Best Windows OS for classic and modern gaming

[thisistheend11]

I used to have a Windows computer running XP before I switched to Mac. I love my Macbook and all, but I miss playing all my old Windows games. These games include Windows 95/98 games, Windows XP games, and DOS games. I've decided I want to get a Windows computer so I can play all those games. Before I start building my computer, I want to know what Windows OS to get.

Here are some of the games I have that I want to play:

Simcity Classic
Simcity 2000
Simcity 3000
Simcity 4
The Sims
The Sims 2
Sid Meier's Pirates (XP)
Half Life
Half Life 2
Rollercoaster Tycoon

and a lot more (including modern) games.

I want an OS that can play modern games in high resolution (I'll get a good graphics card/CPU) and that is compatible with old games. These all worked fine on my old XP, and I will get that again if I have to, but last time I tried XP it seemed a bit dated compared to Windows 7.

What operating system do you recommend I get that can play old and modern games? Thanks.

 

[windude99]

I used to have a Windows computer running XP before I switched to Mac. I love my Macbook and all, but I miss playing all my old Windows games. These games include Windows 95/98 games, Windows XP games, and DOS games. I've decided I want to get a Windows computer so I can play all those games. Before I start building my computer, I want to know what Windows OS to get.

Here are some of the games I have that I want to play:

Simcity Classic
Simcity 2000
Simcity 3000
Simcity 4
The Sims
The Sims 2
Sid Meier's Pirates (XP)
Half Life
Half Life 2
Rollercoaster Tycoon

and a lot more (including modern) games.

I want an OS that can play modern games in high resolution (I'll get a good graphics card/CPU) and that is compatible with old games. These all worked fine on my old XP, and I will get that again if I have to, but last time I tried XP it seemed a bit dated compared to Windows 7.

What operating system do you recommend I get that can play old and modern games? Thanks.

Get Windows 7 32 Bit:Amazon.com: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 32bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack: Software
64Bit won't be compatible with some older games and other software.

 

[Legaia]

I used to have a Windows computer running XP before I switched to Mac. I love my Macbook and all, but I miss playing all my old Windows games. These games include Windows 95/98 games, Windows XP games, and DOS games. I've decided I want to get a Windows computer so I can play all those games. Before I start building my computer, I want to know what Windows OS to get.

Here are some of the games I have that I want to play:

Simcity Classic
Simcity 2000
Simcity 3000
Simcity 4
The Sims
The Sims 2
Sid Meier's Pirates (XP)
Half Life
Half Life 2
Rollercoaster Tycoon

and a lot more (including modern) games.

I want an OS that can play modern games in high resolution (I'll get a good graphics card/CPU) and that is compatible with old games. These all worked fine on my old XP, and I will get that again if I have to, but last time I tried XP it seemed a bit dated compared to Windows 7.

What operating system do you recommend I get that can play old and modern games? Thanks.

Get Windows 7 32 Bit:Amazon.com: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 32bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack: Software
64Bit won't be compatible with some older games and other software.

Sounds like a blind comment to me. Since you do not know what hes hardware is like. If the hardware is decent he will most likley be able to run a Windows 7 64 bit and then just install a Virtual PC and run it that way meaning he will have access to the additional RAM he might have. Also you will be able to play all games as long as you are willing to put some time and effort into getting the virtual PC work and set it for the best preformance. You could go with the Windows 7 64 bit as hes standard OS and then have the virtual PC run windows XP 32 bit or even make a dual boot and have Windows 7 64 bit Windows XP 32 and last but by no means least Windows 98. All these require that he does have atleast Windows XP bought though from a shop. This might not be the cheapest way to go but will safe proof for further upgrades if he does decide to make a new PC and still use hes old OS. Instead of buy a new OS when that time comes. Or maybe you should even wait and see if the Windows 8 will be working beter when it comes to backwards compability then any of its ancestors have.

