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Compatible hardware with Windows Vista


WinClient5270

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Introduction:

Here, you will find a list of AMD/Intel CPUs/chipsets and Intel/NVIDIA/AMD GPUs which support Microsoft® Windows Vista™. If you have any additions that aren't currently listed, feel free to reply with them and they will be added as soon as possible. 

Supported CPUs:

Intel (Desktop/Server):

Note: Windows Vista has been known to work with Pentium III and even some Pentium II processors, however this configuration is extremely suboptimal and the OS is practically unusable on these processors, so using at least a Pentium 4 (Prescott), plus installing Windows Vista Service Pack 2 is recommended for acceptable performance.

  • Intel Pentium 4 (Prescott, 2004-2005) *x64 is only supported from the Pentium 4 505 Processor and newer
  • Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition (Prescott, 2005) *Supports both x86 and x64
  • Intel Pentium 4 HT (Northwood, 2003-2004) *x86 only
  • Intel Pentium 4 HT (Prescott, 2004-2005) *x64 is only supported by F-series, 5x1, 517, 524 and few OEM models in E-series (SL7QB, SL7Q8)
  • Intel Pentium 4 HT (Prescott 2M, 2005) *Supports both x86 and x64
  • Intel Pentium 4 HT (Cedar Mill, 2006) *Supports both x86 and x64
  • Intel Pentium D & Pentium Extreme Edition, all models
  • Intel Celeron, all Netburst-based models (Williamette & Northwood-128, 2002-2003) *x86 only
  • Intel Celeron D (Prescott, 2004-2005) *x64 only supported by 3x1, 3x6, 355 models
  • Intel Celeron D (Cedar Mill, 2006-2007) *Supports both x86 and x64
  • Intel Celeron *all Core-based and newer models up to Ivy Bridge based Celerons; Braswell/Haswell and later do not properly work with Vista.
  • Intel Core 2 Duo, all models
  • Intel Core 2 Extreme, all models
  • Intel Core 2 Quad, all models
  • Intel Pentium up to Sandy/Ivy Bridge G series processors; Haswell and later do not properly work with Vista. 
  • Intel Core i3 *all models up to 3rd generation Ivy Bridge processors; Haswell and later do not properly work with Vista.
  • Intel Core i5 *all models up to 3rd generation Ivy Bridge processors; Haswell and later do not properly work with Vista.
  • Intel Core i7 *all models up to 3rd generation Ivy Bridge processors; Haswell and later do not properly work with Vista.
  • Intel Xeon 1.4 "Foster" - Intel Xeon 3.2 "Gallatin" *x86 only
  • Intel Xeon, all models from 2.8 "Nocona" to 3rd generation Ivy Bridge Xeon processors; Haswell and later do not properly work with Vista.

Intel (Mobile):

  • Intel Pentium M, all models *86 only
  • Intel Pentium 4-M, all models *x86 only
  • Mobile Pentium 4, all models *x86 only
  • Mobile Pentium 4 HT, all models *x86 only
  • Intel Atom *all models up to Bonnell microarchitecture (2012); Silvermont (2014) and later may not properly work with Vista (not yet tested).
  • Intel Core Solo, all models
  • Intel Core Duo, all models
  • Intel Core 2 Solo, all models
  • Intel Core 2 Duo, all models
  • Intel Core 2 Quad, all models
  • Intel Core 2 Extreme, all models
  • Intel Pentium up to Sandy/Ivy Bridge mobile processors, Haswell and later do not properly work with Vista.
  • Intel Core i3 *all models up to 3rd generation Ivy Bridge processors; Haswell and later do not properly work with Vista.
  • Intel Core i5 *all models up to 3rd generation Ivy Bridge processors; Haswell and later do not properly work with Vista.
  • Intel Core i7 *all models up to 3rd generation Ivy Bridge processors; Haswell and later do not properly work with Vista.

