What is the minimum graphics card that supports Windows Aero?

Question

I want transparency, mini previews when hover on taskbar buttons, etc.

The lowest graphics card that I've tested is an Nvidia GeForce 6100. I've found in the market GeForce FX5200/5500 but I don't know if it works. What is the minimum ATI/NVIDIA graphics card to support Windows Aero?

Answer 1

This information is available on the Windows Vista System Requirements page from Microsoft:

A Windows Aero-capable graphics card is a graphics card that meets the following requirements:

• Supports a Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver
• Has a DirectX 9-class graphics processor unit (GPU) that supports Pixel Shader 2.0
• Supports 32 bits per pixel
• Passes the Windows Aero acceptance test in the Windows Driver Kit (WDK)

Essentially, any GPU with DX9 and a driver that supports Aero will be capable of running all of the accelerated graphics features like window transparency, taskbar previews, etc. I have successfully run Windows Aero on an Nvidia FX5200, which you asked about in your post.

Answer 2

Any Nvidia Geforce 5 or above should support it