"Thomas Andersson" wrote in message
...
Luca Villa wrote:

Now I miss the final prove that I would not perceive this 2D speed
difference when I'm working with tens of standard Windows
applications/ windows. For example every time I unlock Windows I
currently have to wait 10-15 seconds for all the windows and icons to
be restored/ painted on the screen. My system has a Geforce 7300
card. I wonder if the graphic card can positively influence this
speed.

Then skip the expensive gfx card (That won't help here) and get more ram
and a faster CPU (That WILL help).



Bingo!

Faster processing under Vista for standard "Desktop" Windows apps will be
*much* more impacted by a faster processer and plenty of RAM (2GB minimum).
Couple that with a decent $100 video card and you'll be in very good shape.

I have a middle of the road Dell with an AMD X2 5200+ CPU and 4GB RAM. From
"locked" desktop to everything back and ready to work is under 2 seconds.
From Sleep mode to everything back (desktop and all open windows apps ready
to go) is under 5 seconds.

I also have an NVIDIA 8800GT, but that only helps me in 3D gaming (and boy
does it help!), but I got essentially the exact same desktop response using
the 7300LE that originally came with my system. The 7300 LE probably costs
less than $50 today and it handled Aero and standard windows apps under
Vista very well...

-Riff