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P3 800: Win 98SE or XP Pro?

petepham

Member
I've got a P3 800/133 with 384 RAM and currently run 98SE with no problems. I want to migrate to Win XP Pro just so I don't fall behind in the times and have new features to play with. However, I am really particular about the speed and responisveness of the OS. Will XP Pro run reasonably near 98SE speeds on my system?
 
It should actually be a bit better than 98SE. You're looking at two different OS'es with competely different kernels. The XP kernel (NT kernel actually) will run faster than the 98 kernel.
 
on a p388 w/ that much RAM, winXP will run as responsive as win98se w/ the same amount of eye candy on...

that is, in XP you can better tweak the visual effects, etc....turn them all off, and you basically have win98se...looks far nicer w/ them on though, and your computer will be more than competent at handling it smoothly.
 
I installed XP Pro last week on an older Gateway, with a P3 500 and 384MB RAM. I, too, was concerned that I'd see a performance slowdown from running W2K Pro. As soon as I tweaked XP and got rid of the TeleTubbies look and shut down a number of unnecessary services, my ol' clunker is rockin'. Noticeably faster than W2K. You'll be pleased with the performance, I'm sure.
 
Definitely go with XP over 98SE, but make sure you do a clean install. It's worth the extra couple of hours to reload everything you want to use, plus you also get to reformat the drive to NTFS.
 
You've got enough juice to upgrade to XP. Like the other guys said, you can turn off all that visual stuff to speed up the OS.
 
I don't understand what everyone wants for ' new features ' in XP... all it does it makes Windows look prettier and integrates other software you can already buy / download for free.

That and it eats up resources real quick.

If you are only upgrading for 'new features to play with' thats really pointless... I personally would go with Win2k, just as if not MORE stable, and more compatible with things too. More supported as well.
 
Great stuff...go with XP...i run it on here, and you're a bit faster than me. I turned off a few things such as transparencies, but other than that, everything is running...def more stable than my moms 98SE machine. NTFS is also a killer plus.
 
I just installed Win XP Pro on my laptop which is a AMD K6-2 400mhz w/ 160mb ram. All though I only had it installed for like 3 hours now. It's boot's up faster then when I was running Win2k as the OS and runs alot better. Best thing I like about XP is it has alot of build in drivers and found every single hardware in my laptop.
 
For everyone who wasted their money on XP (including myself). I quickly dumped that mofo and ghosted my 98SE right back on there. I have a TI-200, xp1700 (1900) +256 2700 @169.

I noticed a considerable slowdown in gaming performance. The most telling indication was the direct x test. The "spinning cube" under direct draw ran about 50% slower. Blech.

I guess it all depends on your apps. I couldnt run a favorite dos game anymore because of sound card issues (sb gamer 5.1).

Your mileage may vary.

 


<< For everyone who wasted their money on XP (including myself). I quickly dumped that mofo and ghosted my 98SE right back on there. I have a TI-200, xp1700 (1900) +256 2700 @169.

I noticed a considerable slowdown in gaming performance. The most telling indication was the direct x test. The "spinning cube" under direct draw ran about 50% slower. Blech.

I guess it all depends on your apps. I couldnt run a favorite dos game anymore because of sound card issues (sb gamer 5.1).

Your mileage may vary.
>>



Hence the reason I personally dual-boot 98SE and XP home.. for the rare app/game that will not run or is not supported in XP, I go over to 98, do what I got to do, and then go back to XP. Benchmarks/framerates for me is very damn close, if not the same for me in XP as in 98SE. I turn off almost all eye candy except "visuall support" and "window contents shown while dragging". There is a more "snappy" feeling to winXP over 98SE that I notice.

Petepham,

You may want to try XP out on a seperate drive to see how you like it before you wipe out your main 98 drive..Or possibly do a dual-boot yourself. I ran XP pro on a PIII 933 machine with no probs and with the RAM you have, you should be ok 🙂
 
i say go up to Win2k...it is more stable than Me or 98 and it has proven itself over XP so far in benchmarks etc etc...
 


<< I've got a P3 800/133 with 384 RAM and currently run 98SE with no problems. I want to migrate to Win XP Pro just so I don't fall behind in the times and have new features to play with. However, I am really particular about the speed and responisveness of the OS. Will XP Pro run reasonably near 98SE speeds on my system? >>



XP Pro! I am assuming you have ensured that all your existing apps will run under it. Some people say that some older games, apps, etc. dont work under it.
 
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