What PC to Buy If You Are Planning On a Vista Upgrade
It's time for my annual fall buyer's guide to desktop computers, and this fall, I'm going to focus on what kind of PC Windows buyers should be considering if they want to run Microsoft's next version of Windows, called Vista.
Vista, formerly known by its code name of Longhorn, is due out about a year from now, well within the lifetime of any PC you purchase today. I assume most consumers running Windows will want to upgrade to Vista. Microsoft promises a host of new features, and says Vista will be much more secure than today's Windows XP.
There's a catch, however. Vista is Microsoft's biggest upgrade to Windows in a decade, and it will require much beefier and costlier hardware than Windows XP. So you will have to rethink your PC buying assumptions, starting now.
Microsoft hasn't published final hardware requirements for Vista yet, but I have been talking to the company about them, and feel comfortable that the specs I am recommending below will allow you to upgrade to Vista with confidence. Although this is a desktop guide, most of these recommendations apply to laptops, too.
If you don't care about Vista, and plan to stay with Windows XP for the life of your next computer, follow my last desktop buyer's guide, which ran in April and is still valid for XP. It's available at:
http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20050407.html.You also won't have to worry about Vista if you buy one of Apple Computer's Macintosh computers, which don't run Windows. Every mainstream consumer doing typical tasks should consider the Mac. Its operating system, called Tiger, is better and much more secure than Windows XP, and already contains most of the key features promised for Vista.
Microsoft says Vista will automatically downgrade its features to match weaker hardware. Computers with marginal specs won't be able to take advantage of all of Vista's capabilities, and will retain the look and feel of XP.
So, I don't recommend buying a low-end PC this fall and winter if you expect to upgrade to Vista. The new operating system will almost certainly be crippled on such a machine, or not work at all. Expect to spend $600 or more without a monitor, for a PC that can fully run Vista.
Here's what that machine should contain:
Memory: It's likely Microsoft will suggest 512 megabytes of memory, or RAM, for Vista, but companies almost always understate such requirements. I strongly recommend at least one gigabyte of memory. Microsoft officials privately agree that a gigabyte would work well.
Video: The new Windows will be especially dependent on strong video. Many low-cost and midlevel PCs today use something called integrated graphics chips, which are attached to the computer's main circuit board and don't have their own dedicated video memory, called Video RAM, or VRAM.
To make the most of Vista, you will need to shun this design and opt for a machine with "discrete" graphics -- a video card that's separate from the main board and has its own dedicated memory. Look for at least 64 megabytes of video RAM, preferably 128 megabytes. By next fall, integrated graphics chips may be good enough for Vista, but not today.
Processor: I have always recommended avoiding spending extra dollars for the fastest processor, and that position still holds for Vista. I wouldn't buy a computer with the cheapest or slowest processor, but a midrange Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon processor should be fine. Consider a "dual-core" processor that essentially combines two chips for added speed and power, though it's not a Vista requirement.
Another option worth considering is a processor capable of so-called 64-bit computing. This isn't necessary for Vista, but it's the wave of the future, and it will be much more powerful than today's computing, which relies on 32-bit processors. There isn't much software yet that takes advantage of 64-bit processors, but a lot more is likely to appear in Vista's wake. An AMD Athlon 64 would be a good bet, because it can handle both 32-bit and 64-bit software. Intel makes similar processors, which have the term "EM64T" in their names.
To take full advantage of a 64-bit processor, you should also double the computer's memory, to two gigabytes.
Hard disk: Disk storage is already copious enough for Vista, and buying large amounts is cheap. I'd go for at least 160 gigabytes of hard-disk space, because Vista will offer easier ways to manage and create video, which eats up hard-disk capacity. Also, I'd suggest making sure the hard drive is fast. It should run at 7,200 revolutions per minute (RPM) and have a cache of two megabytes.
DVD drive: Vista will have much improved DVD recording for storing videos and for data backup. So, I suggest you get a PC with a fast, multiformat DVD recording drive.
Next year, closer to Vista's release date that fall, Microsoft will publish more-detailed specs for Vista-capable PCs, and I will make any refinements or additions needed to this list. But, if you buy a PC now with these specs, you should be in good shape for Vista.
