Windows XP necessary?

[xynder]

I'm thinking of getting a new computer, but windows xp is like 140 bucks alone!!! Can I get away with just using my already-bought copy of windows 98?

 

[jcmkk]

Windows 2000 all the way. Whichever way you decide (win2k or XP) I would highly suggest getting a new OS. Once you go to win2k, you'll never go back!

 

[LongCoolMother]

2k all the way here

 

[BFG10K]

Windows XP is better than Windows 2000, especially for games and multimedia.

 

[KeithP]

Sounds like you are quoting the price for XP Pro OEM. Do you really need that? Maybe XP Home OEM would work for you. Also, don't forget to factor in that you can sell your copy of Win 98 and get back a few bucks.

-KeithP

 

[Mitzi]

I'd certainly recommend getting either 2000 or XP for your new computer. Whats the point in having a nice shiny, new PC and then putting a nearly 5 year old operating system on it???

 

[Wolfsraider]

<< I'd certainly recommend getting either 2000 or XP for your new computer. Whats the point in having a nice shiny, new PC and then putting a nearly 5 year old operating system on it??? >>



yup i love my xp but yes you can use 98 without regret but once you learn the difference you'll probably never go back lol

and xp does take advantage of many new features

i would recommend xp pro for sure as this is the most useable ie single and dual processors etc but it's your money if your tight right now just upgrade when you can afford it

hope this helps

 

[powerMarkymark]

<< I'd certainly recommend getting either 2000 or XP for your new computer. Whats the point in having a nice shiny, new PC and then putting a nearly 5 year old operating system on it??? >>



I second that.

I got WinXP Pro with my new rig and I love it.

 

[Bowen]

Well Win2K is good but I don't see how it betters WinXP Pro in any way at all. WinXP is extremely stable, it's very game friendly and most of all it's secure and it's as fast and in some cases faster than Win98 or WinME. Since I installed in October I think it was, I've had only two BSOD and that was because of me messing with some programs that would cause it to do that and mind you it took a lot of messing around before that happened. The bottom line is that WinXP is the best OS to use in the Windows family!!

 

[Mavrick007]

You can get by with just your windows 98 on a new machine and it will work ok if all you want to do is game, but the way of the times is to use the new OS on the market. If you want, you can still run a dual boot at the same time and keep both but you shouldn't have to pay that much for WinXP.

 

[JellyBaby]

I highly recommend dual booting 9x and XP if you're into gaming. XP isn't the greatest platform for gaming. I'm not impressed with XP's performance or stability in that dept., especially with older titles.

 

[Sunner]

<< Windows XP is better than Windows 2000, especially for games and multimedia. >>


Better in what ways exactly?

I just "downgraded" from XP to 2K due to about a million small things in XP driving me crazy(more so than Windows in general), and I certainly haven't noticed any cons of 2K compared to XP.

 

[HardWareXpert]

<<

<< Windows XP is better than Windows 2000, especially for games and multimedia. >>


Better in what ways exactly?

I just "downgraded" from XP to 2K due to about a million small things in XP driving me crazy(more so than Windows in general), and I certainly haven't noticed any cons of 2K compared to XP. >>



I'll second that, XP just looks like a kids got hold of it, Win2k all the way.

 

[NOX]

<< Windows XP is better than Windows 2000, especially for games and multimedia. >>

Not sure I totally agree with that. XP is a great OS, but so is Win2k. In almost everyway and fashion they are similar, just XP has a bit more features, some positive, some negitive. Id make sure all your new stuff will be compatible with either OS before taking the leap, but definitely do upgrade. Make sure what you are planning on getting will run in XP, if not you may run into a few snags (you may anyway).

Win2k has been out for a while thus driver support has definitely caught up to it. For me personally I will not upgrade to XP anytime soon, not until more support is available, or the first service pack is released.

 

[Mucker]

Get XP xynder, it is excellent (for me anyway!). You can pick up the OEM XP Home Edition through Newegg for $88! All you have to do is buy any other item in the store....doesn't matter if it's a $1 cable...it still qualifies. Good luck!

GPJ

 

[BFG10K]

Better in what ways exactly?

General compatibility and out of the box experience. Also XP has more tweaking options than 2000 has and it boots much faster too.

 

[RobsTV]

I agree with those that say avoid XP.
Stable my arse.
More and more review sites are now starting to say the same thing. Rip it out!
But, unlike most who went to 2k, I've "upgraded" XP to ME.
When setup correctly ME "IS" ultra stable and fast.
I would put up my ME scores to any identically clocked XP or 2k system, and be faster in most cases.
XP was slower over time, has frequent lockups, and still a lot of compatability issues. Also doesn't like overclocking as well.
Many of my customers have had me upgrade there shinny new PC's from XP to ME, and are happy campers now.
But, some systems sold with XP (such as Sony VAIO), only have drivers for XP.

 

[Sunner]

<< General compatibility and out of the box experience. Also XP has more tweaking options than 2000 has and it boots much faster too. >>


For me, compatibility has been the same using the compatibility tool for Win2K, cept for one thing, Motorhead wouldn't run under XP, it crashes the second I run it, so in a sense, compability has been better in Win2K.
And the fact that WinXP boots 15 seconds faster should be a nonissue to anyone who actually has the time to play games.

 

[Mem]

I`m a Hardcore gamer and have been using WinXP for about 6 months now and have not bothered going back to my old 98 PC for gaming so that says a lot on what I think about XP gaming stability which`s excellent IMHO.

I would definetly say WinXP is better then 2K for gaming.

xynder I would advise you to go with WinXP if you`ve the cash if not then install 98 and buy WinXP later.

 

[Woodchuck2000]

Definitely 2K or XP.
I would recommend 512Mb ram for XP to fly if you want to turn all the extras on.
XP does much more out of the Box than 2K, but needs a faster machine.
Just be careful when installing XP - the default drivers for things such as Sound and Video cards are functional but typically quite poor. Make sure you download the latest drivers for everything if you want the system to move.

That said, I don't agree that XP has more options to tweak...

 

[Blurry]

Post this in the OS section next time pal.

 

[AA0]

win98 is trash, once you use 2k or XP, you will not go back to the regular crashes in 98. It is as simple as that.

 

[rogue1979]

Well, I don't have Win XP or 2K, so I can't say if they are better or not, but I have tried them on friends computers. But I must defend Windows 98. I use Windows 98 SE and it is still arguably the fastest gaming OS, and definately the most compatible hands down if you take into account older titles. There are many known tweaks for speed and stability in System.ini, Msdos.sys, and Config.sys. I have four highly overclocked machines all using Win 98 or SE and we rarely get even one crash, freeze or BSOD between all of them in a weeks time. These are all used constantly with my kids hammering away at them. I haven't upgraded for three reasons:
1) I hate Microsoft and don't want to give them anymore money
2) older game compatibility
3) if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

I am not saying that Win 98 is better than Win XP or 2K, just that it works best for me.

 

[Blurry]

You can make several older games compatible with Windows XP. Plus, games on Windows XP load much faster. On Windows 98, MOHAA takes several minutes to load whereas WinXP takes about 30secs or less to load.