I am using Intel(R) 915GM/GMS/910GML Express Chipset. This one is the default that I received when I bought a new laptop. It has around 128MB onboard video memory. I had seen on number of places AERO Glass does not work on low systems. My laptop is a Ace TravelMate Notebook. I just want to confirm that will Aero work on it or not. Is there any special kind of drivers needed to make this thing work.
There is proper drivers released for your board. Aero needs wddm drivers. Intel does not provide that for 915 chipset. So the clear answer is that you cannot use Aero on that. you will need to add a separate gpu on it. You can contact Acer to buy a portable laptop gpu. That would be costly but it is much more better for your system performance.
You can test that. You can try creating a dual boot system. It will give you clear result whether Aero will work or not. The board you are talking about offers 128MB video memory which looks to be a bit supportive. Check with Windows Upgrade advisor. It will give you a clear information whether your system will be able to use Vista or not. There is no clear driver available for Vista. Not even the audio or default video driver. You have to stick with XP only.
It is correct that there is no wddm driver available for 915 chipset. I am having a similar system with same motherboard. But there is a DX edition that you can try. Download and install DX8 and check that whether AERO works or not. Dual booting your system is a good choice if you are ready to take pain of formatting and adding a new kind of OS. The 915 chipset support DX9 and Pixel Shader 2.0. So there are chances of using Aero on it. But still Vista needs a better system. It is a bit more resource intensive OS compared to Windows XP.
There are various discussion on this. That Vista will work or not. See I had tested that on a similar board and it it did not worked. First it take hell lot of time to load. And if loads up there is a black screen. There is nothing your can do to make it work properly. It is much better if you skip the plan of using Vista or simply get a new system with higher hardware support. The onboard graphics are capable of giving you basic support only.
It is much better if you own a gpu. That will make your work more easier. For new OS upgrades are must. You cannot just ignore them. I have a Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop with has 2GB ram. It is has much better performance. Due to better onboard memory and better hardware I can use Vista flawlessly. So hardware plays a vital role in configuring or managing the system performance. It is not at all worth to ignore it.
it wont. need a dedicated GPU with dx9 and 128mb of video memory
It would be better if one can test it and then post some suggestions here. I am waiting for a new upgrade and I have the same motherboard. I cannot simply install or remove the old OS if this kind of problems are common.