台式电脑选购指南
每年秋天我都要写一篇台式电脑的选购指南，这次我要谈的重点是，如果大家想要使用微软公司(Microsoft)下一代Windows操作系统Vista，那么应该选择什么样的台式电脑。
Vista以往的代号叫“长角牛”(Longhorn)，预计将在一年后推出，而大家现在买的电脑一年后还不会被淘汰。我猜想届时大多数Windows用户都会想升级到Vista。微软表示新的Vista操作系统将带有一系列新功能，且安全性优于Windows XP。
不过，有一点要大家注意。Vista是微软十年来对Windows操作系统最大规模的一次升级，对电脑硬件的要求也比Windows XP高，因此现在就必须重新考虑购买电脑时的硬件配置。
微软还未最终公布Vista所需的硬件环境，不过我一直在和微软交流这方面的问题，因此觉得下面所推荐的硬件配置应该能让你轻松升级到Vista操作系统。虽然这是篇台式电脑的选购指南，但同样适用于笔记本电脑。
如果你不喜欢Vista，还想在自己的下一台电脑上继续使用Windows XP，那么可以参考我今年4月份撰写的台式电脑选购指南，其对XP操作系统依然适用。那篇文章可以在
http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20050407.html免费获取。
如果你打算买苹果电脑(Apple Computer)的Mac电脑，那也不必考虑Vista的问题，因为苹果电脑不使用Windows操作系统。每个用电脑从事日常工作的主流消费者都可以考虑买一台苹果电脑，其操作系统叫做Tiger，比Windows XP更强大更安全，已经拥有Vista操作系统中的大多数核心功能。
微软表示，Vista能自动向下兼容硬件配置较弱的电脑，但这样就无法发挥其全部功能，而且将保留XP的外观和使用感觉。
因此，如果你想升级到Vista，我不推荐大家在2005年秋购买低端的个人电脑，因为Vista肯定在低端机上很难顺畅运行，甚至会完全运行不了。大家要打算花600美元以上购买一台电脑主机（不包括显示器），这样才能让Vista跑起来。
下面是我推荐的硬件配置：
-- 内存：微软很可能为Vista推荐512M的内存，但软件公司几乎都会把内存要求说得低一些，因此我推荐至少使用1G的内存。微软的管理层私下承认过Vista 在1G的内存环境下运行得更好。
-- 显卡：Vista尤其会对显卡有更高要求，现在很多中低档电脑使用的是集成显卡，它和电脑主板集成在一起，没有自己专用的显存。
为使Vista运行顺畅，建议大家购买电脑时避开集成显卡，而选择独立显卡－－即不与主板集成且有专属内存的显卡。显存至少要有64M，最好是128M。到明年秋季，新推出的集成显卡晶片也许能让Vista跑起来了，但现在还不行。
-- 中央处理器：我一直建议不要花太多钱追求最快的处理器，这个原则现在依然适用。我不是让大家去买最便宜、速度最慢的处理器，不过中档的英特尔奔腾处理器(Intel Pentium)或AMD Athlon处理器应该就够用。虽然Vista没有提出这方面的要求，不过也可以考虑“双核心”处理器，即把两个处理器放在一起提高运行速度和能力。
还有一个值得考虑的选择，就是使用能进行64位运算的处理器，这并非Vista的必须配置，却是处理器的未来发展趋势。64位处理器比现在的32位处理器强大得多，目前利用64位处理器运算能力的软件还不多，但随著Vista的推出，这种软件可能会大大增加。AMD Athlon 64处理器是个不错的选择，因为32位和64位运算的软件它都能处理。英特尔也推出了类似的处理器，不过用的是“EM64T”的名称。
为充分利用64位处理器的能力，大家也应将电脑内存扩大两倍到2G。
-- 硬盘：对Vista来说，现有的硬盘空间已经绰绰有余，而且大容量硬盘也很便宜。我建议至少要有160G的硬盘，因为Vista能提供更简便的方式来建立和管理视频，而视频会占用大量的硬盘空间。此外，硬盘在速度上也要有所保证，至少需要每分钟7200转，并有2G的缓存。
-- DVD驱动器：Vista会带有更完善的DVD刻录功能，便于视频和资料备份。因此，我建议电脑上要带有刻录速度快、适合多种格式的DVD刻录驱动器。
明年秋季Vista推出前，微软会公布更详细的硬件环境要求，到时我会对推荐配置进行完善或增改。不过，如果你现在就按这些规格去选购，应该能买到一台适合Vista运行的个人电脑。
