Computer Questions: XP vs. 98SE

Self | 06/27/06 | 50sDad

[50sDad]

I am looking at buying, at long last, a better computer. I have the opportunity to buy a bundled WCS 761GX-M754 motherboard and AMD Athlon XP-M processor with 512K of PC-3200 memory. Problem is, my past expertise tops out at the Celron 333, PC-100 memory level, and the system comes without operating system. Can some wizard here tell me if I can install an oldstyle Win98SE installation on this, or will I have to drag my sorry caveman arse into the 21st Century and actually buy XP?

What kind of performance sacrifice would I make if I COULD put 98 on it? Would the onboard motherboard hardware (video, audio, network) demand XP drivers and gag trying to run 98?

Thanks in advance. I always get the best advice in here.

[ShadowAce]

It's very different.

That's an understatement. I'm gonna go have to read the docs.

[ThePythonicCow]

I have plenty of memory.

Yes - memory. 50sDad says he will have 512 Mbyte of ram. For web and email use, this is good. Windows XP doesn't run well (too much disk swapping) in anything much less than 512 - it will boot 256, but you need to be on horse tranquilizers to be comfortable with the slowness.

[rzeznikj at stout]

No problem...

Let me know what you think...8^)

[ThePythonicCow]

Nothing ECS is a good buy

That's a possibility. I just put together a $300 rig of similar capacity (for use as a router) and used an ASUS mainboard. I don't have personal experience with ECS. My rigs are ASUS, Abit and MSI. My instincts would be to stay away from ECS myself, but I have no real basis for that.

For what I used, see: Image Viewer ASUS PUNDIT-AE3 AMD Socket 754 AMD Athlon /Sempron SiS 760GX 2x 184Pin SiS Real 256E Barebone - Retail $102.99. That's case, power, and mainboard for $102.99. Then I added an AMD Sempron 64 2600+ for $65, and a stick of 256 Mb RAM I had left over from another project, and an old disk that I had left over when I upgraded one of my bigger systems to bigger disks.

[Dinsdale]

I know a former ECS support tech (they have offices in the USA).

The company is horribly run with a slap it together and make it work attitude.

This is confirmend by my friends at Intel that have worked with ECS in Tiawan.

Prior to meeting (name redacted) I also owned a dual Pentium 166 ECS motherboard. Unstable junk.

For the small price difference you'd be crazy not to buy good quality hardware.

Like I said Asus and Abit (I've also heard good things about MSI but have no direct experiance). Let the Dell buyers get the ECS MBs. There is no point in building your own if you use the same junk parts all the OEMs do.

[Echo Talon]

the reason i like this motherboard over the ECS this one is because

1. Socket 939(can be upgraded to accept dual core X2 processor)

2. Has way better video

3. Better chipset with better driver support

4. SATA will support SATA hard drives

5. GB LAN

6. Supports 4GB of memory

7. Firewire

8. ASUS great quality, support and updates.

all of that and its only $21 more...

[Xenalyte]

Actually, what RF said was:

"Go with XP. 98SE was OK in its day, but for functionality and program compatibility, XP is your best bet."

in which frankly the phrase "Go with XP" leads me to believe RF is not endorsing 98.

[reagan_fanatic]

Actually, what RF said was: "Go with XP. 98SE was OK in its day, but for functionality and program compatibility, XP is your best bet." in which frankly the phrase "Go with XP" leads me to believe RF is not endorsing 98.

Had to think a little bit about CC's post - I'm sure it was intended as sarcasm (i.e. like a politician - saying one thing while meaning another.)

So, I'm a little slow today...



Right, CC?

;)

[Aliska]

Boy, I didn't get enough memory, got 40gb, then bought two 80 gb ea Western Digital Passports, but they are just for backup, had an extra hd put in 80 gb. Could have used more RAM, too. I really need about 300 gb memory on my extra hd, don't put any programs on it, just data files and my photos. Main drive is just under half full and extra hd is 3/4 full. Long-term archives is a problem. I can clean some of it off, but it will still accumulate fast. Memory is getting cheaper but not cheap enough for me yet.

I need more of the real kind of memory, too :-).

I hope I don't have to switch to Vista when it first comes out, but not too long after might not mind the switch IF my old software is compatible. I'm hoping this computer will last awhile yet, had it about 3 years now.

Don't mind me; I'm always frustrated about something, but it's almost unimaginable to go back to not having a computer and not being on the net.

[Echo Talon]

is your hard drives ATA or SATA?

[Echo Talon]

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA133 Hard Drive - OEM $99.99

SAMSUNG T133 Series 300GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $94.99

[webstersII]

Thanks for the info.

[ThePythonicCow]

Socket 939

Be careful on that one. AMD just shut down its last 939 fab. This is good news in the -very- short term, as you can get some great close out prices on 939 socket CPUs.

But it will soon (very soon) make buying 939 socket CPUs more difficult.

[Echo Talon]

yes, and 754 is going to be biting the dust shortly also... 939 supports better cpus than 754 as we speak.. you should be able to buy s939 for a while though retail channels.. heck you can still buy socket A cpu's at newegg.

the 939 supports X2 processors... major selling point.

[rzeznikj at stout]

Anytime.

[Echo Talon]

AMD's Socket 939 and 754 End-of-Life Dates

Socket 754... Sempron 3400+(weak)
Socket 939.... Athlon 64 X2(dual core) 4800+(pretty sweet) :)

[Uncle Hal]

Buy one that will run Windows Vista that is coming out next year. The specs are on MSN web site.

[Echo Talon]

if you want the cheapest MOBO with AM2(support for X2, a64 & sempron)/integrated video(that can be upgraded)/audio/lan(albeit not GB lan), SATA

ECS C51GM-M (V1.0) Socket AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $65.99

[Echo Talon]

Both motherboards i listed are Vista ready.. the motherboard you listed in post #1 is not...

here

NVIDIA desktop GPUs
"Windows Vista Ready:"

GeForce 7950 GX2 GPUs
GeForce 7900 GPUs
GeForce 7800 GPUs
GeForce 7600 GPUs
GeForce 7300 GPUs
GeForce 6800 GPUs
GeForce 6600 GPUs
GeForce 6500 GPUs
GeForce 6200 GPUs
GeForce 6100/6150 GPUs
GeForce FX 5900 GPUs
GeForce FX 5700 GPUs
GeForce FX 5600 GPUs
GeForce FX 5500 GPUs
GeForce FX 5200 GPUs
GeForce PCX GPUs

[KC Burke]

as someone with couple of old computers dependent on Win98, I would say with no future support and its limitations, I would avoid it at all costs.