Before Choosing Windows Vista, What Are Your Requirements

You should examine your current operating system requirements before deciding on which version of Windows Vista to buy. Are your requirements likely to change, or, the reason for changing your operating system.

• If your machine is old you may be better off buying a new machine. All new machines come "Vista Ready" so you are assured that not only does the hardware meet the operating system requirements, drivers will also be available from the manufacturer.


• If you are currently a Windows XP Professional user, the logical upgrade choice is Windows Vista Ultimate or Windows Vista Business edition.


• If you are purchasing Windows Vista for a work machine, Windows Vista Enterprise is the cost-effective choice.


• Do you use the Remote Desktop tool? It is not available in all versions of Windows Vista.


• Is the primary function of the machine work use or home use? Different versions of Windows Vista are geared towards different tasks.


• If you are upgrading to the 64-bit versions of Windows Vista, are thee drivers available for your hardware.


• It is much cheaper to upgrade to Windows Vista rather than buy the full operating system.

Before Choosing, Examine Your Computer

• Windows Vista Basic is really not worth buying unless you have a machine that you can not upgrade. As the name suggests, it is the most basic versions of Windows Vista so don't expect to find all the flashier bits of the new operating system, such as Aero and enhanced multimedia. Basically all you get is the base operating system, but in some cases that may be all that you require.
• If you are upgrading an older machine, examine the machine specifications carefully to make sure that they meet the Windows Vista requirements. Simply having a sticker on the machine is not enough to guarantee that Windows Vista will run successfully. Make sure that your computer meets the requirements and that there are drivers for your hardware available for Windows Vista.
• Power users with more than 4Gbs of RAM should consider Windows Vista 64-bit. Again, it is important to check that drivers for your hardware available for Windows Vista 64-bit.
• If your computer is primarily used for work choose Windows Vista Business. This version of Windows Vista is targeted for use on Windows domains and offers features that are not available on some of the other versions of Windows Vista, such as the Remote Desktop tool.
• To enjoy everything that Windows Vista has to offer, go for Windows Vista Ultimate. There is a price tag to justify all the features that are available in this version though, so possibly an upgrade to Windows Vista Ultimate is the best choice.

As always before choosing a new operating system, look at the software that you run and the hardware that you run it on. Sometimes drivers for essential pieces of hardware will not be available immediately, or software will not be supported until the next version release. Sometimes the best choice may be staying with Windows XP until the application or hardware that you need is supported. Microsoft has many pages dedicated to telling you about Windows Vista, but here are two useful pages to look at when deciding on the versions of Windows Vista you want.
A comparison of the Windows Vista versions.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/choose.mspx

A comprehensive feature-by-feature guide to Windows Vista
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bbc16ebf-4823-4a12-afe1-5b40b2ad3725&DisplayLang=en&wt_svl=20517a&mg_id=20517b