Visual Studio .NET Hardware Requirements
This topic includes hardware requirements for installing the various Visual Studio .NET editions, the Standard editions available for Visual Studio .NET programming languages, and tips for improving the performance of Visual Studio .NET.
Visual Studio .NET Editions
The computer on which you install your Visual Studio .NET edition should meet the following system requirements.
| Requirement | Enterprise Architect | Enterprise Developer | Professional | Academic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | PC with a Pentium II-class processor, 450 MHz Recommended: Pentium III-class, 600MHz1 | Same | Same | Same |
| RAM | Windows 2000 Professional — 96 MB; Windows 2000 Server — 192 MB; Windows XP Home — 96 MB; Windows XP Professional & Windows Server 2003 — 192 MB Recommended: 128 MB for 2000 Professional, 256 MB for 2000 Server, 160 MB for XP Home, 256 MB for XP Professional & Windows Server 20031 | Same | Same | Same |
| Available Hard Disk Space | 900 MB on system drive, 4.1 GB installation drive2 | Same | Same | Same |
| Operating System | Windows® 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, or Windows NT 4.03,4,5 | Same | Same | Same |
| CD-ROM Drive or DVD-ROM | Required6 | Required | Required | Required |
| Video | 800 x 600, 256 colors Recommended: High Color 16-bit | Same | Same | Same |
| Mouse | Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device | Same | Same | Same |
1Performance has not been tuned for minimum system configuration. Increasing your RAM above the recommended system configuration will increase your performance, specifically when running multiple applications, working with large projects, or doing enterprise-level development.
2When you start the Visual Studio .NET installer, the default installation location is your system drive, which is the drive that boots your system. However, you can install the application on any drive. Regardless of the application's location, the installation process installs some files on your system drive. Consequently, ensure that the above amount of space is available on your system drive regardless of the application's location, and ensure that additional space, as listed above, is available on the drive on which you install the application.
3Windows NT 4.0 supports only the installation of remote components. You cannot install Visual Studio on Windows NT 4.0. For information on the hardware requirements for other products that are included in some Visual Studio .NET editions, read their associated readme files.
4Windows XP Home does not support local Web application development; local Web application development is only supported in Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003.
5Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server is not a supported operating system.
6The type of media provided with the product determines whether a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM is required.
Standard Editions
The computer on which you install your edition should meet the following system requirements.
| Requirement | Visual Basic | Visual C++ | Visual C# | Visual J# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | PC with a Pentium II-class processor, 450 MHz Recommended: Pentium III-class, 600MHz1 | Same | Same | Same |
| RAM | Windows 2000 Professional — 96 MB; Windows 2000 Server — 192 MB; Windows XP Home — 96 MB; Windows XP Professional & Windows Server 2003 — 192 MB Recommended: 128MB for 2000 Professional, 256 MB for 2000 Server, 160 MB for XP Home, 256 MB for XP Professional & Windows Server 20031 | Same | Same | Same |
| Available Hard Disk Space | 750 MB on system drive, 2.5 GB installation drive2 | Same | Same | Same |
| Operating System | Windows® 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, or Windows NT 4.03,4,5 | Same | Same | Same |
| CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Drive | Required6 | Same | Same | Same |
| Video | 800 x 600, 256 colors Recommended: High Color 16-bit | Same | Same | Same |
| Mouse | Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device | Same | Same | Same |
1Performance has not been tuned for minimum system configuration. Increasing your RAM above the recommended system configuration will increase your performance, specifically when running multiple applications, working with large projects, or doing enterprise level development.
2When you start the Visual Studio .NET installer, the default installation location is your system drive, which is the drive that boots your system. However, you can install the application on any drive. Regardless of the application's location, the installation process installs some files on your system drive. Consequently, ensure that the above amount of space is available on your system drive regardless of the application's location, and ensure that additional space, as listed above, is available on the drive on which you install the application.
3 Windows NT 4.0 supports only the installation of remote components. You cannot install Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual C#, or Visual J# on Windows NT 4.0. For information on the hardware requirements for other products that are included in some editions, read their associated readme files.
4Windows XP Home does not support local Web application development; local Web application development is only supported in Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003.
5Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server is not a supported operating system.
6The type of media provided with the product determines whether a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM is required.
Performance Tips
Listed below are some ways to help improve the overall performance of this product on your computer.
General tips:
- Turn off virus checking on devenv.exe.
- Defragment your hard drive after installing the product.
- Check the recommended RAM and processor requirements for the edition you have installed, and consider upgrading your memory or disk speed.
While you have the integrated development environment (IDE) open:
- Before you shut down your machine, close any tool windows that you do not use at start up to increase your start up speed the next time you launch.
- Do not choose to display the Properties window on start up of the IDE. The Properties window displays automatically when you open a solution.
See Also
Visual Studio .NET Software Requirements | Installation and Setup