 

[windude99]

I used to have a Windows computer running XP before I switched to Mac. I love my Macbook and all, but I miss playing all my old Windows games. These games include Windows 95/98 games, Windows XP games, and DOS games. I've decided I want to get a Windows computer so I can play all those games. Before I start building my computer, I want to know what Windows OS to get.

Here are some of the games I have that I want to play:

Simcity Classic
Simcity 2000
Simcity 3000
Simcity 4
The Sims
The Sims 2
Sid Meier's Pirates (XP)
Half Life
Half Life 2
Rollercoaster Tycoon

and a lot more (including modern) games.

I want an OS that can play modern games in high resolution (I'll get a good graphics card/CPU) and that is compatible with old games. These all worked fine on my old XP, and I will get that again if I have to, but last time I tried XP it seemed a bit dated compared to Windows 7.

What operating system do you recommend I get that can play old and modern games? Thanks.

Get Windows 7 32 Bit:Amazon.com: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 32bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack: Software
64Bit won't be compatible with some older games and other software.

Sounds like a blind comment to me. Since you do not know what hes hardware is like. If the hardware is decent he will most likley be able to run a Windows 7 64 bit and then just install a Virtual PC and run it that way meaning he will have access to the additional RAM he might have. Also you will be able to play all games as long as you are willing to put some time and effort into getting the virtual PC work and set it for the best preformance. You could go with the Windows 7 64 bit as hes standard OS and then have the virtual PC run windows XP 32 bit or even make a dual boot and have Windows 7 64 bit Windows XP 32 and last but by no means least Windows 98. All these require that he does have atleast Windows XP bought though from a shop. This might not be the cheapest way to go but will safe proof for further upgrades if he does decide to make a new PC and still use hes old OS. Instead of buy a new OS when that time comes. Or maybe you should even wait and see if the Windows 8 will be working beter when it comes to backwards compability then any of its ancestors have.

Virtual PC is NOT for gaming. It can't even do 24 bit colors by default. It is to run BUSINESS software, not games. I have tried to run graphics stuff in virtualbox and it is a horrible experience. Also, the reason why I told them to go with 32bit is because they want to run OLDER software and in my experience, older software doesn't play nice with 64 bit. Also, he wouldn't want to run XP because the support is ending in 2 years and soon, more and more applications and games will become Windows 7 only. I didn't post a "blind" comment, I posted a comment from my experience and what I think will work BEST for the OP.

 

[thisistheend11]

FYI, these are the specs I'm planning on getting:

AMD FX 4100 4-Core Processer
Ripjaws 8 GB (2x 4 GB) ram
Asus EAH6670/DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 6670 GDDR5 1 GB Video Card
Biostar A780L3B AM3 AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar Green 1 TB SATA III Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive Desktop Hard Drive

Will those specs be able to handle modern games? I don't think the graphics card is good enough. Every time I look up requirements for a game it lists two or three specific cards... What is a good, but not to expensive, graphics card?

 

[windude99]

FYI, these are the specs I'm planning on getting:

AMD FX 4100 4-Core Processer
Ripjaws 8 GB (2x 4 GB) ram
Asus EAH6670/DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 6670 GDDR5 1 GB Video Card
Biostar A780L3B AM3 AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar Green 1 TB SATA III Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive Desktop Hard Drive

Will those specs be able to handle modern games?

Yes, but not at the highest settings. Also, if you run a 32 bit os, you can only use 3.5 gigs of ram. Any more ram won't be recognized by Windows 7.

 

[Legaia]

FYI, these are the specs I'm planning on getting:

AMD FX 4100 4-Core Processer
Ripjaws 8 GB (2x 4 GB) ram
Asus EAH6670/DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 6670 GDDR5 1 GB Video Card
Biostar A780L3B AM3 AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar Green 1 TB SATA III Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive Desktop Hard Drive

Will those specs be able to handle modern games? I don't think the graphics card is good enough. Every time I look up requirements for a game it lists two or three specific cards... What is a good, but not to expensive, graphics card?

