Making the Move to Windows 7

Windows 7 Hardware Requirements

Minimum Hardware Requirements

The following table shows the minimum hardware requirements for Windows® 7 as provided by Microsoft:

Minimum 32-bit Operating System

Minimum 64-bit Operating System

Processor

1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86)

1 GHz or faster 64-bit (x64)

Memory

1 GB RAM

2 GB RAM

Available Disk Space

16 GB

20 GB

Graphics

DirectX® 9 graphics processor with WDDM or higher driver

DirectX® 9 graphics processor with WDDM or higher driver

These minimum requirements are for basic computing tasks such as word processing and Web browsing. Additional memory and graphics may be required for more powerful computing tasks.

The recommendations above are provided by Microsoft. When using multiple programs or when having several windows open simultaneously, Dell recommends at least 2 GB of system memory for a PC with 32-bit Windows 7 operating system and 4 GB for a PC with 64-bit Windows 7 operating system. 

Additionally, the following are the minimum hardware requirements for running Windows 7 in Windows XP Mode*:

  • Processor: Intel® VT or AMD-V™
  • Memory: 2 GB (32-bit), 3 GB (64-bit)
  • Available Disk Space: 15 GB