When you build and sell systems for Windows Vista you want your end user to have a good experience. Vista has many cool features but to get the most out of them unless you have a powerful and compatible system. Below is the recommendation of ASI Tech Support Department.

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Want to go mobile with Vista? Vista will be a popular operating system in the laptop market and is actually optimized for mobile devices. We recommend the following running Vista Ultimate:

C8015+ notebook with 15.4" WSXGA+ Widescreen (ASI SKU# 50125) and Core 2 Duo mobile processor - see this page for more information

EL80 15.4" WXGA (ASI SKU# 50329) and Core 2 Duo mobile processor - see this page for more information

With Vista Ultimate you not only get all the premium multimedia features but business class networking. The above notebooks also offer full support for Vista Aero graphics interface and excellent performance.

For Vista multi-tasking is smooth and considerably faster on multi-core processors. Dual core processors are recommended such as Intel Core 2 Duo series or AMD Athlon 64 X2. For power packed quality at reasonable prices an Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz (SKU#50169 ) is a wise choice, and on the AMD processor side we recommend an AMD Athlon64 X2 Dual Core 5200+ (2.6GHz) Socket AM2 (SKU# 52748) at the sweet spot.

For extreme gamers a Core 2 Extreme processor (X6800) SKU# 50918 or an AMD Athlon64 X2 Dual Core FX-62 SKU# 47221 which will both offer amazing performance and also increase overall productivity while multitasking. For multimedia and running multiple applications they may even need a quad-core processor like the Intel QX6700 = SKU# 54454.

For Vista Business Edition we recommend a board like the Intel Q965GFEKR (SKU# 50725) Executive series which offers a Micro ATX form factor loaded with Gigabit LAN, DDR2 memory support, LGA 775 C2D processor support, integrated audio and integrated Intel GMA 3000 video. This or similar spec motherboards will offer a rock solid, high performance business machine with great Vista support.

Home users should get newer motherboards that run the current Intel or AMD processors, support discrete graphics card and SATA, and if possible are Windows XP or Vista Certified.

If you want a fantastic multimedia experience one option would be the Asus motherboard CROSSHAIR for AMD AM2 SKU# 51866 (more details here) that features two full speed PCI Express x16 slot with NVIDIA® SLI technology support, and 4 DDR2 DIMM slots (up to 8GB RAM).

However the extreme gamer or multimedia user will want a DirectX (DX10) graphics card. DX10 is not supported by Windows XP or earlier versions of Windows but is exclusive to Vista. With a DX10 graphics card you will be able to run a new generation of DX10 compatible games coming out in 2007 with advanced 3D features. The Nvidia GeForce 8800 series GPU and the upcoming ATI R600 series GPU are both DirectX 10 compatible hardware.

For a monitor a good quality 19" or larger LCD is recommend. Top pick would be ViewSonic LCD VA903B LCD 19-inch VGA 1280x1024 BLACK 700:1 8MS  = ASI SKU# 52618

Another premium feature your end user will appreciate is a widescreen LCD. Widescreen will give you plenty of desktop space for the Vista sidebar. A good widescreen is the VIEWSONIC VG1930wm 19" Black widescreen LCD with Multimedia, OptiSync digital/analog inputs 300nits, 700:1 contrast ratio and 5ms response time = ASI SKU# 54388