Buy Now, Pay Later?

Why you might want to hold off on purchasing a PC.By Oliver Rist, Special to MSN Tech & Gadgets
Businesses can get the new Windows Vista platform immediately. But we poor home users have to wait until the end of January before Windows Vista’s in view for us—and possibly longer before it’s readily available, pre-installed on PCs. So what do you give Junior for Christmas? A brand-new Windows XP machine that you’ll promise to upgrade 30 days later, or a coupon that says you owe him a new Windows Vista machine as soon as you can get one?
There are arguments for both sides. To keep the upgrade idea alive, Microsoft put together an “Express Upgrade to Windows Vista” program. The idea is simple: Buy a Windows XP PC with enough hardware for Windows Vista today (through March 2007), and then get a low-cost or free upgrade to Windows Vista from the manufacturer when the home version shows up.
The only conditions are that the PC you buy has to be running Windows XP Media Center 2005, Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Professional x64. You need to be careful here—the operating system you send in determines the operating system you get back. Only XP Media Center, for example, will get you a copy of Windows Vista Home Premium. Windows XP Professional gets you Windows Vista Business—which is a nice operating system, but lacks the media features you might want on your home box. And there is no version of Express Upgrade that will get you a version of Windows Vista Ultimate, my personal favorite.
Another potential downside to Express Upgrade is that you’ll need to return your PC to the manufacturer so they can do the installation. Don’t expect them to send someone to your house as part of Express Upgrade. Then again, there’s no law that says you need to partake of the Express Upgrade program. You can buy a Windows XP machine today from anyone and then hire an outfit like Geek Squad, CompUSA’s tech staff or your local high-school nerd to upgrade it for you after you buy Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate separately.
You’ve got to pay attention here, though. First, make sure your new machine has the right Windows Vista hardware chops. That means loads of disk space, a fast CPU, a big bite of RAM and—most importantly—a speedy video card. Me? I’d set up my soon-to-be Windows Vista machine as follows:
An Intel Core 2 Duo CPU (as fast as you can afford).
2GB of system RAM.
A 300GB to 500GB serial-ATA hard disk (remember you’ll be doing way more with photos, movies and music in the coming years).
A re-writeable DVD drive.
A new-model ATI (I like the X1000 series) or NVidia (I like the GeForce 6800 series or higher) with at least 256MB of onboard RAM (preferably 512MB). If it’s a notebook, there are mobile equivalents, just ask the sales guy.
If you’re also springing for a new display, think flat screen, high-definition and 20 inches or more.
Windows Vista will definitely run well on a setup like this. The only advantage that you’d get sending it back to Dell, Gateway or Bob’s Mail Order PCs is that they will have the Windows Vista installation down pat. No muss, no fuss, since it’s their hardware and they have all the experience. Under Windows XP this was a bigger issue because there are more ways to screw up a Windows XP custom install.