preffered OS for Gaming ??

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 10:11 pm

I'm currently running XP1 on my system , but may be doing a reload soon ... I was considering setting up a couple partitions and a Dual boot while I'm at it ... I was wondering if 98SE is still the best gor gaming ( especially on newer games about to come out )

I've got a copy of 98, 98SE, ME ( form a restore CD ) and 2000 Pro

Also can you install two copies of XP on the same machine in differnet Partitions ??

Immortal · Post by **Immortal** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 10:13 pm

XP (pro) then I'd say 2k?

the rest .. sure, it sounds logical and I don't see no reason why it shouldn't work..

SRF01 · Post by **SRF01** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 10:51 pm

I've been running win2k Pro for over a year on my gaming comp and have had no problems at all.

Current games installed:
Battlefield 1942
- DC mod
- EOD mod
Soldier of Fortune 2
Quake 2
Quake 3
UT2k3
CS
Jedi knight 2
Jedi Academy
Mafia
RTCW
A few others that I can't recall. All of which run smooth.

I do have some friends that run XP and don't seem to have any problems either.

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 11:05 pm

well the main purpose I want a dual boot is so I can run an OS without all of the backround services and programs using up memory and processor

I have so many programs and installed components , I think for gaming it would be mor eeffecient and have better performance ...

Does The File system make any difference ? NTFS Vs FAT32

Immortal · Post by **Immortal** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 11:15 pm

what I hear and know is that it's good for os to be on ntfs for the stability or something.. and fat32 for files because it's a tad bit faster...

but don't take my word for it... wait for someone smart..

Rouse · Post by **Rouse** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 12:08 am

Never anything but 95 Baby!

Brk · Post by **Brk** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 8:18 am

Originally posted by Mytflyguy
well the main purpose I want a dual boot is so I can run an OS without all of the backround services and programs using up memory and processor

I have so many programs and installed components , I think for gaming it would be mor eeffecient and have better performance ...

Does The File system make any difference ? NTFS Vs FAT32

Win9x had memory leaks out the wazoo, plus Win2K and XP have better support overall for hardware and drivers. All you need to do is tweak your Services, use msconfig to eliminate useless startup programs and do some general GUI adjustment to achieve optimal performance.

Try these for XP:

BlackViper's XP Services Configuration/Tweaks
Listing of all the Services in XP, with descriptions of each and which ones can be disabled, set on a varying scale of importance.

Startup Program List
Tells you what all those mysterious programs are (alphabetically).

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 8:47 am

XP in my opinion. Main reason? Win9X cannot really efficiently utilize RAM past the 320 - 384 meg mark...you can stuff 512 megs (even more if you do the cachfile tweaks) into a 98 or ME system...but it's useless. Sure the OS will see that RAM, but it won't have a clue what to do with it. A system with 512 megs is really wasting that last 100 something megs...not used, not utilized well.

WinNT bases systems however can use the RAM well. And since most games now run best on systems with at least 512 megs of RAM...hey, there ya go!

Now, between XP and 2K? Your choice there. I prefer XP, it's newer, more compatible, better hardware support in my opinion, drivers are being developed more for XP than 2K, I have zero stability issues with either, they are both rock stable. On lesser systems, 2K may be the better choice (in my opinion, systems under 1 GHz CPU, under 512 megs RAM).

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 9:18 am

Ok ... Great thanks for the input ...

So I should have no problem dual booting to XP on two seperate partitions ?
Microsoft won't hunt me down and take away my HD will they ?? lol

thanks for the links Burke , I have become a little leary of disabling some suggested Services bcause I have suddenly gotten mysterious issues in various programs ... I do have several disabled which are causing no problems though ... When I reload the fresh OS I plan on hitting those right off the bat ...

Jim · Post by **Jim** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 8:54 pm

Hm..being that I'm still using 98SE on my gaming machine and 2k on my non-gaming one, I've got a question:

How does XP stand up for old-school DOS games or other older games (such as those that are Glide-based)?

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 8:54 am

Originally posted by Mytflyguy
Ok ... Great thanks for the input ...

So I should have no problem dual booting to XP on two seperate partitions ?
Microsoft won't hunt me down and take away my HD will they ?? lol

thanks for the links Burke , I have become a little leary of disabling some suggested Services bcause I have suddenly gotten mysterious issues in various programs ... I do have several disabled which are causing no problems though ... When I reload the fresh OS I plan on hitting those right off the bat ...

Heed my suggestions to others who play with services....expand Services Manager and take screenshots of the default settings before you play with it.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 8:55 am

Originally posted by Jim

How does XP stand up for old-school DOS games or other older games (such as those that are Glide-based)?

I've actually installed GLQuake (Quake 1 with OGL) on XP and it flew. Quake1 DOS didn't get running.

ScottE · Post by **ScottE** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 7:40 pm

Amiga

SeedOfChaos · Post by **SeedOfChaos** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 10:44 pm

Using 2k here... just a matter of preference between 2k and XP, really. The core is the same, the interface is where the difference lie. However, my friends' computers with XP seem to have slightly less stabilty than my machine, but that might be due to different reasons as well (hardware issues, driver issues, etc.).

NTFS can be faster than FAT32, but I don't remember the exact requirements for that. I think it had something to do with available space on the drive and more.

Cheers,
Ronald

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Sun Oct 05, 2003 10:33 am

Originally posted by SeedOfChaos
However, my friends' computers with XP seem to have slightly less stabilty than my machine, but that might be due to different reasons as well (hardware issues, driver issues, etc.).

NTFS can be faster than FAT32, but I don't remember the exact requirements for that. I think it had something to do with available space on the drive and more.

Cheers,
Ronald

Probably theirs isn't built as well. I have zero differences in stability between the two...both rock stable. Actually never really had problems with 98se either. I think it's more end users installation, hardware choices, and general use and practices on the computers that affect system stability.

NTFS is generally more efficient than FAT32 on partitions larger than..believe it or not, 32 gigs. Smaller than 32 gigs...and FAT32 takes the lead in efficiency.

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Sun Oct 05, 2003 8:04 pm

Ok so before I go through all of the trouble ... Do you guys think it would be benificiary to PArtition and Resinstall XP1 without all of the Virsu software and Office 2000 , none of the Instant messengers , Photo editing software , None of the various apps that want to run in the background ??? Ability to shut down more services because less things are there ???

OR do you think it will run pretty close to the same as is ??

gundamblade2 · Post by **gundamblade2** » Sun Oct 05, 2003 8:14 pm

true, your system may load faster without any of the software tht comes w/the disk.

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Tue Oct 07, 2003 8:13 am

Ok Well I finally got around to installing PM 8.0, Split off a 20 Gig Partition and installed only the OS and hardware needed so I don't have to keep unplugging my printer and all that stuff ....

so far so good, now I just need to get some new games soon ...

Tops on my list are

Max Payne 2 (sp?)
HL 2
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Doom 3 ( whenever it comes out )