you know the story: You’re itching
to go out and buy yourself a new
desktop or a notebook PC. But you
keep thinking how quickly your last
purchase became obsolete. You’d like
the gear you buy today to be capable
of handling changes or new standards
appearing in a year or two—
or even (dare I say it?) five years down
the road. What’s a would-be tech buyer
to do?
Take heart. Although there’s no
such thing as a completely futureproof
PC, you can—with a little
education—choose a system that has
at least some staying power. Here
are some important points to keep
in mind while shopping.
LOOKING TOWARD VISTA
with windows vista you’re probably
wondering how much horsepower your
PC will need to handle that OS, should
you decide to upgrade. To help chart the
course, Microsoft and PC vendors worked
together on the Windows Vista-Ready PC
Program under which, PCs that qualify
are labeled as “Windows Vista-Ready”.
To be Vista-capable, PCs must have at
least an 800-MHz processor and 512MB
of RAM, along with a graphics processor
that supports Microsoft’s DirectX 9
rendering technology released in December
2002. But that’s the bare minimum
for running the operating system; PCs
deemed Vista-capable are really incapable
of running most of Vista’s neatest features,
particularly its new 3D Aero graphical
user interface. To run Aero, PCs must
have at least a 1-GHz processor, 1GB of
RAM and a DVD-ROM drive. That fits
the description of most desktop computers
sold in the past four to fi ve years and
most laptops sold in the past three or four.
However, it’s the graphics processor that
may prove to be your computer’s Achilles’
Heel. It must have at least 128MB of
memory and support not only DirectX 9,
but also several more esoteric technologies
such as a WDDM driver, Pixel Shader
2.0 and 32 bits per pixel.
Dual-core 64-bit CPUs are clearly the
wave of the future. And with the prices
for dual-core 64-bit processors coming
down, PCs powered by these chips are
no longer confi ned to the money-is-noobject
crowd. But people on a stricter
budget may want to consider single-core
64-bit CPUs, such as AMD’s Athlon 64
chips. Not because Windows Vista will
require 64-bit technology, but because by
the time Vista ships, 64-bit applications
that can take advantage of the power of
such computing should also appear.
Of course, for some prospective buyers
the best strategy may be to postpone
making a PC purchase until Windows
Vista ships. “[Vista] will be the catalyst
that brings together all the components
of 64-bit computing for consumers,”
predicts Shane Rau, PC chip analyst for
research fi rm IDC. “The consumer market
will transition to a 64-bit platform
only when it can do so for free.”
As for RAM, Microsoft recommends a
minimum of 512MB. Our advice? Don’t
skimp on RAM, especially since a boost
in RAM will give you the best bang for
your buck. Start with a gigabyte and
go from there. And regardless of how
much memory you purchase now,
make sure that your slots can handle
additional or bigger memory modules in
case you decide later to upgrade to 2GB or
even 4GB of RAM.
GRAPHICS GALORE
one of Vista’s most highly touted features
is its enhanced graphical interface,
which includes file management
using thumbnail images of documents
and such gee-whiz effects as the transparent
(“Glass”) window frames of the
Aero desktop theme. It sounds great, but
keep in mind that to take full advantage
of these features you’ll need cutting-edge
graphics, as well as a graphics driver
that supports the Windows Vista Display
Driver Model. Though most graphics
boards that are being sold today should
support Windows Vista.
Another component to consider in
your quest for a future-proof PC is the
system’s optical drive. Here, you really
have no safe bet. To provide the huge
storage capacity that high-defi nition digital
content will require, two next-generation
optical-drive technologies—Bluray
and HD DVD—are currently duking
it out for a place in your future PC.But experts I spoke with say it’s far too
early to speculate which format will prevail,
much less when such PC drives will appear.
So if you’re planning to purchase a PC (or
a stand-alone optical drive), get the fastest
multiformat rewritable DVD drive you can
fi nd, and make sure that it supports the formats
of any DVD player you own.
You can also check the drive maker’s
Web site to see whether the company provides
fi rmware updates for such things
as improved speed and media support.
NOTES ON NOTEBOOKS
as portable systems become increasingly
powerful and affordable, larger PC users
are cutting the cord and going mobile. Are
you shopping for a notebook that’s ready
for a long-term relationship? Make sure
it has an up-to-date integrated Wi-Fi card
(the current standards are 802.11b/g),
accessible and upgradable RAM and hard
drive, both CardBus and ExpressCard PC
Card slots, and perhaps a security feature
such as fi ngerprint recognition. You may
not need Wi-Fi capability or a fi ngerprint
scanner to future-proof your notebook, but
they will make you happier right now.
Nothing lasts forever, of course, and every
gadget you get will someday end up in the
recycling heap. But if you do a little homework
and look toward the future before you
buy, you just might get yourself a system
that will stick around long enough.
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