Microsoft, for the first time, is telling PC owners exactly what it’ll take for them to run its forthcoming Windows Vista OS.

As expected, the software giant on May 18 unveiled its Windows Vista Get Ready Web site, along with a set of minimum PC hardware guidelines for Vista Capable PCs — which call for at least an 800MHz processor, 512MB of RAM and a DirectX 9-capable graphics processor, but ask for more for those who seek to use all of Vista’s features — and an Windows Upgrade Advisor application as part of a campaign to prepare people.

Vista, Microsoft’s first major overhaul of Windows since 2001, promises numerous updates for performance, security and productivity.