AdventuresInVista
Hints, Tips & Tricks for Microsoft Windows Vista

Vista Versions - The AiV Windows Vista Buyers Guide
22 May 2007 in General | Comments enabled

There are so many questions and things to consider when it comes to moving to Windows Vista that it can all get a little overwhelming! Should you upgrade, buy the full product, or even a new machine with Vista preinstalled? Should you go for a 32-bit or 64-bit version? And most pressing of all… which version includes the features you want?

I’ve put together this mini Buyers Guide to try help you answer some of these burning questions and make the whole decision process a little easier.

The Vista Versions

There are basically 4 versions of Windows Vista available to the general public: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate. Each version has a different set of features, and is aimed at a different type of user. Let’s take a more in-depth look at each…

(Please note that prices were correct at time of writing!)

Home Basic
As the name suggests, this is the most basic version of Vista available (and therefore the cheapest!). You get all the core features of Vista, including…

• New Vista Interface
• Built-in Firewall
• Improved Security
• Parental Controls
• Windows Search

The full version costs £163.48 ($179.99), and the Upgrade £65.96 ($94.99).
Buy Home Basic from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

Home Premium
A more supped-up version for consumers, Vista Home Premium includes everything in Home Basic, plus the following extra stuff…

• Vista Aero Theme
• Media Center (for controlling the PC from your telly)
• Built-in DVD burning
• Mobility Center

Having Mobility Center gives Home Premium the ability to be installed on Tablet PCs, so if you have one of those – this is the version you need.

The full version costs £179.97 ($215.99), and the Upgrade £119.97 ($149.99).
Buy Home Premium from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

Business
Vista Business is designed primarily for use on computers in an office or connected to a Corporate network. It’s almost identical to Home Premium except that it does not include Media Center or Movie/DVD applications. Instead, users of Business can look forward to…

• Remote Desktop
• Domain Support
• Integrated file and folder encryption
• Other business-y stuff

You can also install Vista Business on a Tablet PC if you wish.

The full version costs £202.97 ($269.99), and the Upgrade £129.96 ($189.99).
Buy Vista Business from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

Ultimate
This is probably the version most people will go for. It’s expensive, but it’s worth it, as it includes everything mentioned in the previous versions, plus…

• Bit-Locker Entire Drive Encryption
• Multi-Language Interfaces
• Virtual PC Express
• Vista Ultimate Extras

The full version costs £294.97 ($358.99), and the Upgrade £187.97 ($238.99).
Buy Vista Ultimate from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

32-bit or 64-bit?

All versions of Windows Vista are available in 32-bit of 64-bit flavours, so which version should you go for?

Well, if you don’t have a 64-bit processor (check with your computer manufacturer if you’re not sure), the 64-bit version won’t work on your computer.

If you do have a 64-bit processor, then you can choose to buy Windows Vista in either 32-bit or 64-bit. Do bear in mind that if you buy the 64-bit version, you will need updated drivers for some of your hardware.

64-bit computing is definitely the future, but we’re not gonna ditch 32-bit any time soon – and its highly likely that hardware manufacturers will give more support to 32-bit computing for the foreseeable future. That said, if you’re buying a completely new machine, and you can afford to go 64-bit, why wait?!

Which brings me neatly on to…

Clean Install, Upgrade or New PC?

If you already own a PC, one of the things you’ll have to decide is how you want to buy Windows Vista.

If you’re PC is reasonably new, the chances are it will run at least Home Premium or Business, and possibly Ultimate. If you do wish to upgrade, you need to check that your current version of Windows can be upgraded to the version of Vista you’re planning to buy.

The following table should help…

If you want to rebuild your PC from scratch, then you should buy a Full version of Windows Vista rather than an Upgrade. Be warned though, that you should back up all your data before you do this, and you will have to reinstall your software!

You should check before purchasing your copy of Windows Vista that your PC is capable of running the version you want to install. You can do this by download the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft.

Buying a new PC with Windows Vista preinstalled takes a lot of the hassle out of switching to Windows Vista. Most manufacturers now install Vista on new PCs, and you’ll know that your new machine is capable of running the version installed.

Other Vista Versions

At the beginning of this article I said there were 4 versions of Windows Vista available. If you’ve heard of Vista Starter or Vista Enterprise you may be wondering why I missed those out.

Well, Vista Starter is a special version available to developing countries only.

As for Vista Enterprise, this is basically Vista Ultimate but designed for Businesses (and without the Ultimate Extras!). Vista Enterprise is not available to buy from retail stores - you must be a business customer of Microsoft to purchase this version.

And That’s It!

Hopefully you should now feel more confident in your understanding of the different versions of Windows Vista, and be well on the way to deciding which version is right for you.

Happy shopping!

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