It's all about the memory

Size matters--it's always been that way when it comes to Random Access Memory. And with Windows Vista, this can't be any truer. The new operating system, which has just gone to public beta 2 today, relies heavily on system memory (RAM) and video memory (VRAM) to deliver its all-new Aero user interface. This is good news for those who've been worried that they'll have to buy a new computer in order to be Vista ready. Demonstrations at WinHEC 2006 show that most systems currently running Windows XP will be able to run Windows Vista very well, as long as they have at least 2GB of RAM and a video card with at least 256MB of dedicated VRAM. So you may not need to get a whole new computer to get ready for Windows Vista; it's possible you could get by with just maxing out the amount of RAM on your current system and replacing the video card if necessary. While 2GB of RAM sounds like a lot, this is actually the easiest and cheapest upgrade to a computer and definitely a lot cheaper than buying an all-new one.