A good graphic card for gaming is expensive although if you do have a budget for a new graphic card please tell us the budget and i'd be happy to give ya a suggestion. Id you have a little over 200$ i would suggest a HD6950

Get Windows 7 32 Bit:Amazon.com: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 32bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack: Software
64Bit won't be compatible with some older games and other software.

Sounds like a blind comment to me. Since you do not know what hes hardware is like. If the hardware is decent he will most likley be able to run a Windows 7 64 bit and then just install a Virtual PC and run it that way meaning he will have access to the additional RAM he might have. Also you will be able to play all games as long as you are willing to put some time and effort into getting the virtual PC work and set it for the best preformance. You could go with the Windows 7 64 bit as hes standard OS and then have the virtual PC run windows XP 32 bit or even make a dual boot and have Windows 7 64 bit Windows XP 32 and last but by no means least Windows 98. All these require that he does have atleast Windows XP bought though from a shop. This might not be the cheapest way to go but will safe proof for further upgrades if he does decide to make a new PC and still use hes old OS. Instead of buy a new OS when that time comes. Or maybe you should even wait and see if the Windows 8 will be working beter when it comes to backwards compability then any of its ancestors have.

Virtual PC is NOT for gaming. It can't even do 24 bit colors by default. It is to run BUSINESS software, not games. I have tried to run graphics stuff in virtualbox and it is a horrible experience. Also, the reason why I told them to go with 32bit is because they want to run OLDER software and in my experience, older software doesn't play nice with 64 bit. Also, he wouldn't want to run XP because the support is ending in 2 years and soon, more and more applications and games will become Windows 7 only. I didn't post a "blind" comment, I posted a comment from my experience and what I think will work BEST for the OP.

Still like we have said before. 32 bits is still not compatible with all games. Which means the best choise would be a dual boot. And it does not matter if they end the support for windows xp in a couple of years since he is going to play older games not new games. Also if he goes with the Windows 7 32 bits he will have wasted basicly 4GB of ram straight into the trash can.

Most of the old games do not require too much computer power either and several games will work just fine.
Question is which games does he intend to play?

 

[VHSer]

How do you go about making a computer dual boot ?

 

[windude99]

How do you go about making a computer dual boot ?

This should help you with that: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/8057-dual-boot-installation-windows-7-xp.html
Another reason why I suggest going with Windows 7 only is because XP doesn't support a lot of this newer hardware. If you could get XP running on that hardware then I will be quite amazed. Most companies stopped making XP drivers for new hardware about 1 to 2 years ago.

 

[thisistheend11]

Even if dual booting would work with my hardware, installing an OS (XP) that won't have anymore security updates in a couple of years is a bit risky, right?

 

[windude99]

Even if dual booting would work with my hardware, installing an OS (XP) that won't have anymore security updates in a couple of years is a bit risky, right?

Yes, it is.

 

[Solarstarshines]

Best thing you can do is use a 64bit os get the full use of your ram

For older titles some do not run /but others will You can also right click and run Compadability mode

For future games which comes out very rapidly it would be better to invest in a card with long term value as WINDUDE suggested

The card he mentioned is really becomming hard to find

your card is ok but if you have a better budget either get the same card for xfire or jump to one of the big boys im sure you can still find a 6870 for about 199.00 if you look around

Win XP would be a bad choice at this point you would just be kicking yourself the support is gone and pretty soon it will be like the one's before it Obsollete


Im only saying this if you play to pursue more gaming in the future which later you might need to upgrade again if you choose low end gaming cards

 

[smarteyeball]

Even if dual booting would work with my hardware, installing an OS (XP) that won't have anymore security updates in a couple of years is a bit risky, right?

If you don't connect to the net, security is a non-issue if dual booting on older OS like XP.


Also, is that Western Digital Green intended to be your primary OS drive?

If so - it's not a great drive for OS/Gaming usage. It's intended more for storage.

