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fix typos ea winxp article

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wgroeneveld 2020-10-26 09:23:21 +01:00
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content/post/2020/10/building-a-core2duo-winxp-retro-pc.md
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@ -11,13 +11,13 @@ date: 2020-10-25
Earlier in October, I blogged about [building an athlon win98 PC](/post/2020/10/building-an-athlon-win98-retro-pc/) which allowed me to replay Quake 1, 2, and 3 on original hardware. It is time to move on from Windows 98 and take the leap of faith, from DOS-based Windows operating systems, to one of the most popular Windows flavours of olde: Windows XP, released in 2001. XP was indeed a bit special becuase it was supposed to replace both Windows Me for "home users" and Windows 2000 for "profs" (although out of frustration, I ended up working with NT-based systems more often than DOS-based). WinXP's legacy only increased due to the unstable mess of its successor, Windows Vista.
The classic OS has had an extremely long lifespan, being discontinued in 2008, hand having had the luxury of three officially released service packs. Generally speaking, there are also three "WinXP era" PC builds to be put together:
The classic OS has had an extremely long lifespan, being discontinued in 2008, and having had the luxury of three officially released service packs. Generally speaking, there are also three "WinXP era" PC builds to be put together:
1. Early WinXP (2001): `512 MB` DDR RAM, Pentium III/IV `2 GHz`, GeForce 3/4 AGP
1. Early WinXP (2001): `512 MB` SD RAM, Pentium III/IV `2 GHz`, GeForce 3/4 AGP
2. Mid WinXP (2003): `1 GB` DDR RAM, Pentium IV `3 GHz` GeForce FX AGP
3. Late WinXP (2006): `2 GB` DDR2 RAM, Core2Duo `2 GHz`, GeForce 8800 GTS PCI-E
Since I have a fairly powerful Win98SE build with `512MB` SD RAM, I am more interested in era two and three. Back in 2007, I completely redid my gaming rig, focused on **noise reduction**. I slowly but surely hated the noisy stock Athlon fans and had discovered [silentpcreview.com](https://silentpcreview.com) and their excellent community forums. Based on silence before power, I put together a lovely horizontal desktop PC with a sleek looking Antec case.
Technology evolved rapidly (as usual) during these times: from SD to DDR, from single to dual core, and from AGP interfaces to [PCI Express](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express) in 2004. Since I have a fairly powerful Win98SE build with `512MB` SD RAM, I am more interested in era two and three. Back in 2007, I completely redid my gaming rig, focused on **noise reduction**. I slowly but surely hated the noisy stock Athlon fans and had discovered [silentpcreview.com](https://silentpcreview.com) and their excellent community forums. Based on silence before power, I put together a lovely horizontal desktop PC with a sleek looking Antec case.
### So... Which specs?
@ -32,14 +32,14 @@ When I rescued the PC from a dusty closet earlier this month, I went over the op
- It's _much_ more powerful (`1 GB` DDR3 VRAM??), and _much_ more energy-friendly.
- It's free...
The biggest disadvantage is the whiny tiny fan that loves to make a LOT of noise - not exactly what I was aiming for. A `5V` molex mod luckily shut it up. The full build looks like this:
The biggest disadvantage is the whiny tiny fan that loves to make a LOT of noise - not exactly what I was aiming for. A `5V` molex mod luckily shut it up. Also, buying a 8800GTS would force me to upgrade my `350W` PSU. The full build looks like this:
- Intel [Core2Duo](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_2) E6550@`2.3 GHz`
- [MSI G33M MS-7357](https://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-MSI/G33M_(MS-7357).html) DDR2 micro-motherboard, PCI-E `1x`
- 2x`1 GB` Geil DDR2-RAM
- 2x`1 GB` Geil Dual Channel DDR2-RAM
- Seagate [Barracuda 7200.10 RPM](https://nl.hddzone.com/seagate-st3320620as-harde-schijf-pcb/) `320 GB` HDD
- AMD Radeon HD5570
- Integrated audio (I might change that someday)
- Integrated audio and network ports (I might change that someday)
- [Antec NSK2400 HTPC Case](https://techgage.com/article/antec_nsk2400_htpc_case/) Silent
- Coupled with the awesome [Dell UltraSharp 2007WFP](https://www.cnet.com/products/dell-ultrasharp-2007wfp-series/specs/) 20" wide-screen IPS monitor.
