Best Microsoft OS for gamers?

[weshuang]

OK, here's a question that I've been discussing in the OS forum, but thought it might get a little more exposure here.

I have a home pc that I use primarily for games, but which must also be compatible with work, where we run win98se, so I am limited to Microsoft os's. I currently have win98se at home, but am in the process of reformatting and reinstalling, so I am re-evaluating.

Given the better stability of win2k, but the games limitations, which is the better os for gaming?

I seemed to get almost no votes for ME, and actually got no votes for waiting for XP.

 

[iamwiz82]

win98se is the best for gaming.

 

[Pyxis]

Another vote for Win98SE

 

[weshuang]

Is this only because of the smaller number of games written for 2k? Won't that change in the future? I really don't play many old games.

How does 2k run games that are not coded for it (not sure if that question makes any sense)? Does it run them in the equivalent of a dos shell? Or must a game be coded for 2k to run at all?

 

[DannyLove]

win98se since win2k has a lot of problems with drivers and such

 

[Namuna]

<< Given the better stability of win2k, but the games limitations >>


And what particular limitations have you seen?

I use Win2k at work and at home. So far I've had NO PROBLEMS with the following games...

Deus Ex
Homeworld: Cataclysm
Age Of Empires 2 (including expansion pack)
Red Alert 2
The SIMS (w/Nude hack)
RollerCoaster Tycoon
Unreal Tournament

If you're looking for a PURE gaming PC...I would agree with setting up a Win98SE machine. But if you're looking for a more 'robust' system that can still do a DAMNED GOOD JOB with games...Windows 2000 Pro baby.

 

[bigshot]

windowns 98se is best

 

[iamwiz82]

win2k has had some problems with gaming. Media Player 7 in win2k is quite buggy. I have yet to have a MP7 problem in win98se though.

Also, win2k is a memory hog, even more than win98se.

 

[weshuang]

Actually, I'll freely admit that I don't know what I'm talking about when I say games limitations for 2k. I was simply paraphrasing what people have said in another forum.

Someone mentioned driver limitations in 2k? I thought the whole point of moving to 2k was that you could have a more stable system?

 

[Tung]

Gotta say that Win98se is the best..

 

[UnixFreak]

I agree, right now 98se is best for gaming. QNX comes a close second, though.

 

[gunf1ghter]

Windows 2K all the way baby.

It runs everything written in the last few years... it's just as fast.... it's more stable... if a GAME crashes, your OS doesn't have to be rebooted.

And these days there is decent driver support for just about all the major vid and sound cards on the market.

 

[Shmorq]

Support for Win2K is just as good as it is for Win98. I haven't had any problems so far... Give it a try and if you don't like it, you can always switch back.

 

[Riddler]

personally, i had been running ME for a while, and it had by far fast frame rates than w2k pro, and i never had stability probs with ME as far as gaming, but w2k has been far more stable overall and still gives me plenty fps. wonder what the benchmarks would be ME compared to 98se.
here's a link comparing ME and w2kpro, it's a little slow loading, though...

winme vs win2k pro gaming

 

[CoolTech]

lest see, who uses media player 7 in win2k, if you upgrade you are dumb, what a memory hog that program is

 

[BowDown]

Win2k is much better for games based on the Quake3 or Unreal engines . HD loading times are alot shorter...

 

[iamwiz82]

win2k is a memory hog itself, if you have not noticed.

 

[gunf1ghter]

And that's such a concern when 128 MEG sticks of PC133 Cas3 RAM can be easily bought for $35.

 

[iamwiz82]

i ran win2k with 256 megs of ram and then switchesd to win98se, and i gained 800+ points on 3dmark2000's test.

 

[gunf1ghter]

3DMark2000 is well known as a BAD test of Win2K's speed in games. All the mags that have tested Win2K vs. Win98SE in real games like Q3 have found a difference of maybe a few frames.

Before DX8 and SP1 came out there was slightly poorer performance for Direct3D in Win2K but that's been fixed.

I run Win2K with 256 MEG and I never have probs with having enough RAM for my games.

 

[iamwiz82]

i'll wait for sp 293324 to come out before i go back

 

[loogie]

Yah. I'll wait for service pack 2 to be installed on my computer before I restart again.

Enjoy restarting your computer everyday.

Munch.

 

[Mday]

w2k is a good contender...

but win98se does have a head up...

win98 just has better driver support right now.

w2k may be stable (more so than win98), but win98se is stable enough for you to play a game for many hours. i doubt you'll be playing constantly for a week, or care to ;-)

 

[weshuang]

>> w2k may be stable (more so than win98), but win98se is stable enough for you to play a game for many hours. i doubt you'll be playing constantly for a week<<

Ah, but once upon a time...