Vista Upgrade Can Be Costly and Complex, Analysts Warn
By Colleen Taylor -- EDN, December 8, 2006
A switch to Microsoft's new Vista operating system does not come cheap, some analysts warn. Upgrading from Windows XP to Windows Vista Business is $199, in addition to a hardware cost of about $100 in new or additional PC components required for the transition, as well, according to a recent report from iSuppli
Corp.'s compute systems cost analyzer (CSCA) tool.
Based on an analysis using CSCA, an average desktop PC running Windows XP contains components that collectively cost PC OEMs slightly more than $500. According to iSuppli, for an average PC running Vista , the cost will jump to slightly more than $600, a 20 percent increase. And there's more: because this figure represents the cost of the components and not the actual price of the PC, iSuppli said, users will pay "significantly more" than $600 to buy a Vista-ready machine due to the PC makers' added margins.
What exactly are users getting for their bucks? Much of the additional cost for Vista-capable PCs is in the memory area, according to the firm. Although Microsoft has stated that 512Mbytes of DRAM will be sufficient to run Vista , iSuppli begs to differ: the firm said it believes at least 1GB will be required for optimal performance and for headroom for upgrades, effectively doubling memory costs per PC.
Source: iSuppli Corp.
A Vista upgrade gives a multitude of reasons to spend more money on equipment in order to realize the OS' full potential: beyond the basic PC requirements to run Vista , corporations and individual users also will need to consider upgrading their graphics capability in order to use the 3D functions found in Windows Vista's interface, iSuppli said. Vista does, however, allow users the option of disabling the 3D interface, eliminating the need for a new graphics card or a more powerful integrated graphics chip.
"The decision whether to upgrade existing systems or to buy new ones will be a major issue for businesses and consumers," the firm said in its latest report. For large businesses, upgrading existing PCs is usually avoided, because of the time and expense. The "typical scenario," according to iSuppli, is that corporations will purchase new machines over time.
Whether or not consumers should upgrade depends on individual technical prowess: ability and desire to update graphics cards, microprocessors, and in some cases, entire motherboards iSuppli said.
"There are some difficult choices to be made before migrating to Windows Vista," Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst for compute platforms at iSuppli, said in a statement. "Buying a new computer with the Vista operating system already installed may solve the headache of migration just enough to justify the cost of a new machine."
