Vista: Why Most of Us Should (and Will) Wait

There is nothing I have read about Vista yet that makes me want to run out and upgrade our current computers with Microsoft's long-awaited new operating system. And I'm sure I'm not alone.

Why? Because like many consumers, I'm not in the immediate market for a new computer, and even though my Dell Inspiron laptop is just about a year old, all signs point to waiting. Chris Null advises against installing Vista on current, even new computers, no matter how appealing the upgrade coupons and deals. And if your computer is more than a year old, he says it's strongly recommended you wait and buy a new computer with Vista preinstalled.

If you're still sure you want to upgrade your existing computer, even if it has all the Vista requirements, wait. You know there will be kinks and flaws that Microsoft will need to work through. It's no fun being a guinea pig, especially one that ends up spending hours installing a huge operating system onto a computer, which is not something many of us do, ever.

Even if you've got the recommended up-to-date processor (minimum: 800MHz 32-bit [x86] or 64-bit [x64] CPU), 1GB of RAM, and 15GB of free space on your hard drive, the common wisdom seems to be upgrading to Vista from Windows XP will not be smooth going. Stephen Wildstrom writes in BusinessWeek, "Based on the troubles I've had in tests, I'd warn against upgrading if you have old accessories, such as printers, or if you run any custom or obscure business software."

Just as many businesses won't upgrade to Vista until they buy new hardware, home computer users probably should do the same. Wait. For the kinks to be worked out, then, when you're in the market, buy a computer with Vista preloaded.

The New York Times' David Pogue points to a SoftChoice survey that says only 6 percent of existing corporate PCs have enough power to run Vista. At home, you'll also need a powerful graphics card in addition to the other requirements. "Moving to Vista means hunting for updated drivers for your printer, audio card and so on, not to mention troubleshooting incompatible programs," Pogue writes.

I don't have time for that.

Walt Mossberg at the Wall Street Journal also says the full benefits of Vista, including its new look and interface (called "Aero) can be experienced only on "a hefty, new computer." He writes in his review, "The vast majority of existing Windows PCs won't be able to use all of Vista's features without major hardware upgrades. They will be able to run only a stripped-down version, and even then may run very slowly."

That's plenty of expert advice for me. I'm waiting until we upgrade to a new computer. What about you?

Related links: 

Vista: Buy a PC Preinstalled or Upgrade Yourself? 
Vista: To Upgrade or Hold?