Building a PC for XP to run older games ($500-600)

[4ktv]

I know I could do it for less, but I want a SSD only system and there is one game from 2007 that will not run on 64bit windows due to using a driver. I have come up with two builds that are most likely over kill. I will most likely run this PC on a 1600x1200 LCD or a 1440x900 LCD. So no screen is needed.

My goal is to build a very fast booting XP "gaming" PC. I did not have the room or the coin to spend before but now I do, so I have come up with two builds. Feedback would be great!

Intel build:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P $179.99

MB: MSI B75MA-E33 LGA 1155 Intel B75 $59.99

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $29.99

SSD: SanDisk Extreme SDSSDX-240G-G25 2.5" 240GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $219.99

GPU: PowerColor AX7750 1GBK3-H Radeon HD 7750 1GB $89.99

Power: COOLER MASTER Elite 460 RS-460-PSAR-I3 460W $29.99

Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 361 $49.99

Total: $659.93

AMD build:

CPU: AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz $104.99

RAM: same as intel build

SSD: same as intel build

GPU: same as intel build

Power: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 430W $44.99 ( Wanted better PSU)

MB: MSI 760GM-P34(FX) AM3+ AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $69.99

Total: $609.93

 

[zared619]

I think this build is better than either one of your builds. It is also cheaper.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($36.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Mushkin Callisto Deluxe 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($104.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z11 ATX Mid Tower Case ($40.20 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $593.11
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-25 14:19 EST-0500)

If you have any questions, just ask.

 

[twelve25]

You sure you can get XP drivers for this stuff? Might want to find 5 year old parts, too.

 

[cball1311]

Just get a Win 7 machine and if you have Windows XP installation discs, just run VMWare or the like to work in XP 😀

 

[twelve25]

^^^^ Agreed!

Using the free VMware player, you can build an XP VM and it can do passthrough GPU acceleration and run full screen. I am sure there is some added latency, but anything designed to run on 2007 era hardware, would do more than fine on slightly software-crippled hardware from today.

 

[4ktv]

^^^^ Agreed!

Using the free VMware player, you can build an XP VM and it can do passthrough GPU acceleration and run full screen. I am sure there is some added latency, but anything designed to run on 2007 era hardware, would do more than fine on slightly software-crippled hardware from today.

I knew about Vm's already, but I did not know any of them had GPU acceleration.

I have a old xp home copy, but I am not sure if because I upgraded to win 7 from that full xp copy if it can be used. I hope so or I will likely have to find a copy.

 

[twelve25]

Well you'd have that problem whether it was VM or physical. You can run un-activated for a month to try it out anyway.

 

[twelve25]

Just for fun, since I had a VM built alreadly, I ran a benchmark on it. I found out VMware video driver only supports up to directx9, but so does XP. So 3dmark06 with only 2 virtual CPU (so two of my i5 cores enabled) in the VM and accelerated by my 7850 I got 15733 3Dmarks, which from a quick google search is about like a Core2Quad with a GTX460 or a Radeon 4850. So that should be pretty decent for older games

I noticed it only used up to 55% of my GPU, so I guess you can't get access to all your video card's power.

EDIT: I made the VM use 4 cores and 4GB of RAM and score went up to 17500. Pretty respectable. The flying ship benchmark did hit 100% GPU and 100fps, but for some reason all the others were only at 50% GPU and around 50-60fps. This would have been a good gaming score in even 2010 and it's in a VM. Pretty cool.

 

[4ktv]

My dad had a XP pro copy Vm and I am just now using that. I am using the Oracle VM player with the dx9 add on that I did not know it had.

If that does not work to my likening then I will try VMware.

 

[iceclock]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/A12H
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/A12H/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/A12H/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($124.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake CLP0598 45.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($81.88 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($23.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card ($104.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone SST-RL01B-USB 3.0 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($42.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 620W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $547.77
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-27 23:06 EST-0500)

Base Total: $579.79
Mail-in Rebates: -$45.00
Shipping: $12.98
Total: $547.77