gxsaurav

U r getting it all wrong, have u ever read the UI guidelines for Windows Vista made by Microsoft, about how the Fonts should be drwan on scree by other softwares, & how WPA works

Vista UI is SM 2.0, but it nothing complex like games, games are far more complex, a simple GLass UI can be made simply with 20 or even less instruction, cos if u say, Vista UI sux in FX cards, then howcome Kororaa Linux, with about same glass like interface works fluidely, after all despite of being OpenGL is passing instructions only

The DirectX 8.1 fallback path is for games, not the UI of vista. Shader code is shader code, but as i said previously, Shader code of Vista UI is not as complex as that of a game, there is no direct comparision

according to Microsoft, U need a GFX card with 128 MB RAM to run upto 1600X1200 resolution, beyond that u need 256 MB card, all the graphics card has to do is the ability to calculate SM 2.0, & since the code isn't as complex as a game, even a FX 5200 will run it as smooth as a 7600GT

however, i would recomend new buyers to go for a Geforce 6 or 7 series gfx card, reason, they are more available & provide more features then FX cards (Purevideo, SM3.0, etc)