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Vista 512MB RAM requirement

J

jazzboy

Senior member
Am planning to upgrade a laptop to Vista. It currently has 512MB Ram but also has integrated Intel graphics which shares memory.

Does anyone know if Vista setup makes allowances for integrated graphics memory or is it stricty 512MB required and not one meg less allowed?

Yea I know it'll be better with more memory but I'll likely upgrade that at a later date anyway.
 
It's going to be a pretty sh1tty experience. You should have 1gb. The 512 is the bare minimum, and you'll have it running, but it won't be a good experience imo.
 
If I remember right it's a hard requirement for install but you can reduce it by some after the fact. Not by much though. You'll reach a non-boot situation within a few 100mb below that.


I would really recommend running on 1gig if possible.
 
If you're going to tough it out in that lappy with Vista, than definately get a 4GB readyboost stick. Also, is that Intel video Dx9 compliant? If it can handle Aero, it might take some burden off the rest of the system.
 
You should download and install the MS Vista Upgrade Advisor , it will let you know if your laptop will support Vista and also give you some information on if any of your software may not work.

In my brief experience with VISTA, I wouldn't try to run it with 512mb, 1 GB is more of a realistic minimum if you actually do much with the PC.
 
I have 2 gig and it is faaaast on that. Put away your credit card. You won't need more memory than that.
 
running Vista with Aero on a Celeron 2.5 and 1gb memory. IDK if its the memory or CPU(or both) but with Aero enabled(9600 256mb) it runs just decent. I think if I put a P4 in it, it might help a bit. I would hate to run Vista(Aero anyway) with 512mb. You might get away with it with Aero disabled.
 
Originally posted by: AmigaMan
WTH is it doing that requires 512MB of RAM?
Click to expand...

Have you not seen Vista? It abuses eyecandy in the worst possible way.

As for the OP...512MB of ram will get the system running, so long as you don't actually want to use Aero.

As for the comment of Vista being slow with 2GB of ram...you have problems that lie elsewhere.
 
Originally posted by: D1gger
You should download and install the MS Vista Upgrade Advisor , it will let you know if your laptop will support Vista and also give you some information on if any of your software may not work.
Click to expand...

Cheers, hadn't thought of that.

To everyone else I said I WILL upgrade the memory, just not right at this moment.
 
Surely someone has tried a vista install with a wimpy 512 MB minus whatever it takes to run onboard video.----they need to post on this thread.

But that exactly describes my wife's computer---I did run the vista upgrade adviser--it had a pile o software quibbles she would have to upgrade---but vista upgrade adviser said she could run vista home basic. But I sure am not going to try installing vista on that dog.
 
I don't know about the final version but i used Vista RC2 on my Dell 700m lappy with 512mb of memory and it was very slow. I just couldn't stand it! You know that feeling when you're fixing a really really old machine that has TONS of problems and the whole time you're just thinking.. this machine needs to die? Yes. That was how i felt. I'm not sure how much MS improved on the final rtm version but i didn't like it at all. Plus, it wouldn't even let me use the aero theme.. what's the point in using vista if you can't get the eye candy as well?

For battery life, i actually noticed an improvement but that just doesn't make sense 🙂
 
It'll use more than 512MB memory by itself, before you start any other applications. Definitely get another 512 (or more).
 
I ran it on a NF2 with 512mbs of memoryand a 2500 Barton, and it reminded me of a p2 running 98 on 64mbs 1 gb is definitely a requirement if you want Vista to run well. Vista uses memory much different than previous OSes did. You might qualify to run a copy of Vista basic.
 
I'm running Vista on a 2.0 GHz Turion 64 with 512mb ram. I have noticed little effect on performance and am happy that I upgraded. I am running aero as well, if I wasn't I would likely get the same performance as XP. This is a Compaq laptop.

Don't be afraid 🙂 Especially if you are planning on getting more RAM anyway, go for it.
 
At work, we sell Acers and Emachines that have 512 Ram. I was lucky enough to set them up a couple days prior to vista release. The initial set up with the 512 took forever. I got through 2 Gateways before 1 Emachine was done.

Vista on 512MB Ram runs like a paraplegic.
 
I have Vista Business on my Dell Inspiron 700m with 768MB RAM minus some for the integrated video. It's pretty snapppy with ReadyBoost enabled on a 2GB SD memory card but a tad bit slower than XP. The machine is rather slow without ReadyBoost. I don't recommend using Kaspersky Internet Security v6.0.2.614 currently either since it had horrendous affect on the computer performance. For example, opening Event Viewer FIRST with KIS ENABLED takes 1:30 min:sec for it to be usable. Opening Even Viewer again with KIS DISABLED takes a mere 9 seconds. I also restarted and then reversed the order, but it had same results. It was unbearable. So I just went back to NOD32 which provides the best performance/reliability with no noticeable degradation.

CAUTION: During bootup, it seems that ReadyBoost or Superfetch tries to read/write a lot from/to the pagefile and the ReadyBoost cache on the memory card. You might notice excessive HD access and reduced reponsiveness. This lasts approximately 2-3 minutes for me. Everything is much faster afterward. I'm still debating whether I should just restore my XP image since the laptop doesn't support Aero, and Vista looks unappealing without Aero (for me anyway). I'll see if the performance will improve as Vista learns my usage habits.
 
Vista Business on my laptop with 480MB and 32MB shared video memory seemed fine, or at least no slower than XP. More than enough for basic stuff, browsing the net, listening to music, etc. I wasn't running Aero, by the way, just the classic interface.
 
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