Think twice before buying a new computer for Christmas
The other day my friend Jim asked me if the timing was right to get a new PC for Christmas. With the holidays coming up newspapers are full of sales on PCs at super cheap prices so it's very tempting to buy a new system if your old one is particularly slow or troublesome. Jim is a motivated buyer but his hesitancy is understandable.
His big concern is whether he should wait for the introduction of Microsoft's long-delayed Vista operating system which won't come out until early 2007. His question to me was whether it would be better to buy a machine that has Vista installed on it already or if he should install it on his own after Vista comes out.
That's a question that a lot of people are asking these days. If people do opt to buy a machine now, Microsoft has in place an Express upgrade service to offer Vista at no charge for machines that have a "Vista Capable" label. Seems simple right? Well not so fast.
I'm a bit ambivalent about upgrading to Vista if you have the option to wait to buy a preinstalled system. Why is that?
The problem or potential problem is that upgrading PCs to a major new operating system can be complicated--even for professionals. This is especially true of brand new software where there might be bugs or incompatibilities. My feeling is that it's a better policy better to buy a new PC where the new OS has already been pre-installed at the factory. Better yet: Consider waiting until a new Operating system has gone through the initial launch phase to avoid issues that inevitably pop up.
What about older systems?
If you want to upgrade Vista to an older PC (say more than two or three years old) the new OS may not be compatible. Older machines for example may not support some of Vista's more high end features such as Aero, a semi-transparent visual effect similar to looking through a window pane.
However for many machines that were built over the last year or so--particularly the more sophisticated models, there shouldn't be a problem in running Vista. To handle some of the features and cool new applications you'll definitely need newer hardware.
If you want to upgrade your old system and want to make sure you'll be able to run the full Vista program I would pay attention to this checklist and make sure your have:
» At least 1 gigabyte (or preferably 2 gigs) of memory.
» A graphics card that supports a DirectX 9 technology
» A dual-core processor from Intel or AMD or a processor that runs at least 1 gigahertz
» A 100-gigabyte hard drive (or better yet a 200-gig drive) that will offer plenty of space for music, photos or video.
If you do opt to purchase a Vista ready system before the OS is launched, you'll get a special coupon from the manufacturer that will allow you to get the upgrade for the price of shipping the software. You probably can save a bunch money if you buy now but you shouldn't do it if you if want to avoid dealing potential, new operating system problems.
Good luck and happy computing!
Kiman Wong is general manager of digital phone at Oceanic Time Warner Cable. He can be reached at
kiman.wong@twcable.com.