0 in hardware. And because Aero Glass guzzles CPU cycles, you??™ll want a
fast processor and a fast video card to enjoy it.
Second, it can be a little tricky to get all the pieces in place so that Vista will
even give you the option of enabling the Glass interface.
So, without further ado, here??™s a fairly foolproof procedure to get Glass on
your PC.
Part 1: Hardware
The number-one ingredient in a good Glass experience is a fast graphics
card with sufficient video memory onboard.
A faster card, which you can only get by spending money on a replacement
and installing it in your PC, will help offload the burden of the Glass interface,
so your CPU is free to handle other tasks. (The exception is if you have
a video card with a chip that can be overclocked, akin to ???Overclock Your
Processor,??? later in this chapter.) The card must also support a 3D feature
called Pixel Shader 2.0 in its hardware (not software), and must be compatible
with DirectX 9.
Modern desktop PCs take PCI-Express (PCIE) cards, and
while Glass-capable PCIE cards are common, it can be difficult
to find a sufficiently powerful card designed for the AGP
slot in an older PC. But if you??™re not adverse to scrounging
on eBay for a used or discontinued card, nVidia??™s 6800 series
of AGP cards are up to the task, and supported by nVidia??™s
frequently updated Vista drivers. If you??™re looking for topnotch
AGP performance, look for a card with the nVidia
6800Ultra chip and 256 Mb of onboard memory.
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