AMD (Desktop/Server):

  • AMD Athlon 800 - Athlon 1000 (Pluto/Orion, 2000) *x86 only
  • AMD Athlon 800 - Athlon 1400C (Thunderbird, 2000-2001) *x86 only
  • AMD Duron 800 or later (2000-2003) *x86 only
  • AMD Athlon XP, all models (2001-2003) *x86 only
  • AMD Athlon 64, all models
  • AMD Athlon 64 X2, all models (X2 & K10)
  • AMD Phenom, all models
  • AMD Opteron, all models
  • AMD Sempron (Palermo, Socket 754; July/August 2005) *x64 only supported by all models with an OPN ending in BX and CV)
  • AMD Sempron (Palermo, Socket 939; October 2005) *x64 only supported by all models with an OPN ending in BW
  • AMD Sempron "Manilla" or later, all models
  • AMD FX (Bulldozer Family), all models
  • AMD Ryzen (all Summit Ridge models; Raven Ridge has yet to be tested)

AMD (Mobile):

  • AMD Mobile Sempron, all models (2003-2006) *x86 only
  • AMD Mobile Athlon 64, all models (2004-2005) 
  • AMD Turion 64, all models (2005) 
  • AMD Kite Platform - AMD Carrizo Platform, all CPUs & APUs (2006-2015); Bristol Ridge (2016) may work but has yet to be tested.

 

Supported GPUs:

Intel GPUs:

  • Intel 915GM/GMS will work with Windows Vista by using XP drivers, however Aero Glass isn't supported due to lack of WDDM drivers.
  • Intel GMA 950 (Desktop: 945GC, 945GZ, 945G; Mobile: 945 Family) or newer, last Intel GPU to support Vista is Intel HD 4000 series (Ivy Bridge; Desktop and Mobile). Download Intel HD 4000 Graphics Drivers for Vista: 32 bit - 64 bit

ATI/AMD GPUs:

  • ATI Radeon 9250 and all later GPUs released prior to the 9500 will work with Vista using XP drivers, however Aero Glass isn't supported due to lack of WDDM drivers.
  • ATI Radeon 9500 or later; last AMD GPU to support Vista is AMD RX 300 series; drivers are coming soon.
  • The first official version of ATI Catalyst to support Vista is version 7.1. The last official version of AMD Catalyst to support Vista is version 13.12 (Download: 32 bit  64 bit). However, newer versions up to 15.6 Beta for Windows 7 can be modified to work on Vista. View this thread for more details.

NVIDIA GPUs:

  • NVIDIA GeForce FX 5100 and later
  • NVIDIA GeForce 8 series to GeForce 300 series; download recommended driver here: 32 bit  64 bit
  • NVIDIA GeForce 400 series and later; last NVIDIA GPU to officially support Vista was the GTX 980 along with driver version 365.19. Download here: 32 bit  64 bit -  Note: Vista 3D Vision support was dropped around version 310.00.
  • The GTX 1060, 1070, and 1080 can also be made to work with Vista, as driver versions up to 372.70 work with Vista, albeit not officially supported by NVIDIA. Download here: 32 bit  64 bit -  Note: DirectX applications aren't properly utilized by these drivers under Windows Vista, so this will cause a bottleneck in performance over using the GTX 980 or older, where the 365.19 drivers (more optimized for Vista as they're officially supported) can be used.

 

Final Apple Mac Computers to support Vista via Boot Camp:

  • iMac; all Late-2009 models
  • Macbook Air; all Mid-2009 models (32-bit only)
  • Macbook and Macbook Pro; all Mid-2010 models
  • Mac Mini; Mid-2010 (This is the only Mac Mini to support Windows Vista 64-bit; earlier models are 32-bit only.)
  • Mac Pro; Mid-2010

Miscellaneous Hardware:

  • Looking for an Xbox One Controller driver for Windows Vista? View this thread for download + how to install (HUGE THANKS TO @GTAGAME for this.)
  • Download Elgato HD 60 S Capture Card drivers here - to install, extract the exe with 7-ZIP and manually install the drivers in Device Manager (thanks again to GTAGAME for pointing this out).
Edited by WinClient5270
Fixed broken link; updated some information
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all of the netburst and later celerons (up to 3rd gen) should not have an issue running Vista on their respective architectures.

And there may have been some early Intel Atom NetBooks capable of running Vista, however not very well, being Netbooks

I'm pretty sure the Intel 945 chip set was the first to have an Aero driver  

Edited by i430VX
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3 hours ago, i430VX said:

all of the netburst and later celerons (up to 3rd gen) should not have an issue running Vista on their respective architectures.

