building an xp rig

sharkdog3

Distinguished
Sep 27, 2016
19
0
18,510
So I'v decided to build a new computer on the low end so I can install and run windows xp and my old pc games. I already know i could save time and money running it virtually on my current machine and don't feel like spending more time trying to get them to work on my windows 7 machine. anyway just looking for some help/ advice on components as finding xp compatible components takes a little more work.

I was gonna use the following componets
Mobo: Msi A88xi ac v2
Case/p/s: Node 202 + Integra SFX 450W PSU
C.P.U: AMD Athlon X4 880K Black Edition W/ AMD Quiet Cooler 4.0GHZ 4MB 95W FM2+
Ram:Corsair 4GB 2X2GB DDR3 1333MHz CL9 Dual Channel Memory Kit
GPU: MSI Geforce G.T 730 N730-2GD3V3

I chose these components as they all seem to show xp support/drivers But am wondering if anyone with more knowledge then a noob like me thinks this would work well? speacially my video card? I assume it is plenty for xp and older games but is there a better one out there? I am an radeon guy but couldn't really see one that showed xp support(I see amd ended support alot quicker then nvidia for xp). and secondly I know xp only recognizes 4 gigs of ram( or closer to 3.2 gigs) but does that include gpu ram? just wondering if I can run all 4 gigs and my video card without issue or would I be better to just run 1 stick of 2(gig) finally I asume as my case has no cd rom slot I can just plug in an external drive to install windows of my cd.

Thanks, Pete


 

GraySilencer

Reputable
Jun 25, 2016
422
2
5,165


I have used a GT 740 on a Windows XP computer before, it worked great, so I'd recommend that. The NVIDIA Kepler GPUs seem to work best with XP, Maxwell not so much. That case is expensive though. You could go with the CM elite 110 and save money.

That 1333 RAM will bottleneck the CPU, so I'd get 1866. Can't find any good 2GB 1866 sticks so I'd go with the 4GB Kit. It's only $30 anyways and all the other kits I found run at an unsafe 1.65 volts. Windows XP will see about 3GB. I'd prefer ASRock over MSI, they seem to be very consistent with their drivers.

The Athlon 880K CPU is overkill though. I'm not even sure if the large Wraith cooler it comes with would fit in your original Node 202 case choice. The Athlon X2 370K would work fine for this build. Good luck. I miss Windows XP too (offline of course lol).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X2 370K 4.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($51.95 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($30.07 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.71 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GT 740 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($87.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: *EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Other: ASRock A88M-ITX/ac FM2+ / FM2 AMD A88X (Bolton D4) SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Mini ITX AMD Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $356.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-27 03:45 EDT-0400