Win2K or XP

[Rongisnom]

After 3 years I'm finally getting around to building a new gaming system (AMD64). I've always used Win2k and have been a bit cheap and mule headed about moving to XP. My question for you gurus is, "What is XP going to buy me over Win2k?" Is it really worth shelling out the $ on, or if I've waited this long should I hold out and see if the Evil Empire really comes out with a 64bit OS?

Your thoughts on this matter are greatly appreciated.

Rong

 

[MrChad]

If you already own 2000, the benefits of XP are minimal at best. There are a few, however.

1. Better security features and support (with SP2).
2. Native support for the NX (No Execute) features of your AMD64 processor (another security feature).
3. Faster boot times.

 

[Rongisnom]

MrChad - I'm not familiar with the NX feature but I'll Google that one. Thanks for the quick comment. What you're saying is about the same thing a co-worker said but he's not a gamer. I wasn't sure if there was any plus side to XP when it came to running games like Doom3 or HL2, which are the reason for the new rig.

Thanks again

 

[MrChad]

Here's a small writeup on the NX features in SP2.

 

[VirtualLarry]

W2K is faster for gaming, IMHO. XP may be marginally more secure, if you're an IE user.