Window XP gaming

NeoSneth

Ned's Ninja Academy Dropout
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2000
Posts
11,084
Looking for some ideas on how to easily perform some Windows XP gaming with the intent of local LAN gaming. I'm planning to have a throwback session with some friends, and I looking at options for hardware. Looking to play things like UT 2k3, but nothing more complex than that.

  • I've considered sourcing some cheap dell XPS's from this era. not ideal for maintenance, but easy to just create an image across all of the.
  • Running a some small NUC or mini PC's that can run WinXP.
  • Virtual Machines
 

basic

back to basics
15 Year Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2006
Posts
4,557
Looking for some ideas on how to easily perform some Windows XP gaming with the intent of local LAN gaming. I'm planning to have a throwback session with some friends, and I looking at options for hardware. Looking to play things like UT 2k3, but nothing more complex than that.

  • I've considered sourcing some cheap dell XPS's from this era. not ideal for maintenance, but easy to just create an image across all of the.
  • Running a some small NUC or mini PC's that can run WinXP.
  • Virtual Machines
does it have to be representative hardware and os of the era? steam has a lot of these games. there is UT 2k4 that you can run with a windows 10 patch.

as far as hardware, it seems like i've been seeing legacy "gaming" laptops at elevated prices. you might find a better deal going with the undesirable laptops of that era that have decent gpus (e.g. dell studio or inspiron e1505).
 
Last edited:

basic

back to basics
15 Year Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2006
Posts
4,557
ooops sorry. i misread. i don't think you are looking for laptops.
 

NeoSneth

Ned's Ninja Academy Dropout
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2000
Posts
11,084
ooops sorry. i misread. i don't think you are looking for laptops.

i am looking at laptops as well. im looking for small and portable.
i know we could play these on GoG, but the intent is to have a throwback LAN party.
 

basic

back to basics
15 Year Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2006
Posts
4,557
i am looking at laptops as well. im looking for small and portable.
i know we could play these on GoG, but the intent is to have a throwback LAN party.
i would still probably go with a laptop if that option is okay for you. the thought of getting all those tower systems and monitors seems like a pita.
 

basic

back to basics
15 Year Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2006
Posts
4,557
you made me want to break out my old laptop and put xp on it...alas, dvd reader is broke. i have to get my external from my office or do this bootable usb thing.
 

NeoSneth

Ned's Ninja Academy Dropout
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2000
Posts
11,084
i would still probably go with a laptop if that option is okay for you. the thought of getting all those tower systems and monitors seems like a pita.

I originally planning laptops and that way people just needed to bring their mouse and keyboard. But I wanted to check if there were other options that might be smarter or more viable. That's when i started to think about mini PC's or NUCs.
 

HeavyMachineGoob

My poontang misses Lenn Yang's wang
10 Year Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2011
Posts
5,813
If you don't mind slightly gutless computers, you could go with Thin Client PCs.

Otherwise, honestly I'd sooner suggest some laptops with actual graphics chips in them, not Intel integrated graphics. HP, Dell and Acer laptops usually have ATi or Nvidia graphics, but they're usually low end and have questionable build quality back in the mid to late 2000s. IBM / Lenovo Thinkpads didn't often have ATi graphics, but if you can find some that do, those are fantastic systems. T model Thinkpads are the high end range, R is the budget line, as of the Core 2 Duo era. T60s to early T400s are good choices all around. Before that, there were R50s and A30s, those are good but might be too old for what you need.
 

basic

back to basics
15 Year Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2006
Posts
4,557
If you don't mind slightly gutless computers, you could go with Thin Client PCs.

Otherwise, honestly I'd sooner suggest some laptops with actual graphics chips in them, not Intel integrated graphics. HP, Dell and Acer laptops usually have ATi or Nvidia graphics, but they're usually low end and have questionable build quality back in the mid to late 2000s. IBM / Lenovo Thinkpads didn't often have ATi graphics, but if you can find some that do, those are fantastic systems. T model Thinkpads are the high end range, R is the budget line, as of the Core 2 Duo era. T60s to early T400s are good choices all around. Before that, there were R50s and A30s, those are good but might be too old for what you need.
Agree. I'd say Dell Studio 1555. You might be able to find these at around $100 a piece and they come with ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4570...which should be able to handle most of the games in the era you are targeting pretty well. I just think T60s and such with GPUs as good as that will cost you a decent amount more.
 
Top