What PC specs do XP need to run on?

[Morjo]

I heard that the specs for XP are going to be pritty heavy for an OS!
What video card, CPU and ram does it actually need to run?

 

[AndyHui]

The minimum specs are supposed to be Pentium II 300MHz and 128MB of RAM for XP Professional, although you could probably get away with a less powerful system.

Microsoft recommends a video card capable of 1024 x 768 at True Colour as well. Again, you can get away with less (although who doesn't have a card capable of this?).

Real minimum requirements are probably similar to Win2K.

 

[Taz4158]

<< The minimum specs are supposed to be Pentium II 300MHz and 128MB of RAM for XP Professional, although you could probably get away with a less powerful system.

Microsoft recommends a video card capable of 1024 x 768 at True Colour as well. Again, you can get away with less (although who doesn't have a card capable of this?).

Real minimum requirements are probably similar to Win2K. >>


That is optimistic at best. I find it requires at least 256 of ram for any degree of speed. It is beta and could change by gold but I highly doubt it.

 

[ku]

check the microsoft site. go to their beta sign-up thingy and i think they have a system requirement page.

 

[Digobick]

System Requirements for Windows XP Beta 2:

Preliminary System Requirements
To use Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Beta 2, you need:

300 MHz or higher processor clock speed recommended; minimum of 233MHZ required (single or dual processor system)*
Intel Pentium/Celeron family, or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor
128 MB of RAM or higher recommended; minimum of 64 MB of RAM (may have limited performance with some features or applications)*
Minimum of 1.5 GB of available hard disk space*
SVGA (800 x 600) or higher resolution video adapter and monitor recommended; VGA resolution minimum required
Keyboard
Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
CD-ROM or DVD drive
Sound card and speakers or headphones

Recommended Peripherals

Network adapter if using Windows XP on a local area or home network
14.4 Kbps or higher-baud telephone/FAX modem, cable modem, or DSL modem for Internet access
Sound card and speakers or headphones

Additional items or services
Additional items or services may be required to use certain features:

For Internet Access:
Some Internet functionality may require Internet access and payment of a separate fee to a service provider. Local and long distance telephone toll charges may apply.

For DVD video playback:
DVD-ROM drive
Compatible DVD decoder card or DVD decoder software
8 MB Video RAM

For Windows Media? Player:
Compatible portable music player optional for transferring music from PC

For Windows Movie Maker:
Requires appropriate video capture device depending upon whether your camcorder is digital or analog

For audio and video conferencing:
Video conferencing camera
Microphone

For home networking:
Home networking compatible hardware


*Actual requirements will vary based on your system configuration and the applications and features you choose to install. Additional available hard-disk space may be required if you are installing over a network.

 

[senior guy]

Other than being another cash-cow for M$, how will XP benifit the rest of us compared to a maturing (SP2 should be released before XP) Win2K ?