VivienM wrote on 2024-02-08, 03:07:

dormcat wrote on 2024-02-08, 01:43:

IMHO the motherboard is far more superior than the CPU and GPU you've got. Grab a compatible C2Q (preferably Q9650 but any would do) and a newer video card (up to GTX 960) and you'll have a system capable to run not only every WinXP game but also not-too-demanding modern games under Win10.

I wonder what the 'sweet spot' value-wise is in the C2Qs. The Q9650, at least on eBay, is... relatively expensive (like $40-50USD) while, say, a Q8400 is ~$10USD or less. I haven't looked at the pricing of all models, but it may be that something like a Q9450 or Q9500 delivers most of the performance of the Q9650 for much less...

(I will note that I got the impression the OP was on a budget, so if they can get 90% of the performance for 30% of the cost...)

You're right I don't want to spend too much money on it, but since the rest of the components for this build was free or almost free, I've followed your and dormcat suggestions and bought a better CPU and GPU.

The new GPU arrived today and I confirm that the old one was 100% the problem, since the PC booted without a fuss numerous times with the new one in place, and the new CPU will arrive soon.

Now the only thing I have doubts on is the OS installation: I know that Windows XP has a problem with activation, which nowadays has to be done through the phone with an exploit.

I have an old sealed copy of WinXP with its label with the alphanumeric code: am I okay with having this label or do I still have to do this activation via telephone? (if there is a post that explains it here on the forum, please refer me to that, I don't want to clog up the chat)
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Oli-Ben wrote on 2024-02-14, 14:26:

Now the only thing I have doubts on is the OS installation: I know that Windows XP has a problem with activation, which nowadays has to be done through the phone with an exploit.

I have an old sealed copy of WinXP with its label with the alphanumeric code: am I okay with having this label or do I still have to do this activation via telephone? (if there is a post that explains it here on the forum, please refer me to that, I don't want to clog up the chat)

I hope I am not breaking any rules by posting this, but there was a volume licenced edition of Windows XP without activation that works with a volume licence key. Requires both a separate volume licence key and a separate disk with some configuration file set to volume licenced.

That is probably an easier path to a working Windows XP than trying to use a retail/OEM copy, both of which should require activation or will get very unhappy with you.

I just re-installed xp on one of my machines and ended up with 30day activation warning.
Be aware of connecting to the internet with xp , bots on the internet bypass the security like it doesn’t exist and add it to the zombie corps.
There are roms available in a variety of places for os’s and versions
I found a program called “xp-activate32.exe” and it’s worked for me and that sorted it for me.

Hello! It's me again!

After a hard disk swap I finally installed Windows XP without problems, but now there's ANOTHER problem: there's no sound coming from the computer (except the little internal beeper), and it does not want to recognize the PC speakers.

I've tried different speakers, all the different ins and outs in the back of the computer, but still nothing...

What is going on? I don't thinks i'm missing the speakers driver (they are simple grey PC speakers, nothing fancy)

Missing drivers for the either the onboard motherboard sound chip, or whatever addin ISA/PCi/PCIe sound card you have added.

Oli-Ben wrote on 2024-02-29, 18:04:

Hello! It's me again! […]
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Hello! It's me again!

After a hard disk swap I finally installed Windows XP without problems, but now there's ANOTHER problem: there's no sound coming from the computer (except the little internal beeper), and it does not want to recognize the PC speakers.

I've tried different speakers, all the different ins and outs in the back of the computer, but still nothing...

What is going on? I don't thinks i'm missing the speakers driver (they are simple grey PC speakers, nothing fancy)

Speakers don't need drivers; sound cards/chips do. And... unless you are using a popular pre-2001 sound card, most likely, XP doesn't have a built-in driver for it. Check device manager - you should be seeing a sound controller with an exclamation point next to it.

a mid to late socket 462 system is going to come closest to meeting your requirement for a single pc covering that range while still falling a tiny bit short on the late end. no other platform had the sheer longevity of the athlon plus the k7 via chipsets have 16 increments of smooth hardware (acpi) throttling using cpuspd. kt7a boards can also have an isa slot which is a bonus and be modded to run later thoroughbred/thornton/barton cpu cores.