Four Things You Need to Know Before Buying Windows Vista

Microsoft has recently launched the business and enterprise versions of Windows Vista and will be launching the personal versions very soon. If you are considering making an upgrade to Windows Vista, there are some things you need to know before forking over hundreds of dollars for a new operating system.

First, you should consider if your computer is fast enough to run Microsoft Windows Vista. Vista requires a fairly fast computer to run well. Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor is a free piece of software from Microsoft which will run a couple of benchmarks on your computer and let you know if your computer will be fast enough to run the new operating system. If your computer is not up to snuff, you will need to purchase a hardware upgrade in order to run the new operating system well, so you should consider that in your purchase price if you want to get Windows Vista.

Secondly, which version of Windows Vista will you need? There are six different versions of Windows Vista. If you are a home user, the choices you should be picking from are Windows Vista Ultimate and Home Premium. Ultimate has a few more features than home premium, but both will work fine. You will want to compare the features and see which is best for you before making a purchase. If you are a business user, Windows Vista Business is for you. Major companies with enterprise licensing will have access to Windows Vista Enterprise.

Third, will your applications run? Windows Vista is written quite differently than Windows XP. Some applications might not run just as they did under XP, many major applications such as Norton Antivirus has had issues with Windows Vista. You will want to look and make sure all of your important applications will work before you decide to upgrade.