And there may have been some early Intel Atom NetBooks capable of running Vista, however not very well, being Netbooks

I'm pretty sure the Intel 945 chip set was the first to have an Aero driver  

Thanks for the information, I've added the processor information to the list. I've come to a stopping point for now. I'll work on motherboards and GPUs tomorrow. Any input is appreciated, as this is going to be quite the task. :yes:

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Phew... after a lot of research and work, this post is mostly complete. Now I just need you, @greenhillmaniac, to repost your experience with using Vista on Ryzen, plus the RX 300 series drivers that you discovered recently, whenever you get a chance. If you're busy, I understand, there's no rush :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

Here's my experience with AMD Ryzen CPUs on Vista: they work great!

KFZF64k.jpg

There are no random BSOD or services not starting like Haswell or above. USB 3.x drivers for Windows 7 work just fine on Vista, but you can't slipstream them into the installation, because they are not signed for NT 6.0. You'll need to have a PS/2 keyboard at hand (you only really need the keyboard). A few drivers you should not install, because they do not work:

  • AMD PCI
  • AMD GPIO (this one will make your system unbootable!)

Everything else works just fine. I've used a MSI B350 PC Mate motherboard with 16GB of DDR4 RAM. Had to enable legacy USB, enable CSM and disable Secure Boot. After that, I was able to boot Vista in UEFI.

Hope this (really late) post helps, since you've asked ages ago @WinClient5270 :)

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  • 4 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

I don't think that anyone today is using Windows Vista for streaming or gaming but i'm pleased to say that the Elgato HD 60 S works fine on Windows Vista! It's a USB 3 1080p 60 FPS capture card which is widely known by Twitch streamers and is only meant to work on Windows 10. So @WinClient5270 you can add it to the list, if you like :)

https://gc-updates.elgato.com/windows/drivers/hd60-s/download.php download the drivers from here, extract the exe with 7-ZIP and manually install the drivers in device-manager. The Elgato Streaming Software doesn't work because the installer blocks it but it's useless anyway because it doesn't have that much options and OBS is better for recording stuff.

I'm also using the USB 3.1 TYPE-A PCIe CARD (works just fine on Vista) which allows you to play the games directly in the preview window with no delay! DRIVERS

Unbenannt-1.thumb.jpg.68b28f8a2e464fa17c3c8bbb3a630411.jpg

Edited by GTAGAME
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  • 1 month later...

I modified the 372.70 to run GTX 1050 Ti. I just took NT6.1 entries and name entries from 391.35 INF's and added to the according INF files (there are 3 plus INF files on 391.35 version but it doesn't effect anything. You can add these 3 INF files to the 372.70 but i didn't tested installer with that 3 INF files). If you didn't take name entries from the 391.35, GTX 1050 Ti will be shown as "NVIDIA DEV 1C82" or something. Aero is working and i even played a 4K video on MPC-HC without any lag. But when i played GTA San Andreas, it gives 5-10 FPS. So, GTX 1050 Ti just functions like other GTX 1060/70/80. If you want that INF files, i can upload the files.

Edited by Osman Kovan
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  • 2 weeks later...

Someone may have mentioned this before, but Windows Vista seems to run fine with Haswell if it is installed on another computer and then the hard drive is moved to a Haswell system. I tried this with Windows Vista 32-bit (but it should work with any version) and had no problems arise. I didn't install drivers or do any extensive testing but it seemed to be fine. This was with a Q87 motherboard and an i7-4790 CPU. I do plan on setting up the OS properly in the future, so I'll see if anything changes.

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I installed Vista on my Haswell laptop, and it appeared to work fine, didn't have drivers for the Intel HD Graphics though, so I can't really use it with aero or game on it. My laptop is an MSI GS60 2QE with an i7 4720HQ
 

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Vista 32 bit does not work on B350 chipset (Ryzen).

Only the 64 bit legacy Vista version works.

On the Asrock fatal1ty ab350 gaming k4 it is impossible to have any kind of Vista 32 bit,

because there is no APIC mode in Bios, only PIC.

