In order to develop games using XNA Game Studio, you will need a computer capable of running both Visual C# 2010 Express and the XNA Framework extensions. The general requirements are:
Component Minimum requirement Notes
Operating System Windows Vista SP2
or
Windows 7 (All editions except Starter) As of XNA 4.0, Windows XP is no longer officially supported.
Graphics card Shader Model 1.1 support
DirectX 9.0 support Microsoft recommends Shader Model 2.0 support as it is required for many of the XNA Starter Kits and code samples. The projects in this book similarly require Shader Model 2.0 support.
Windows Phone DirectX 10 or later, Compatible Video Card Development tools include a Windows Phone emulator to test applications without deployment to a physical device.
Zune platform Zune Software 3.0 or higher, Visual C# 2008, XNA Game Studio 3.1 Only required if you plan to deploy games to a Zune handheld device. Zune development is supported under XNA 3.1.
Xbox Live Xbox Live Silver membership, XNA Creator's Club Premium membership Xbox Live Silver is free. The XNA Creator's Club Premium membership costs $49 for 4 months or $99 for 1 year.
Tip
HiDef vs. Reach
As of version 4.0, XNA now supports two different rendering profiles. The HiDef profile is available on the Xbox 360 and Windows PCs with DirectX 10 or better video cards, and uses Shader Model 3.0. The Reach profile is available on all XNA platforms, and uses Shader Model 2.0. If you have a DirectX 9 video card, or wish to distribute your games to computers with DirectX 9 support, you will need to right-click on your project in Solution Explorer and select Properties. On the XNA Game Studio tab, select the Reach profile.