Re: I'm looking to buy a new PC so I gotta ask...

If you buy modern hardware* that all comes with Vista-certified drivers,
and you disable User Account Control, and you either have a really good
video card or you turn off some of the Aero (the new UI) eye candy, it's
fine.

*Dual- or Quad-core CPU, 2GB+ RAM, 7200 RPM or faster hard drive, PCI-E
graphics w/256 or 512MB RAM.

- Core 2 Quad from Intel is out but pricey; Core 2 Duo is probably the
way to go. C2Q prices will fall in late July.
- Vista "at rest" has been seen to use a couple hundred more MB RAM than
XP "at rest"; 1 GB will run but will be sluggish. For most folks 2GB is
the sweet spot; 3-4GB if you're doing heavy A/V editing.
- Aero really wants a lot of video RAM; get a 512MB card if you can
afford it. Consider 256MB video RAM the minimum for a pleasing
experience.


One big change with Vista is that MS undid a past sin. In the move from
NT3.5x to NT4 MS moved the video driver to kernel mode ("ring 0"). This
improved video performance at the (potential) expense of system
stability. That change stayed with W2000 and XP. Vista moves the video
driver back out of the kernel, where it never belonged. So system
stability should be improved.


Other things to check:
- Make sure all of your peripherals have Vista drivers: Digicam if you
use special s/w for downloading images, printer, mouse, any USB devices,
etc.
- Make sure all of the apps you use run under Vista or have Vista-ready
replacements. Don't forget things like AV software and other utilities.
- Make sure you buy the right version of Vista. MS made some odd
decisions like NOT including drive encryption in Vista Business (its
only in Ultimate).

I've been looking to build a new PC. Right now I've priced a Core2Quad
w/4GB RAM, motherboard, huge (and quiet) heat sink/fan, mirrored 500GB
drives, a Radeon 1950Pro 512MB video card, Vista Ultimate, 18x DVD-RW,
and case/PSU at $1935 shipped. The only things I'm carrying forward
from my current PC are the keyboard, mouse, and 20" LCD. However, as
noted the C2Q price will drop in July so I'll likely wait (it's dropping
by almost $300). Dropping to 2GB RAM & non-mirrored disk shaves $320
off the price.