# Software wants 1.6ghz - I have 1.5 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 5, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-wants-1-6ghz-i-have-1-5/498763 "2009-06-05T01:45:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-wants-1-6ghz-i-have-1-5/498763/1 "2009-06-05T01:45:42Z")
I’m thinking of moving to Visual Studio 2008. But I’m using a Lenovo notebook PC that uses a Intel Core2 Duo CPU running at 1.5ghz, and VS2008 specifies a minimum of 1.6ghz. Could this work, or will I soon be looking for a new PC? Any thoughts on VS2008 vs 2005 would also be welcome. Note that I’m hoping to stick with WinXP for a while yet. ---
**Author:** ![Casserole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b77776/32.png) [@Casserole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casserole)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-wants-1-6ghz-i-have-1-5/498763/2 "2009-06-05T02:23:24Z")
> [@](#): > > # Minimum: 1.6 GHz CPU, 384 MB RAM, 1024x768 display, 5400 RPM hard disk > > # Recommended: 2.2 GHz or higher CPU, 1024 MB or more RAM, 1280x1024 display, 7200 RPM or higher hard disk > > # On Windows Vista: 2.4 GHz CPU, 768 MB RAM It is asking for a 1.6 GHz single core processor, from the last-generation Pentium 4 processors. You’re more than qualified 🙂 Even if you had a 1.5 GHz Pentium 4 Processor, the program _should_ install and run fine… it would just be a tad on the slow side. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-wants-1-6ghz-i-have-1-5/498763/3 "2009-06-05T15:24:55Z")
I don’t see in those specs anything distinguishing signle vs multi-core processors. The sad fact is that 1.6 GHz is the minumum, and 2.2 is the recommended speed. I’m sure the app will be functional on your 1.5, but you’ll be itching to buy a new computer pretty soon. Also, you probably do not have a 7200 rpm drive in that laptop, so disk access may be a trouble spot. I just had a look at Visual Studio - I thought it was a video editing app…couldn’t be much father wrong there. \ The current specs are for a minimum 2.2 GHz processor, and recommend a 2.6, so you’ll be absolutely miserable trying to run it on that laptop. ---
**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-wants-1-6ghz-i-have-1-5/498763/4 "2009-06-05T16:03:31Z")
Anecdotally, I run VS2005 in a _virtual machine_, where the VM files are on _an external USB drive_, and it runs pretty ok. With 512 MB devoted to the VM, and I have not felt the need to increase that. I do asp .net projects in it (database server in a separate machine). I think part of the reason why this setup works is because the VM is a very clean XP installation, with very little crap installed in it besides my dev tools. The VM host is a laptop with a 2Ghz AMD Turion 64 X2 processor. 4GB ram. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-wants-1-6ghz-i-have-1-5/498763/5 "2009-06-05T17:27:21Z")
If you are a C# or .NET user, I think VS 2008 add some pretty cool stuff to Generics as well as extension methods (being able to add methods to a class definition without changing it at all, by creating a new proxy class). ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-wants-1-6ghz-i-have-1-5/498763/6 "2009-06-05T18:48:08Z")
I’ve generally found that, for software, the minimum specs are the absolute, rock-bottom, bare-bones minimum required to just get the program to actually run. You won’t be able to actually use it until you get somewhere close to the recommended specs. But the single-core/dual-core issue may make up for it.