vista disk space requirments

[infamus]

Ok I can read the requirments from Microsoft but I am asking you guys.

I do have a couple extra drives for storage.

How much space does vista take up after updates and some programs? Lets say im putting it on a 150gb raptor

 

[General Crespin]

Under 30GB with my Ultimate 64-bit install.

Programs really don't take up much space. A few GB, unless PhotoShop or 3DS Max are huge (I don't have either so I can't say.)

EDIT: I just checked and Windows itself is only about 16GB. 1GB for Program Files, another 1GB for Users folder (basically my podcasts). The other ~4GB of space are reserved for the hibernation file. So if you don't ever use Sleep/Hibernate you could figure out how to turn it off and save some space. But with a 150GB Raptor that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Joe Average]

A full clean install of Vista Ultimate SP1 on a bare drive will take up approximately 10-11GB depending on the hardware you have in your machine - that 10-12 GB is made up of: the installation itself, the pagefile (so it could be higher based on how much RAM you have, take that into consideration), and the backups of most of the install files that are kept in the WinSxS folder (that's how Vista works, so don't muck with it, it's normal), and of course, temp files, System Restore using some space, etc. Also, the 10-12 GB figure will change quickly as applications are installed, drivers are upgraded, etc. WinSxS is Vista's storehouse for upgrades and updated driver files/OS patches - it never throws anything away, so keep that in mind. That's how it works, it's normal - so leave it alone.

A good ballpark figure for decent performance (on that Raptor 150GB) would be ~50GB for the system partition - that gives you plenty of space for the OS, the updates/backups that will get stored in WinSxS (that's how Vista works, don't much with it, it's normal), applications you might wish to install (some are fairly large nowadays, I understand that) and still have room to play.

Hell, if you're unsure, just give Vista the entire 150GB as a system/application drive and use other drives for storage, multimedia files, etc. - the kind of stuff that doesn't get loaded as part of the OS or specific applications. Raptors are made for performance, not storage, so use it as such and enjoy the benefits of the 10K rpm speed.

Don't worry about splitting/moving the pagefile all over the place: leave it on the Raptor, the system drive. If you must tweak it somewhat, just set it to match the size of your RAM (min/max the same) and then leave it alone.

Best tip I can offer about drive space:

Don't ever - and I mean EVER - let your partitions - especially the system partition - fill up more than 85% full. EVER. Doing so can lead to drastic slowdowns in system performance, and even possible data corruption. Defragmentation won't happen efficiently - and Vista defrags itself during idle periods so save your money and don't waste it on a third-party application; it's simply not necessary anymore - and other bad things can happen too.

 

[DeaconFrost]

If you leave your Raptor as one solid partition for the OS, games, and apps, you'll be fine.