Nice build. I love how it looks. Not flashy. Just smart.

I know Crysis is a kind of ultimate benchmark game for XP but, in my eyes, it's a Vista game, as it looks best with DirectX 10.

I think your CPU is probably going to bottleneck that GPU also, unless you are using high resolutions / AA settings with it.

Crysis is definitely in Vista era (2007-2009). It makes little sense to play it on Windows XP and miss out DirectX 10 graphics.

Vista era can be very challenging as it favors fast dual cores, not quad cores with few exceptions. That quad core is a bit slow for Vista era. If you think Crysis runs ok you will change your mind once you install Far Cry 2.

You need about 3.2Ghz ideally. GTX 680 is a good choice. 3.2Ghz quad core with GTX 680 can also cover Windows 7 era (2010-2012) while dual cores cannot.

I can probably install dx10 on win xp as well.

but vista? never.

never used that , not even when came out. I kept win xp till windows 10 came out.

I do not want to go past socket 775 , because then would not be retro... as 775 barely is a little bit retro anyway.

this pc is more a showcase for win xp 32 bit. It still supports it natively but can play anything of the era.

I have a monitor with 1600x1200 , so my agp 6800gt sometimes cannot keep up , hence this build.

I have 4 pc s... a socket 370 , a 462 , a 478 and a 775... i like all of them , but i think the socket 370 was a mistake. there is nothing there besides old tech that is outdated , even for the era. socket 462 and 478 was a true revolution compared to 370 when came out. Looking back at time spent and money spent , should not have done the 370 , nothing there special.

DirectX 10 is not supported on Windows XP. There is Windows Vista 64 bit. I went for Windows 7 instead only due to problems with running SSD in AHCI mode and TRIM on AMD chipset.

Socket 370 should be for DOS/Windows 98 as it has ISA. Socket 462 and 478 are redundant, they represent the same era. You just need one.

My LGA775 XP build is my most used build which surprised me as it's the one I find least interesting nostalgia wise.
But a lot of even my Win9x games run fine and is even overkill for my most demanding XP era games like GTA SA. This means You can run modern resolutions with AA, AF, etc set to max.
XP also sits quite nicely between older OS's and modern ones on the network (although that's becoming harder)
I did install an SoundBlaster X-Fi to live the final days of EAX

chinny22 wrote on 2025-11-11, 05:31:

My LGA775 XP build is my most used build which surprised me as it's the one I find least interesting nostalgia wise. But a lot o […]
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My LGA775 XP build is my most used build which surprised me as it's the one I find least interesting nostalgia wise.
But a lot of even my Win9x games run fine and is even overkill for my most demanding XP era games like GTA SA. This means You can run modern resolutions with AA, AF, etc set to max.
XP also sits quite nicely between older OS's and modern ones on the network (although that's becoming harder)
I did install an SoundBlaster X-Fi to live the final days of EAX

You are right. I have 4 retro pc's. Nostalgia wise , the 775 above is the least interesting , etc... Because it s a platform that just works , it s actually modern in terms of PCIe , etc... Also , you can still use it for internet. The core 2 quad , even though very old and outdated , still has 4 cores , a decent speed (2.8ghz) and coupled with 4 gb of ddr 3 is overkill for windows xp 32 bit. You have the option of using powerfull gpus that will destroy any game for win xp.

Win XP is by far the best windows overall of any windows os releases. It s so flexible and pretty much can run on anything. From a p2 200 mhz with 64mb of ram , to a modern cpu with 16 or 32 gb of ram. Obviously , for retro stuff , you still want the 32 bit version. This way , you can practically play 99% of games from 1990 , up to mid 2010s.

The only issue with the 775 pcie build is that it lacks the nostalgia of retro... that agp bus , the lack of win 9x support , etc...

There is also the factor of price... Specially agp gpu's.... starting to become rare and expensive , where as , you can find a high end 680 or 780 for about 40 50 quid...

bitzu101 wrote on 2025-11-13, 07:28:

You are right. I have 4 retro pc's. Nostalgia wise , the 775 above is the least interesting , etc... Because it s a platform that just works , it s actually modern in terms of PCIe , etc... Also , you can still use it for internet.

Along similar lines my most used "vintage" is a AMD Athlon II X2 250 having 4gb ram, i think HD6450 card and windows 7. It just runs all the games i want from the late 90's through mid-late 2000's with no problems, even with that modest card. a mix of dosbox, patches and gog extends its reach. It almost seemed a shame when i realised it didn't actually need most of my other setups to play the games this one will play!

gerry wrote on 2025-11-14, 15:09:

bitzu101 wrote on 2025-11-13, 07:28:

You are right. I have 4 retro pc's. Nostalgia wise , the 775 above is the least interesting , etc... Because it s a platform that just works , it s actually modern in terms of PCIe , etc... Also , you can still use it for internet.

Along similar lines my most used "vintage" is a AMD Athlon II X2 250 having 4gb ram, i think HD6450 card and windows 7. It just runs all the games i want from the late 90's through mid-late 2000's with no problems, even with that modest card. a mix of dosbox, patches and gog extends its reach. It almost seemed a shame when i realised it didn't actually need most of my other setups to play the games this one will play!

i agree.

i said it before... my socket 370 pc is pretty much useless. never use it. it s like freaking retro and good , but was a mistake. probably will go on ebay soon.