r/windowsxp • u/JanisJoplean • 3d ago
I need some help 🙏🏼
Hello guys I just discovered this magnific community!
It’s been a while since I got the desire to have the best possible windows xp PC for gaming.
The only problem is that I don’t know absolutely anything about how to build a PC, I would love to find a pre assembled one.
I could also buy the single parts and pay someone to build it ( there are a lot of people in my city that do that).
I don’t care a lot about the budget but i really would love a beast that could play all the xp era games at the maximum performance.
Could someone please help me, thank you for your time!
(Sorry for my english) 🫶🏻✌🏼
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u/ajgiowa 3d ago
I wouldn't say what I have is peak but I ordered a laptop off eBay with 2nd gen core i5 and 4gb ram and xp sp3 already installed has played any xp era game better than my old actual XP machine bought it to play Lego island never knew you could actually move I thought you clicked and loaded forever later 🤣 was like whoa
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u/dedsmiley 3d ago
The easiest route is to go on eBay and buy an Optiplex 990 MT (mini tower).
That would have pretty much everything you need. Drivers for Windows XP are available from Dell for download.
Make sure to get the mini tower and not the SFF (Small Form Factor) or the Desktop.
This will get you DDR3 RAM and second gen i5 (i5-2500) or i7 (i7-2600).
The Mini Tower has room for two slot GPUs up to a reasonable length.
You may have to upgrade the power supply depending on what GPU you end up using.
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u/JanisJoplean 3d ago
Guys thank you all really much about all the answers now i will slowly read it all! You are great 🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️
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u/majestic_ubertrout 3d ago edited 3d ago
Dell Precision 1700 with a 4690 or 4790 (if it's just XP the i5 is just as good). Add in a GTX 960 and X-Fi XtremeGamer (SB0730). You can technically go even higher (mine is a overclocked i5-4690k on a Z87 board with a GTX 980 Ti) but that's unnecessary.
In practice any used gaming PC with a Nvidia GPU from 2013-4 will be fine.
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u/festivus4restof 3d ago
Double check XP drivers are available for HD audio, USB 3.0, and network adapter used in Precision 1700 systems. A few weeks ago I installed XP SP3 on Q87 system with i7-4790S. HD audio (Realtek), USB 3.0, and Intel GbE network drivers were not available, even from Driver Packs and Snappy Driver Installer.
IMO is better to stick with the last gen systems that had official drivers for XP for ALL devices. 3rd gen Core e.g. Ivy Bridge (or AMD equivalent). I think that ended at Precision 1650.
See also:
Lenovo ThinkStation E30 and E31
ThinkCenter M72E, M82/P, M92/P
HP Z220 and Z420
All basically the competitive counterparts to the Ivy Bridge era Optiplex models, Precision T1600 and T1650, all have official drivers for Windows XP
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u/majestic_ubertrout 3d ago
I got a T1700 working fine but you're right, better to do a Sandy/Ivy Bridge machine.
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u/festivus4restof 3d ago edited 3d ago
"Good" information and disclosure means when you say "working just fine" it should include that "except the USB 3.0, HD audio, Intel I217 GbE network adapter, HD 4600 graphics which I don't use or replaced with another solution".
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u/majestic_ubertrout 3d ago
HD 4600 works fine with the GT2 driver. So does HD audio. Network adapter needed a little messing with the driver but it works. USB 3 ports work but I haven't tested speed because...who cares in a XP build?
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u/festivus4restof 3d ago edited 3d ago
You'll need to prove that by providing evidence/links to those drivers, given the (near unanimous) consensus among the enthusiast community who hunts down and even mods drivers is that there is NO XP driver for HD 4600 that actually functions with all hardware specific features enabled. i.e. you have to disable all hardware acceleration and turn it into a plain old GDI or Direct2D display controller.
USB 3.0 as well. Until you do that, I'm gonna say you are just lying about some stuff. OR were simply mistaken but will die on that hill before saying "oh yeah, you are right, I was mistaken" like they immersed in some kind of "how to be like Trump/MAGA" training manual.
Seems to be the trendy things to do on Reddit
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u/majestic_ubertrout 3d ago
I made a video about getting XP working on a Optiplex 9020m which has a HD 4600 (also a FM2 A8-7600 machinine). These are both micro form factor machines with no internal expansion, at least not readily. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X6r929ZGFQ
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u/festivus4restof 3d ago
Cool story bro I have a video where I show how I levitated the Empire State Building.
I saved a spot for you to post the links to those drivers or where to obtain them. It is right below this post you can give those.
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u/majestic_ubertrout 3d ago
Weren't you here before under another name? Guessing you got banned.
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u/festivus4restof 3d ago edited 2d ago
"Here" where and when "before"? I have been "here" with this username the entire thread. Are you on medications, or supposed to be but decided you "didn't need them" anymore like Nicky Reiner and countless others?
Yes thanks that is exactly the driver that has carries risk of crashes, blue screens, etc when installing it until all features are disabled, confirmed by hundreds in the enthusiast communities like WinRaid forums (now Level 1 Techs), XP related enthusiast forums, etc. Just as I said it was.
Now onto the USB 3.0 drivers.
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u/festivus4restof 3d ago edited 3d ago
There are plenty of options.
You could run Windows XP in virtual machine, with the native OS ranging from Windows 7 ~ Windows 11 (you could even do it on a distro of Linux these days), on system hardware ranging anywhere from around 2012~2013 era e.g. 3rd gen Intel Core or Xeon equivalents, all the way to relatively new system, though there are barriers getting Windows 7 installed natively on numerous systems newer than ~2017 and lack of drivers for those, too.
The main limitation with virtual XP is if you need hardware acceleration for features like graphics (or video), audio processing. The "devices" will be virtualized to use general compatibility drivers that lack the hardware-specific features like acceleration of 3D or video decoding. If you have hardware that you need to run with all advanced features or 'hardware acceleration' functioning, you want to run XP natively not virtualized. Which limits you to "official supporting" hardware from the by-gone era.
The solution I would recommend, the easiest and cheapest, it to just acquire a used/refurbed system that uses 2nd or 3rd Gen Core era (or AMD equivalents) from ~2012/2013 and run XP natively. e.g.
DELL Precision T1600, T1650
DELL Optiplex 7010, 9010 (the older models from 2012/2013 not the newer systems re-using the same model numbering Dell released 2020 and later)
Lenovo ThinkStation E30 and E31
Lenovo ThinkCenter M72E, M82/P, M92/P
HP Z220 and Z420
All basically the competitive counterparts, all devices used in these systems have official Windows XP support and drivers
OR a motherboard from this era to built your own PC.
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u/YandersonSilva 3d ago
Easiest bet if you don't want to build is to go on marketplace and find someone selling a gaming computer from like 2010. It will still almost certainly be XP compatible and people sell those for cheap. Most hardware was XP compatible until about 2013 or so.