Doesn't look like it to me.
It runs fine for me on 2GB RAM.
Windows 7 took a little over 9GB on my HD

The Windows Experience Index assessment has Gaming graphics which is 3D business and gaming graphics performance as my lowest subscore, but Graphics which is Desktop performance for Windows Aero is among the higher scores.
I have a 128MB Ati video card.

All software has been compatible, except for a antivirus that would install, settled for eset nod32, after avg & avast failed to install.
Microsoft will be releasing a antivirus-partners list in the future.

I get the feeling this OS was built for performance vs Vista for security and if Vista ran for you, 7 will do better.
I know there will be complaints in the beginning just like every time a new OS comes out.
I think most people will love the Superbar, which is the taskbar on steroids where you can pin all your desktop icons and leave the desktop free of clutter.

I'm not going to try it on my 15 year old Pentium 111, which still runs both XP & Vista as a dual boot.

Randy where did you get Windows 7 and how do you have it installed as a dual boot or what?

I tried my darn est to get dual boot since i had a fresh install of XP Media Edition and wanted to keep it while I experimented with 7, but couldn't make it work on the same HD, even using my favorite tool VistaBootPro which had always worked before with xp-vista.
So I gave up and formated the HD and only have Windows 7 now.
Started with Windows 7 Pre Beta 6801, but they are only 30 days before you have to activate.
Luckily, Windows 7 Beta 7000 came out the other day and I did a upgrade which gave me another 30 days.

I have 2 computers hooked to a KVM switch, so I can switch back and forth using the same monitor and as long as one machine is working, I can fool around with the other.

Windows 7 installs fast, no 39 minute wait like xp & vista

search for
7000.0.081212-1400_client_en-us_Ultimate-GB1CULFRE_EN_DVD

It'll be a 2.43GB ISO file using bitorrent protocol for download.

Thanks for that...

To answer your question for Win 7
As of now:
Minimum recommended specs call for:

1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor

1 GB of system memory

16 GB of available disk space

Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (to enable the Aero theme)

and at the end they add:
like anything tech-related, these specs could change.

Can the 128MB graphics be on-board or will it require a separate video card? I have 3GB memory, so hopefully the integrated graphics will be okay with this. Never wanted Vista, but sort of "pining" for W7.

they did a public release yesterday of Windows 7 beta.
Windows 7 Beta
that is from the Windows 7 team blog

I know a few people beta testing that are liking it ok so far.

Randy did you see this, or anyone Dual boot windows 7

Here is a link that might be useful: how-to-dual-boot-windows-7

Thanks Joe,
That's how I do it or did it.
I got the Win 7 Public Beta release now with a product key that is good till August 1st, so I'm going to put Win 7 on a secondary HD, since my main HD is a 74GB WD Raptor, which doesn't give me much wiggle room for 2 OS's and long term future use, the good thing is that's it's 10,000 rpm, but for tons of software, that's small.
Never tried a triple boot, interesting.

grandms, the 128MB on-board graphics will be fine.
I did Vista with a 32MB card and really didn't miss out on much, in fact they were selling Vista ready computers with only 32MB.
If you're into 3D and gaming graphics performance like the kids, then you'll a need big buck video card, but for desktop performance for Windows Aero, you're good to go.

I'm liking Win 7, sure there are preliminary bugs and crashes at times doing some things with different software and reports are sent to MS, but that's why it's beta and testing and why they released the public beta to the first 2.5 million people, to get feedback.
There was a big demand and release was delayed 6-8 hours while more servers were set up to handle the traffic so you'd have a good download experience with a little speed.

good thread going on here at BBR
Windows 7 Beta Direct Download

looks like running in Virtual Machine may be an excellent option to try.

Unfortunately, I don't have Vista, so guess I'll have to wait until the final release and install from scratch, not do an upgrade. I wasn't thinking about that when I asked the question.

for those interested in Windows 7 Beta you might like this article.
Extend the Windows 7 Trial from 30 to 120 Days
(without requiring a key)

I read on some Internet articles that Windows 7 includes a feature to somehow enhance the use/experience of PCs with touch screens. It would be great if the concept of touch screens could replace the use of mice but I don't know... how well will these touch screens work, last or if you could really could use them to replace mice (at this point it sounds like an expensive replacement/solution). I ran into two types that HP has on their website, one called the Touchmart Series (huuuuge screens, 20+ inches) and the Touchmart tx2z (tablet model, 12"). Do not sound good for the consumer/home market. Perhaps better but not necessarily cheaper, could they add voice recognition software integrated with the o/s? I tried some packages several years ago and was not impressed then.