Here comes the men in the white coats again. I hope they aren't going to shock me this time, I'm still cross eyed from the last time :rolleyes:
Why are these walls so soft?

i an not a nerd here are some MS Vista screen shots (http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/windowsvista/default.mspx)

[i an not a nerd]

rond36: i an not a nerd here are some MS Vista screen shots

Thanks, i've been wondering how Vista will compare to OSX in looks!

[pop pop]

I read another article with an interesting take on Michael and what Dell is "really" doing here. Dell's growth and profitability have actually dipped to new lows. Now that doesn't mean they aren't making money and growing, they are, just not like they used to. The analysis in the article attributes this to a couple of factors. One is way too many discounts and rebates way too fast on low-end systems that resulted in cutting in to the bottom line. Another is the growing perception that Dell sells nothing but low-end cheapo systems. And finally, there's the beating they've been taking for their "Award Winning Support", which is no longer award winning and we all know the phrase "Dell Support" has become an oxymoron.

What all this has led Michael and his marketing team to do is to devise a plan for an extreme makeover of Dell's image. The flagship of that makeover is the "high-end" XPS series. We're going to see Dell pushing their XPS "jewell" big time. Michael is using a spin tactic here with what he has said. The implicit message is that in order to run Vista, you're going to need a new "Vista Ready" PC. We (Dell) know what "Vista Ready" really means and we've got the new system waiting for you and it's going to be different--high-end, sexy, chic--oh, and more expensive.

I've always said Dell is good at marketing. I think this is actually a sound strategy. Dell's bottom line has been hit hard now by being a K-Mart and always running "Blue Light Specials" in an AlienWare world. Michael is out to change that.

Naturally, Dell will continue to sell a full line of systems. But expect the marketing dollars to change focus and expect the conga line of discounts on low-end systems to, not dry up, but diminish over time.

[saphalline]

Hmmm... very good points. Dell could certainly use an image change soon. Afterall, the "Dell dude" kind of ruined them! :eek: That whole thing was so sad I didn't even feel like making fun of Dell. Just bad luck all around...

[jlreich]

That whole thing was so sad I didn't even feel like making fun of Dell. Just bad luck all around...
I wouldn't say it was sad. The "Dell dude" made them a lot of money. Was it unfortunate for them that he was busted for drugs? Yes.

But I think their decline in sales and image is do to some very poor business decisions. Even if the "Dell dude" wouldn't have been busted they would have still declined IMO. Maybe just not as fast. But then again maybe they wouldn't have resorted to pushing the $300 junk machines if that advertising campaign would have stayed strong.

Dell could become a good company again if they start using quality parts and put some thought into how their machines are configured. No more pairing a high end CPU with low ram and crappy video card.

They have the resources to make excellent machines and sell them at a fair price. Will they? I am very skeptical. ;)

[saphalline]

I'm just saying it was sad that the "Dell dude" was using drugs, and the bad publicity from that incident was damaging to the whole computer industry, not just Dell. That's the part I find sad.