And because of this you get BSOD "no Acpi compatible Bios",

no matter if you install Vista or use it from another compi (I try Vista 32 bit from AM3+ board)

Dietmar

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  • 4 weeks later...

OptiPlex 390 has full support, currently testing UEFI (GPT) support under Vista x64 SP1

Also I’ve tried a Haswell (actually Braswell - Celeron N3050) on Vista x64 SP2 back in late 2017 and the only real issue was the Intel USB 3.0 drivers were missing, as well as obviously the graphics, no other issues were present as far as could tell (using legacy boot MBR)

Edited by digzu
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  • 1 month later...

This is one of the most useful Windows Vista posts anywhere! I realize that the topic is hardware rather than drivers, but NVIDIA drivers are not covered in Last versions of software for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 (another extremely useful post).

On 7/6/2018 at 6:30 PM, WinClient5270 said:

NVIDIA GPUs:

  • NVIDIA GeForce 5200 and later; last NVIDIA GPU to officially support Vista was the GTX 980 along with driver version 365.19. Download here: 32 bit  64 bit -  Note: Vista 3D Vision support was dropped around version 310.00.
  • The GTX 1060, 1070, and 1080 can also be made to work with Vista, as driver versions up to 372.70 work with Vista, albeit not officially supported by NVIDIA. Download here: 32 bit  64 bit -  Note: DirectX applications aren't properly utilized by these drivers under Windows Vista, so this will cause a bottleneck in performance over using the GTX 980 or older, where the 365.19 drivers (more optimized for Vista as they're officially supported) can be used.

This gives the impression that 365.19 was the one and only last driver version to officially support Vista, but that is generally only the correct driver for GeForce 400 Series and above. For GeForce 8 Series (I have an 8500 GT), and also 9, 100, 200 and 300 Series, the recommended driver version is 342.01 ( 32 bit  64 bit ). Despite its lower version number, 342.01 was released 7 months after 365.19.

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On 8/13/2019 at 3:28 AM, Vistapocalypse said:

This is one of the most useful Windows Vista posts anywhere! I realize that the topic is hardware rather than drivers, but NVIDIA drivers are not covered in Last versions of software for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 (another extremely useful post).

This gives the impression that 365.19 was the one and only last driver version to officially support Vista, but that is generally only the correct driver for GeForce 400 Series and above. For GeForce 8 Series (I have an 8500 GT), and also 9, 100, 200 and 300 Series, the recommended driver version is 342.01 ( 32 bit  64 bit ). Despite its lower version number, 342.01 was released 7 months after 365.19.

Thanks for letting me know. NVIDIA drivers (as well as AMD GPU drivers) used to be covered in LVSFWV/2008, but I decided to move them here since I felt they would be more appropriate here since, although they are software (obviously), they are drivers pertaining to hardware listed here.

I have added them back to the software list since I see no harm in doing so:

On 3/1/2016 at 8:31 PM, WinClient5270 said:

NVIDIA GPU Drivers:

Recommended for GeForce 8, 9, 100, 200, & 300 series:

NVIDIA Display driver version 342.01 - Download: 32 bit   64 bit

Recommended for GeForce 400-900 series:

NVIDIA Display driver version 365.19 - Download: 32 bit  64 bit

Recommended for GeForce 1000 series, up to 1080ti:

NVIDIA Display driver version 372.70 - Download: 32 bit  64 bit
Note: DirectX applications aren't properly utilized by these drivers under Windows Vista, so this will cause a bottleneck in performance over using the GTX 980 or older, where the 365.19 drivers (more optimized for Vista as they're officially supported) can be used. Later drivers will not work on Windows Vista.
 

AMD/ATI GPU Drivers:

The first official version of ATI Catalyst to support Vista is version 7.1. The last official version of AMD Catalyst to support Vista is version 13.12 (Download: 32 bit  64 bit). However, newer versions up to 15.6 Beta for Windows 7 can be modified to work on Vista. View this thread for more details.

I must admit that my knowledge of hardware/driver compatibility is pretty shaky compared to my knowledge of program support for Windows Vista, so suggestions to improve this list are welcome.

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