@ -47,11 +47,11 @@ I'm not too worried about the retro-correctness "level" of things inside the cas
![](../winxp-cores.jpg "Installing the core and mounting the cooling block.")
Every single fan inside the case has been modded: `7V` for the `350W` PSU and both Nexus Silent 120mm orange fans, and `5V` for the tiny AMD thing. The CPU cooler was mounted with a silent 80mm Bapst fan. The result? The GPU fan is **still** the noisiest! Heat dissipation is still excellent. The Nexus fans can't reach the back of the PCI-E cards so the passive 8600GT was never a good idea. The Radeon peaks to `60°C` with a small `5V` fan, still way below dangerous levels.
Every single fan inside the case has been modded: `7V` for the `350W` PSU and both Nexus Silent 120mm orange fans, and `5V` for the tiny AMD thing. The CPU cooler was mounted with a silent 80mm Bapst fan. The result? The GPU fan is **still** the noisiest! Nevertheless, Heat dissipation is good enough. The Nexus fans can't reach the back of the PCI-E cards so the passive 8600GT was never a good idea. The Radeon peaks to `60°C` with a small `5V` fan, still way below dangerous levels.
### Performance
Simply put: it's great. Until your heart desires playing The Witcher 2 on a decent resolution with medium settings: the game runs relatively smooth but doesn't go beyond 18FPS. Still, for such a system, it's good enough for me. Most games I will be playing will be either early to mid winxp-era games anyway. Unreal Tournament 2004? +100FPS. Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield? Capped at a comfortable 60FPS. Age of Empires III - a game I somehow never managed to run? +60FPS. Neverwinter Nights 2 struggles running smoothly, but that's due to the sluggish engine implementation.
Simply put: it's great. Until your heart desires playing The Witcher 2 on a decent resolution with medium settings: the game runs relatively smooth but doesn't go beyond 18FPS. Still, for such a system, it's good enough for me. Looking at the [minimum specifications](https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/requirements/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings/11073) of the game, it seems that CPU/RAM is the bottleneck here. Whatever - most games I will be playing will be either early to mid winxp-era games anyway. Unreal Tournament 2004? +100FPS. Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield? Capped at a comfortable 60FPS. Age of Empires III - a game I somehow never managed to run? +60FPS. Neverwinter Nights 2 struggles running smoothly, but that's due to the sluggish engine implementation.
![](../winxp3-aoe3.jpg "Age of Empires III, everything maxed, on 1680x1050: above 60FPS.")
@ -61,6 +61,6 @@ After installing some games and tweaking Windows a bit:
![](../winxp1.jpg "The WinXP Service Pack 3 System Properties with a cold GPU.")
So that's it, now I own a 486 DX2-66 [DOS 6.22/Windows 3.11](/post/2020/09/reviving-a-80486) PC, an [Athlon Windows 98SE](/post/2020/10/building-an-athlon-win98-retro-pc/) PC, and a "newer" late era Windows XP machine! I had to completely redecorate my office space to accommodate all three computers including a newer screen and space for my work MacBook - but it was all worth it! Maybe one day I will be brave enough to take photos of the space and upload it to [Reddit's Retro Battle Stations](https://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestations/).
So that's it, now I own a 486 DX2-66 [DOS 6.22/Windows 3.11](/post/2020/09/reviving-a-80486) PC, an [Athlon Windows 98SE](/post/2020/10/building-an-athlon-win98-retro-pc/) PC, and a "newer" late era Windows XP machine! I had to completely reorganize my office space to accommodate all three computers including a newer screen and space for my work MacBook - but it was all worth it! Maybe one day I will be brave enough to take photos of the space and upload it to [Reddit's Retro Battle Stations](https://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestations/).
Oh, and never install Windows XP on a hard disk that already contains a Linux distribution. Microsoft installers love to overwrite the Master Boot Record without asking...