A WD Blue or better yet, a Black would be better choice for OS/Games.

Alternatively a Seagate or a Samsung.


As for video card, there is always Nvidia as a good alternative. The GTX560ti is a bit more expensive than a 6770, but for newer games it has enough 'grunt' to handle most new releases with pretty good/high quality settings.

 

[Crazymike]

Best thing you can do is use a 64bit os get the full use of your ram

For older titles some do not run /but others will You can also right click and run Compadability mode

Agreed. I'm using my 64 bit system to run half-life and a few older games with no problems. When I was running Vista I did have to run a couple of them in compatibility mode, and they ran just fine.

 

[Katanyavich]

My collection of games goes back over 20 years but I can still play most of them.

I use my P4 desktop (Win XP) for the ones that won't run on this laptop (Win 7 64-bit).

DOS-Box on this machine takes care of the really old stuff, (and also has Win 3.1 installed).

And for the handful that insist on Win 95-98 (think TOCA Touring Cars and the
original Colin McRae Rally etc), there's a P3 with Win98SE in the spare room.

The only ones I can't play are the ones on 5.25 floppies.....no drive.....

 

[thisistheend11]

Even if dual booting would work with my hardware, installing an OS (XP) that won't have anymore security updates in a couple of years is a bit risky, right?

If you don't connect to the net, security is a non-issue if dual booting on older OS like XP.


Also, is that Western Digital Green intended to be your primary OS drive?

If so - it's not a great drive for OS/Gaming usage. It's intended more for storage.

A WD Blue or better yet, a Black would be better choice for OS/Games.

Alternatively a Seagate or a Samsung.


As for video card, there is always Nvidia as a good alternative. The GTX560ti is a bit more expensive than a 6770, but for newer games it has enough 'grunt' to handle most new releases with pretty good/high quality settings.

Hmm thanks I guess I didn't know what the difference between the green and standard hard drive was.

I am going to build this PC slowly (one part at a time), but I want to keep it all under about $800.

 

[Legaia]

Even if dual booting would work with my hardware, installing an OS (XP) that won't have anymore security updates in a couple of years is a bit risky, right?

Not really since you are going to play classic games. Which means that most of the time you will never even touch the internet. Just install a AV and you will not have any problems.

Also if you are willing to you can always have a look at Gog.com and see if they have the games you are going to play since they have all the old games there for sale and they do support Windows 7 both 32 and 64 bit

 

[windude99]

Even if dual booting would work with my hardware, installing an OS (XP) that won't have anymore security updates in a couple of years is a bit risky, right?

Not really since you are going to play classic games. Which means that most of the time you will never even touch the internet. Just install a AV and you will not have any problems.

Also if you are willing to you can always have a look at Gog.com and see if they have the games you are going to play since they have all the old games there for sale and they do support Windows 7 both 32 and 64 bit

The thing is is that XP won't have any AV vendors (atleast not the one I use) supporting it. It will be old and not supported. And again, I can't stress this enough, XP probably won't even work with is hardware. XP is old and that hardware is very new.

 

[VHSer]

How do you go about making a computer dual boot ?

This should help you with that: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/8057-dual-boot-installation-windows-7-xp.html
Another reason why I suggest going with Windows 7 only is because XP doesn't support a lot of this newer hardware. If you could get XP running on that hardware then I will be quite amazed. Most companies stopped making XP drivers for new hardware about 1 to 2 years ago.

I have windows7, but Future Cop won't work in 7. It only works in 95/98, and XP.

 

[windude99]

How do you go about making a computer dual boot ?

This should help you with that: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/8057-dual-boot-installation-windows-7-xp.html
Another reason why I suggest going with Windows 7 only is because XP doesn't support a lot of this newer hardware. If you could get XP running on that hardware then I will be quite amazed. Most companies stopped making XP drivers for new hardware about 1 to 2 years ago.

I have windows7, but Future Cop won't work in 7. It only works in 95/98, and XP.

Then dual boot with XP.