How much space is needed to run Windows Vista at an optimal level?

seasurfer · Dec 9, 2007

My MPB is 200GB...but there is only 186GB.

I want to install Vista on my MBP, I would like to ask what is the optimal space needed for Vista, what is the optimal space needed for Leopard?

I will use vista for Office, some games like WoW, browsing the internet, watching video clips not supported by Leopard...how much space do I really need to run it optimally, I want it to be at full speed.

Lifeisabeach · Dec 9, 2007

The optimal amount is as much as you need for your OS, apps, games, and music/videos, and then some more.

smartyMAC · Dec 9, 2007

depends on the "version" of vista. For the ultimate version it needs somewhere around 9GB for the OS itself. So about 25-30GB is minimum of what you need. rest depends on your usage etc.

Kash · Dec 9, 2007

I think the recommended level is 20GB, but to be honest, that's more like a bare minimum when you look at how big programs/games have gotten nowadays. If you install Vista, Office and then two games, you've practically used up all 20GB. So if you plan on installing a couple of games and have room for other things, I would suggest somewhere in the 40-50GB range, if not more.

One thing in your post that caught my eye. You said that you're going to use Vista to play video files not supported by Leopard. In the year that I've been using a Mac, I have yet to encounter a video format that wouldn't work on OS X. Mind sharing with us what type of video that you can't get to work on your Mac? If this is a solvable issue, you could end up spending more time in OS X and less in Vista.

seasurfer · Dec 9, 2007

Kash said:
I think the recommended level is 20GB, but to be honest, that's more like a bare minimum when you look at how big programs/games have gotten nowadays. If you install Vista, Office and then two games, you've practically used up all 20GB. So if you plan on installing a couple of games and have room for other things, I would suggest somewhere in the 40-50GB range, if not more.

One thing in your post that caught my eye. You said that you're going to use Vista to play video files not supported by Leopard. In the year that I've been using a Mac, I have yet to encounter a video format that wouldn't work on OS X. Mind sharing with us what type of video that you can't get to work on your Mac? If this is a solvable issue, you could end up spending more time in OS X and less in Vista.

Thanks for your reply. I couldn't think of anything video that I couldn't play on Mac. I just want to use it as a back up.

By the way, does the space of hard disk affect performance? If I decrease my size for Leopard to 130-140Gig..will it be affected? 40-50Gig for Vista, is that really enough to make it run at the best performance?

htdefiant · Dec 10, 2007

Hard disk doesn't usually effect performance until you get down to only 7-12 gigs of free space. Then operating systems start to act a bit sluggish.

Kash · Dec 10, 2007

Like htdefiant said, unless hard drive space becomes really low, you have nothing to really worry about.