Vista seems to come in so many versions that you need a scorecard but in fact the consumer need consider only a handful. There are four editions that are relevant to US home PC owners and some slight variations for European users that are tailored to meet some anti-trust rulings dealing with Media Player. The four US editions and their suggested prices are listed in Table I. There may be some slight variations from vendor to vendor.
| Home Basic | Home Premium | Business | Ultimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full price | $199 | $239 | $299 | $399 |
| Upgrade price | $99 | $159 | $199 | $259 |
| System Builder or OEM | $97 | $121 | $153 | $205 |
One edition, Vista Home Basic, is sufficiently limited that only those on a very tight budget should consider it. The cost saving for the basic operating system alone is not very much but it will run on less expensive hardware. Most home users are likely to want Home Premium but those who can do without the Media Center features, and want some of the features like better backup, can consider the Business version. If you have deep pockets, the Ultimate edition has everything. Table II shows how some of the features vary among the four editions.
| Home Basic | Home Premium | Business | Ultimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aero interface | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Flip 3D | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Parental controls | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Scheduled backup | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| System image backup and recovery | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Volume Shadow Copy | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Group policy support | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Folder redirection | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| BitLocker (drive encryption) | No | No | No | Yes |
| PC-to-PC Synchronize | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Media Center (with HDTV/cablecard support) | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Windows Movie Maker (with HD support) | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Windows DVD Maker | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Remote Desktop | Client only | Client only | Yes | Yes |
| Offline Files/Folders | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| IIS Web Server | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Meeting Space Interaction | Limited | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Encrypting File System (EFS) | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Tablet PC Functionality | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SideShow | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Join domain | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Fax and Scan | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual PC Express | No | No | No | Yes |
System and hardware requirements
Like so many other things to do with Vista, the system requirements are fuzzy. Microsoft distinguishes two types of system, one for "Vista ready" and one for "Vista premium". The major question is whether you want to be able to run all the visual effects that Vista is touted for. Since Vista loses much of its point without the Aero and Glass interface, most PC users are going to want a system with adequate graphics power. Although this is a problem for many older machines, even lower-end systems are now coming out with sufficient graphics and RAM. Although Microsoft has issued a set of recommended system components, most observers believe that these understate the actual requirements. Microsoft also has some hardware guidance at this site. Naturally, requirements will vary somewhat depending on how a system is used. Editing videos will require more RAM than doing word processing. Nonetheless, Table III gives my opinion of what some of the major requirements are. These numbers may be different for your needs. Also note that a DVD player is needed to install Vista.
| RAM | 1 GB (2 GB is better) |
| Hard drive | 100 GB for notebook, 250 GB for desktop. Vista itself requires 15 GB free space to install |
| CPU | Dual-core |
| Graphics | 256 MB, support for DirectX 9, WDDM Driver, Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware, 32 bits per pixel |
64-bit versions
Vista comes in 64-bit as well as 32-bit versions. Some may be wondering if they should look to the future and go all the way to a 64-bit system. While the newest processors like the Intel Core 2 Duo support 64-bit computing, there are as yet few hardware drivers and little application software that can take advantage of the Vista 64-bit system. At this time, the home PC user should stick with the 32-bit system. Maybe by the time of your next computer after this, 64-bit computing will be the new new thing
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