It's clear that Windows Vista will have a big impact on PC hardware. We've already written about how to plan for building a Vista system. Now we take a look at the near-term horizon for hardware. Whether you ever plan on upgrading to Windows Vista or not, one thing is clear: Its impact on the world of PC hardware will be huge. We've written about how to build a Windows Vista system. This time we're not talking about building a Vista system today, but rather, about what new types of hardware Windows Vista will spawn. We'll also consider how this new generation of hardware will affect your future buying decisions. Windows Vista will alter design aspects of just about every subsystem on the PC?CPU, memory, storage, and graphics. Given Microsoft's dominance in the industry, the company is able to influence the hardware industry in a number of ways. We'll take a look at the key areas today and then analyze how Vista could affect the entire PC ecosystem, including non-Windows based systems.

And the changes don't only go in one direction: Redmond has adjusted some of its plans for Vista because of the way hardware is evolving as a result of other pressures. For example, Windows Vista will support an unprecedented level of DRM (digital rights management), but that's at the behest of the content providers rather than Microsoft itself.

With these thoughts in mind, let's take a look at Vista's impact on hardware, one component at a time.

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