Most PCs need memory upgrade for move to XP
- Posted:
- 11:58 21 Jun 2001
- Topics:
- Desktop Operating Systems | Operating Systems
System auditing company Staff & Line estimates that only 22% of desktop systems will meet even the specified minimum speed of 233MHz - and Microsoft recommends 300MHz or higher.
Staff & Line says 56% have less than the minimum 128Mbytes memory requirement. The figures reflect the status of more than 120,000 PCs registered on the firm's Easyvista.com Web-based asset management system.
Microsoft admits that pre-1999 PCs are unlikely to support the operating system.
Bloor Research senior analyst Tony Lock said, "Experience shows that the minimum specification has to be doubled, at least. This means a 400MHz processor with 256Mbytes of memory will probably be required. Companies considering buying new PCs should budget for the fastest processor available and 1Gbyte of memory."
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Adoption of Windows XP Professional is vital for Microsoft following the disappointing take-up of Windows 2000 Professional. Many users have decided to skip from Windows 95 and 98 to XP, but the new specifications are double those for Windows 2000 and may cause a resurgence of interest in the older system.
Lock said, "Companies look at a three-year cycle when planning for IT.
"Big companies will roll Windows XP adoption into a bigger plan to upgrade PC systems - which may happen next year or even the year after that."
The cycle of software suppliers releasing one version after another may popularise the thin-client option. This would be "more digestible" when only 300-400 servers need upgrading rather than 10,000 desktops, Lock said.
Neil Laver, Microsoft's Windows product marketing manager, said XP's features will encourage companies to upgrade. "PC OEMs don't see the spec as a blocker but as an impetus for sales when people see the benefits," he said.
Eric Doyle
eric.doyle@rbi.co.uk
