I am administering a computer for family that is currently running Windows 7. It is an HP XW9300 with a pair of dual core Opterons, 8gb of ram, and a GTX 570. It is used for gaming, and for some light web browsing.
I am currently considering what to do next year when Windows 7 runs out of support.
The current CPUs do not have the CMPXCHG16b instruction so Win 8.1 x64 and Win 10 x64 do not work on the machine. x86 windows is also not really a good option as it would lose access to half of the ram(come on MS, you have had PAE since 2003 and have since dropped it), and additionally some of the games are x64.
I would ideally just upgrade the CPUs, but I do not know of any socket 940 CPUs that support CMPXCHG16b. Also, the motherboard has proprietary mounting/form factor, so a socket upgrade would require a new mobo, cpu, ram, and case
Linux is possibly an option, but I do not have nearly enough time to try getting games running in wine. I have had enough issues getting everything running on Windows. It would be a different matter with a handful of games, but with 40+, some of which are obscure CD only releases, compatibility would be a big chore.
Removing networking is a no-go because of playing games over LAN, some of the games requiring an internet connection, and the web browsing it is used for.
Does anyone have recommendations on what to do, or any information for a cheap/easy fix such as a socket 940 cpu with CMPXCHG16b or a x64 version of windows supported past 2020 that does not need CMPXCHG16b?
Could you keep a ring fenced offline version of win7 and run those games in a VM on Linux ? If The games are old enough the performance hit shouldn’t matter too much.
I hate to break it to you, but like dogs, PC’s no matter how faithful will eventually either just die or need to be put down. This machine sounds like the later. The architecture in there was released in 2005, it will be almost 15 years old by the time Win7 loses extended support - it’s given good service but it’ll be time to move on.
You could keep it and provided its behind a firewall and only used for running games it will probably be fine. Just disable services that are not needed (e.g. SMB v1) and carry on. It won’t self-immolate just because Win7 is out of support - but I’d get something newer for online banking and even general web browsing once its no longer supported by the latest versions of firefox, chrome etc.
You’ll be firmly in the world of retro computers
They are mostly new enough to need 3d graphics, so that would not work in a normal VM. It does not have IOMMU(I think) so I cannot do graphics passthrough, and virgl is not ready for windows guests.
I totally would if it did not need to be on the internet.
Why. I can still buy new desktop computers that are slower than this one. It has 4 cores, 8gb of ram(can fit 16), PCIe slots, sata ports, etc so it is still plenty powerful for what I am asking it to do, it just has one missing feature that is a roadblock.
If you have a router/firewall in front of it, and not the computer itself directly connected to the internet, I can’t see why there’d be a problem. Generally a computer shouldn’t be directly exposed to the internet unless something has been specifically configured to ward off all the evil that resides there.
If it’s because of virus and such, well, anti virus will still work on it if that’s the case. Not like the built-in defender and firewall from MS is worth much to begin with, all it gives is a false sense of security.
An upgrade in the future is unavoidable, with new releases of games and other things, some system related upgrades won’t be available, like DirectX and perhaps a few other things, but that’s down the line.
Of course there would be a problem. Most exploits these days are not remote, your auntie installs a cute kitty screensaver and suddenly her computer runs slow and hot as it’s mining cryptocurrency or whatever. Up to date security patches are absolutely mandatory on computers connected to the internet.
If these people aren’t sophisticated users and they play games, do not install Linux. That computer is basically garbage and they need to buy a new one. It’s 14 years old, all things must eventually come to an end in this life.
Very true, which is why it should be on router rather than pc.
All the “user friendly” help that got deeper integrated into windows, especially windows 10, is what made me wipe my drives and install Linux for good. For 35 years, I’ve never had active firewall on workstation, anti virus or anti spyware. Never needed it. Never had a virus, had malware maybe twice.
Don’t get me wrong, firewall is required, just not on pc, but on a router.
No, really you can’t. A Sandybridge i3 from 2011 (dual core with Hyperthreading) will out-perform a pair of the fastest socket 940 Opterons. Not only is it missing the instruction set required for 64bit Win8.1/Win10 it’s also missing several other instruction sets and extensions released over the past decade. Not to mention the bus speed, memory speed etc. are so much lower. It is what it is, a system perfectly capable in its day and then some, but time has moved on.
To use old hardware with a modern OS finding one that will work is part of the fun; in this case it will likely be certain Linux distos, FreeBSD or maybe a 32bit version of Windows. Windows Server 2012 R2 x64 might also compatible - MIcrosoft supported older server hardware a bit longer than the desktop market.
Given the low cost of a second hand machine/parts from 5 years or so ago though, that’s the path I would travel to replace Win7 with Win10 x64.
If Memory Servers right, those had Opteron 200 Series CPUs in it. Those are slow. Like, a Core 2 Duo is faster.
You can get anything Core ix and tripple your performance. Full PC’s with Core i5 and 8G Ram from businesses refurbished can be had for 100 bucks or less. Throw the existing GTX570 into one of those and be done with it.
I think you are going to have to accept it’s use will have the change.
What is the best you can make from that change?
There have been some interesting suggestions. Personally I would install Linux distro. MX Linux would be a good choice. Then build something cheap to make use of that graphics card for gaming. A refurbished Dell would do the job.
That is going to use a lot more power than is needed. And like others have said, it is old.
An 2400G will outperform it in the CPU department, an RX560 will be faster in the GPU department. With the exception for GPU, most business machines with 4 cores that get thrown out are faster than the dual Opterons.
My suggestion $600 for a system that will be faster and than the current one. Note: On ASRock boards, only the lower M.2 Slot supports Sata-SSDs, the other one is PCIe-only
I, too, have an old computer I’m unwilling to part with. It just has too much nostalgic, sentimental value. It’s been replaced at least twice over the years, but still it sits.
It’s based around an Opteron 185, with an Asus A8N-SLI board. I think it has 2GB RAM. It also has an Nvidia GTX 260 Core 216 video card. It was a beast of a system back in the day.
Anyway, all it is now is a retro gaming system. It’s got Windows XP installed, with Halo CE, Max Payne, Deus Ex, Age of Empires, etc setup on it. It’s hooked up to a giant 19 or 20 inch CRT. I rarely boot it up anymore, and it’s definitely not connected to the internet.
So, that’s my opinion on what you should do with the computer you have. Just turn it into a retro gaming system. It’s not safe anymore to be out and about in the internet, but it’s still useful for old stuff. Just get a cheapish ex-enterpise 2nd or 3rd gn Intel system for basic usage, maybe something you can pop a halfway decent video card in for more modern games, and away you go.
If you saved up for a cheap modern 4 core/8gb/ssd small form factor OEM PC like Dell or HP then you would get Windows 10 and enough performance to blow that old clunker away. The power savings alone would pay for itself in a few months.
