Best OS for GameEx

[clarkerz]

Is there a best OS for MAME to run under? I have the luxury of having the opportunity of installing XP, Vista or WIndows 7 onto my newly built system. It's not a mega fast motherboard but it'll do (Intel Dual Core E5700 Processor with 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz Memory). I'm using the onboard graphics VGA as well so don't expect great results. I'm new new to all this GameEx stuff and am using it build a Cabinet with MAME, VISUAL PINBALL and GENISIS EMULATOR. I did serach for Best OS before I posted as I know it's annoying when people don't bother.

Cheers

Andy, Gloucester. UK.

[mesk]

Go with W7,xp is old and vista SUCKS

[Draco1962]

Since you are using onboard graphics, I would say Windows 7 Home 32 or 64-bit with Aero features disabled to get the best bang. I enable Aero on my system since it is my main desktop PC for the time being. But I am also running Win 7 64-bit with 8 GB Ram and an nVidia 512MB graphics adapter.

[clarkerz]

Thanks Both...After Installing Vista it just BSOD'd and corrupted the partition so gonna take both your advice and install WIndows 7 now.

Cheers

Andy

[mesk]

on my gaming machine I have aero turned off.though with a dual core you could probably leave it on.my gaming machine is only a p4 3.8,and aero just gobbles up resources,and I have 4 gig's of dual channel memory as well.TBH I have it turned off on my everyday pc as well (i5,8 gig's ddr3)it is really unneeded

[Kustom Kid]

I would have to agree with Draco. Win7 with all of the eye candy disabled is probably your best bet. As much as I love XP, support for drivers and whatnot is dwindling. Currently I have GameEx running on a Vista powered HTPC and it's running very well. As much as I'd like to get Win7 there's really no reason, well major reason, to at the moment that would justify the cost if the OS.

[fRequEnCy]

I would agree and say Windows 7 as well. Only problem you'll run into is running a few older dos emulators. But those can be ran through dosbox anyways as an alternative. Vista will give some compatibility issues. It's all a matter of preference.

[Kustom Kid]

fReq, are the compatibility issues with GameEx itself or with some emulators? I've been running it on a Vista machine the last few months. I've been launching mostly the lite version through Media Center and I've had no issues with GameEx. I have had some issues with a few emulators though.

[Adultery]

Am I hearing this correctly? I ordered a new mobo and a Pentium Core 2 Duo but it only supports 2 GB ram (ddr 3). I mainly ordered it because it's one of the few that has an AGP 8x slot, and I just bought a 1 GB Nvidia video card a few weeks ago. I was planning on putting XP back on it and figured it would be speedy as hell, but if Windows 7 really is the way to go, I should consider it as a better OS? XP has been good to me so far, so unless it's a huge difference I'd just assume stay where I am. I have a license for Windows 7 sitting here doing nothing already (I opted to leave Vista on my lappy since it has also been good to me and my parents got me Windows 7 as a gift for keeping their computers running).

Thoughts?

[fRequEnCy]

fReq, are the compatibility issues with GameEx itself or with some emulators? I've been running it on a Vista machine the last few months. I've been launching mostly the lite version through Media Center and I've had no issues with GameEx. I have had some issues with a few emulators though.

This has to do with the emulators. Not GameEx! The reason is I believe that Windows 7 does not include the 16 bit MS-DOS Subsystem. So older dos emulators will not work unless you run them through dosbox. On most current emulators, this is not an issue. Only affects really old emulators for older systems.

[fRequEnCy]

Am I hearing this correctly? I ordered a new mobo and a Pentium Core 2 Duo but it only supports 2 GB ram (ddr 3). I mainly ordered it because it's one of the few that has an AGP 8x slot, and I just bought a 1 GB Nvidia video card a few weeks ago. I was planning on putting XP back on it and figured it would be speedy as hell, but if Windows 7 really is the way to go, I should consider it as a better OS? XP has been good to me so far, so unless it's a huge difference I'd just assume stay where I am. I have a license for Windows 7 sitting here doing nothing already (I opted to leave Vista on my lappy since it has also been good to me and my parents got me Windows 7 as a gift for keeping their computers running).

Thoughts?

I've been happy with Windows 7 on my desktop and my HTPC. But for a strictly emulation system then Windows XP is fine. If you're happy with XP then stick with it. It's a matter of preference and of course hardware. So go with what will run best for your hardware.

[Draco1962]

You'd probably be fine with either XP or 7. I find Windows 7 64-bit to be faster and better at memory management than XP. So long as you turn of the Aero eye candy you would be fine on that system. The main thing I would be concerned with going the 7 route is the video dirvers for that card. Make sure that drivers exist for it (32-bit and 64-bit) before going through the trouble to install 7.

[ranzo]

Best OS is - I am sorry - Windows XP 32 or 64 Bit Edition, because its faster, has not so much overhead...ect...

[DivinityCycle]

Why AGP?!?

Am I hearing this correctly? I ordered a new mobo and a Pentium Core 2 Duo but it only supports 2 GB ram (ddr 3). I mainly ordered it because it's one of the few that has an AGP 8x slot, and I just bought a 1 GB Nvidia video card a few weeks ago. I was planning on putting XP back on it and figured it would be speedy as hell, but if Windows 7 really is the way to go, I should consider it as a better OS? XP has been good to me so far, so unless it's a huge difference I'd just assume stay where I am. I have a license for Windows 7 sitting here doing nothing already (I opted to leave Vista on my lappy since it has also been good to me and my parents got me Windows 7 as a gift for keeping their computers running).

Thoughts?

[Adultery]

Honestly I was hoping for a miracle out of an older board. Still not happy with how it's performing so ready to add another core.

[mesk]

Am I hearing this correctly? I ordered a new mobo and a Pentium Core 2 Duo but it only supports 2 GB ram (ddr 3). I mainly ordered it because it's one of the few that has an AGP 8x slot, and I just bought a 1 GB Nvidia video card a few weeks ago. I was planning on putting XP back on it and figured it would be speedy as hell, but if Windows 7 really is the way to go, I should consider it as a better OS? XP has been good to me so far, so unless it's a huge difference I'd just assume stay where I am. I have a license for Windows 7 sitting here doing nothing already (I opted to leave Vista on my lappy since it has also been good to me and my parents got me Windows 7 as a gift for keeping their computers running).

Thoughts?

Windows 7 is the way to go.my gaming machine is only a p4(although it is the last run of p4's which share socket 775 with intel core 2 duo) 3.8ghz,512mb geforce 6200 agp8x,3gb ddr2 dual channel,and it runs everything from the 2600 to sega dreamcast\atomiswave\naomi with no problems at all.xp is old and buggy.I find that new emu's run much better on W7 then they did on xp.and believe me,im not one of those "I WANTS LATEST NOW!!" ppl,but W7 is leaps and bounds above xp IMHO

[Draco1962]

I would have to disagree with you, Ranzo, about XP 64-bit, primarily due to the sorry response from manufacturers to provide suitable drivers. Software that took advantage of 64-bit capabilities were also sorely lacking. Any of the OSs can be scaled back regarding overhead or "bloatware" and run great.

For balance of ease of use, stability, and making the best use of memory and architecture, I believe that 7 is the best in show, with XP 32-bit a close 2nd due to its longevity and wide-spread support.

[mesk]

Why AGP?!?

because most likely the board does not have a pci-e slot