Hardware Requirements for Vista

The following specifications are recommended by Microsoft on its system requirements website. While the minimum specs below are the official requirements, OIT recommends using the recommended specs as the guideline for upgrading to Vista. Machines qualifying below as meeting the minimum may not perform at an adequate level for Duke users. Please click here to find about more about these different versions of Vista and what they mean to you.

Minimum requirements

Windows Vista – all editions:

• 800 MHz processor
• 512 MB of system memory
• 20 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB available
• Support for Super VGA graphics
• CD-ROM drive

Recommended specifications

Windows Vista Home Basic:

• 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 512 MB of system memory
• 20 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB available
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics and 32 MB of graphics memory
• DVD-ROM drive
• Audio Output
• Internet access

Windows Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate:

• 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1 GB of system memory
• 40 GB hard drive with at least 15GB available
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with WDDM Driver, 128 MB graphics memory, Pixel Shader 2.0, and 32 bits per pixel
• DVD-ROM drive
• Audio Output
• Internet Access

Additional requirements

Home Premium/Ultimate: In order to use the TV functionality, the computer must have a TV tuner card. A compatible remote control is also recommended.

Ultimate: Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption requires a USB flash drive and system with a TPM 1.2 chip.