Windows 7 running old games ...

[diantonio]

Ok so ,
i still love to play some of the classic old games (CS , diablo,quake...) but as i expected windows 7 is not the best gaming OS , just like he's brother VISTA xD


I started getting mini lag spikes in CS and diablo generally . Lag spike every 5-10 sec , and it just pisses me off how old games like this can lag on DuoCore(like mien) or better ...

I tried almost everything - upg. drivers , shortcut compatibility , disable desktop composition , tried different resolutions ... Lag spikes over and over...

Anything else i can try ?

 

[Tews]

We will need you to fill out your system specs to be able to help you with this problem...

 

[Dwarf]

Hi diantonio and welcome to Windows 7 Forums

+1.

In addition, you need to note that the games were written well before the introduction of Windows 7 and possibly also Vista. Some programs/games will install and run without any problems, but others might need to be installed and/or run using http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/316-compatibility-mode.html Note that some programs might not run at all, or might run but exhibit errors or other problems. For these, you should see if a patch has been made available at the vendor's website. Their Forums are also useful to look through if someone else has had problems with the program/game.

 

[alphanumeric]

Older programs and games may not be able to take advantage of multi cores. Just because you have them doesn't mean they get used. You may run into other restrictions too depending on how the program is coded, it may not be able to use all of your available RAM either. Your PC might be bigger better faster but the game might not see it that way.

 

[christoua]

Older programs and games will run on new systems. You just need Windows 7 Professional and download XP mode for free. does it for other people fine

 

[alphanumeric]

Don't expect stellar performance from games in XP mode though. The hardware is emulated and you are in a virtual environment.
Windows Virtual PC - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Virtual PC emulates the following environment:[20]

• Intel Pentium II (32-bit) processor (but virtualizes the host processor on Windows versions) with an Intel 440BX chipset.
• Standard SVGA VESA graphics card (S3 Trio 32 PCI with 4 MB video RAM, adjustable in later versions up to 16 MB by manually editing a virtual machine's settings file).
• System BIOS from American Megatrends (AMI).
• Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 ISA PnP. (When Vista is installed as both the host (main) and guest (virtual) operating systems, settings are synchronized with the host and audio configuration is not required.)
• DEC 21041 (DEC 21140 in newer versions) Ethernet network card.

EDIT: The above refers to Virtual PC but XP mode is discused on the same page.

 

[DravenWraith]

Processor Affinity

Processor Affinity is posted on the Windows 7 Forums Tutorials. It worked for me playing older games on Vista, before the multiprocessor days. It allows you to shut off processors in a multiprocessor PC.

 

[rixto003]

on some games it helps if u close dwm.exe from task manager (propably gonna have to close it twice and u can get it back to work with aero and transparency troubleshoot)...

not sure that it helps on these games alltough