XP or Linux

[Ed Kolis]

FYI, the developers of wine, the free package on which WinEx was based, *are* working on a port of DirectX, so Linux gaming should improve... sometime In the meanwhile, there's always the free CVS "bleeding edge" Version of WinEx - no guarantees like the commercial Version, but you can't beat the price

[Combat Wombat]

I would go with XP Pro

[Instar]

XP Pro. Has the best featureset and UI I've used with any OS, and that includes MacOSes. Of course, XP Pro is what I've grown used to.
Win2k is another good option, but its not as good as XP in my opinion. Don't buy XP Home.
If you do go Linux, use KDE UI

[Wardad]

Thanks everyone, it took a while to read through all of the Posts.

XP seems like the only reasonble choice for a gamer, in the near future.

Actually - being able to play old Favorites like MOO 1 is a requirement.

Why XP pro over XP home? I thought that pro just had some remote admin hooks in it.

What about dual boot Linux and XP? Which installs first? Are different drive (formats) needed?

[tesco samoa]

you could always run linux off a cd

Or get a good boot loader and install both

Or even better.

Take your old system and put linux on it and build it up as a server... Or Myth TV box..

Then xp on your new box for gaming.

as for linux package. suse mandrake etc... are good distro's

[Fyron]

Wardad said:
XP seems like the only reasonble choice for a gamer, in the near future.

Not at all. 2k plays modern games and a lot of older games without issue, 98 plays all older games without issue. XP costs you a lot of money and won't be able to play all older games anyways.

Wardad said:
Actually - being able to play old Favorites like MOO 1 is a requirement.

Games like that you can likely get working in Wine or Cedega (with a bit of work). A lot of DOS games run under 2k, but others don't. It is hit and miss. No guarantee that it will run under XP either. 98 is the only way to be safe for old DOS games. With 2k or XP, DosBox is a good (and free) DOS emulator for those old DOS games, and assuming you have a computer with more than a few hundred megahertz CPU, it will work just fine.

Wardad said:
Why XP pro over XP home? I thought that pro just had some remote admin hooks in it.

Home is terrible. Try to avoid it. I don't remember all of the specific reasons, but a quick google search should turn up plenty of sites about the differences.

Wardad said:
What about dual boot Linux and XP? Which installs first? Are different drive (formats) needed?

Not a bad option. Different drives formatted with different methods are certainly needed. Install XP first, as Linux is fine recognizing XP as another OS, but XP doesn't like Linux... Of course, there is no need to get XP just for games. Just set up 98 as the other OS for your games.

tesco samoa said:
as for linux package. suse mandrake etc... are good distro's

Nah. Debian all the way. Start coming by #SpaceEmpires again and you will know why.

[Wardad]

Fyron said:
"...Of course, there is no need to get XP just for games. Just set up 98 as the other OS for your games."

Aiken said:
"OS Ready status, according to independent research conducted by AIII (Aiken's Imho International Incorporated)
Linux:
DVD video: 99% (-1% because of DRM and other closed stuff, which rarely used)
Web: 99% (-1% because of ActiveX, doesn't matter unless you go for bank services Online)
Games: 10% (directX support is pathetic, but some games go multiplatform these days, ie Doom3, UT 200x).


WELL, I have got to admit that not feeding MS has a certain appeal. I own Red Hat stock

SO, providing I can find hardware drivers... Linux would be better for DVD video/audio, and be more secure for web surfing too.
WIN98SE can run the current games, but may not be supported in the furure.

Just how would I get started on the dual op system?
My Win98 drive is 27GB partioned Cp and Dograms.
I have norton internet security + anti virus on it.
I could buy a larger drive for Linux/DVD.

What do I use for firewall security and antivirus on Linux?

[Thermodyne]

Or............XP pro for base OS with 98 running on a virtual PC install...

[Asmala]

Imperator Fyron said:
Home is terrible. Try to avoid it. I don't remember all of the specific reasons, but a quick google search should turn up plenty of sites about the differences.

I have neither Home nor Pro, but I'd like to know why the Home edition is so terrible.

I did a google search but couldn't find that big differences for home user.

[Fyron]

Wardad said:
What do I use for firewall security and antivirus on Linux?

Linux. Most routers with NAT and/or firewalls in them out there are running a modified Version of Linux (or some other *nix). It is a far more secure OS and is not vulnerable to script kiddie attacks. It is very challenging to get infected by a virus and far more difficult to be hacked into than Windows. As long as you are not running a server for a huge corporation or a bank or something like that, you don't have too much to worry about. Windows viruses can't affect Linux computers, and there are far, far fewer Linux-targeted viruses out there. This is not to say that Linux is free from vulnerabilities, just that they are far more difficult to exploit and they are not done so quite as often, due to the massive difference in market share compared to Windows.

Thermodyne said:
Or............XP pro for base OS with 98 running on a virtual PC install...

Not a good idea for any gaming beyond really old DOS games... Emulators eat up a ton of system resources.