Windows 2000 pro

[gotenks]

win 3.1 was not an os but a graphics adaption of dos
windows 95 was the first of the kind of dos based wondows which lead to 98 and ME
windows NT was the first of the non dos based (NTFS) windows which lead to NT 4, 2000, and XP. XP they brought some stuff from ME but it is not based on the same core as ME is it is still 2000.

[Leviathan777]

From the bench mark listed:

Conclusion: It looks as if we'll have to give the SPeeD crown to Windows 98SE. While XP is Microsoft's greatest effort in the OS arena to date, 98 comes out on top for raw performance. XP will give you bells and whistles, a smooth interface, and stability, but if your looking for every bit of performance you can squeeze out of your system, chances are good you'll want to keep a separate partition on your hard drive with 98SE installed.

One thing we need to keep in mind as well. Neither operating systems were tweaked in this review. There are several XP tweaks out there that will surely boost performance and bring any of these individual benchmarks up quite a bit. So it all boils down to what is convenient for you, and does an extra 5 frames per second in your favorite game matter when it comes down to the wire. Be sure to checkout our review of Windows XP if you are thinking about upgrading and want a quick glance at what you can expect with XP.

I noticed that between the line that the person writing this review was hinting that he liked 98 before the test. But s/he also said to have XP even if you are going to play games on 98SE.

I am running 98SE, I don't get all the problems that most people get cause I know how to set it up right(however, when loozers get on my comp and DL and install everything that pops up on the screen everything tends to go to hell). The ONLY reason I continue to run 98 is because I use older programs and games that were designed for DOS. Hell, I even run a small and unused Duke Nukem 3d Online site. Have found that you can't launch these games the way needed to play online and still have sound with XP or 2K(notice: I know you can get DOS sound thru programs but they don't launch out of the Icommit driver). Heh, I was even playing Wolfenstein3d today. But this is ME.

I suggest that if you have a new machine, go with XP. Chances are every piece of hardware you put in that thing is going to be optimized of XP. XP will run everything new faster and better, especially with multiple quits and connects(that memory leak thing and others stability issues 98 has). I have seen many good arguments for each system here but face the facts. The older OS's are no longer being supported or updated to keep up with the changes. For those of you who do not plan to keep up with the rest of the world you can keep 98SE. But if you want to keep up and play the newer games as they come out, I would have to say XP(or linux). It will be there for you longer. My next machine is going to be an XP system, too many good things to ignore, however I always feel like something is wrong every time I use it. I hope it's just a feeling and nothing serious.

[#pv#deathsdoor`]

v51 i think ill always have a win98se comp lying around ready to be cabled up if needed. just like i have the old zx,amiga bbc and win3.1 on hand. but my new pc will be xp for the simple fact i edit vids. The security still is an issue for me but with ms tackling this prob as we type (new patch released soon) im sure ill migrate sooner or later. for those of you interested heres some longhorn screeners

http://uploadtestjc.tripod.com/cgi-bin/ ... nshots.htm