Difference between revisions of "Windows versions"

Latest revision as of 03:24, 8 November 2022

This is a list describing different Windows versions in terms of game compatibility.

Windows 3.x

Windows 3.0 is a graphical environment that can be run from DOS. The requirements are a 8088/8086 CPU, 386K of RAM, 6-7 MB HDD free space, a CGA/EGA/VGA/Hercules/8514/A graphics adapter and MS-DOS 3.1.. Windows 3.0 supports also 286/386 CPUs and can be run in Real Mode, 286 Protected Mode or 386 Protected Mode. However due to the similar implementation of the 386 Protected Mode the maximum useable memory is 16 MB, same as the limit for 286 Protected Mode. A few programs are included in Windows 3.0 like Program Manager, File Manager, Notepad, Paintbrush, Reversi and Solitaire. Later the Multimedia Extension 1.0 upgrade was released including a Soundblaster Pro and CD-ROM drive (Panasonic?). For True Type Font support Adobe Type Manager has to be installed.

Windows 3.1

Windows 3.11

Windows for Workgroups 3.11

Windows 95

Windows NT4

Windows NT4 uses a preemptive multitasking kernel and supports two CPUs and up to 4 GB RAM in the Workstation Professional version. The system is rather lightweight and requires only a 486DX2-66 and about 32 MB RAM, a Pentium system is recommended. After boot the whole Windows system uses just about 16 MB RAM. Windows NT4 has a higher stability as Windows 95. It was released with DirectX2 and got support for DirectX3 with the latest servicepack 6a. The user interface is the same as in Windows 95 with some additional features from Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95. However it is possible to upgrade to the user interface known from Windows 98 by installing Internet Explorer 4 with Active Desktop. Windows NT4 does not support Plug and Play and USB. This is usually no problem since drivers for PnP hardware bring their own configuration sheet and for mass storage USB devices third party software is available.

For gaming Direct3D from DirectX3 is supported. However most DirectX games with accelerated 3D graphics require at least DirectX5. Still, DirectX3 allows most 2D games that use DirectDraw to run (e.g. Starcraft, Diablo e.g.). Benchmarks show that due to the different driver architecture accelerated 2D graphics is a lot faster compared to Windows 95. The OpenGL support from graphics card drivers for Windows NT4 is solid. Also the most important gaming 3D accelerator cards from 3dfx at this time have Glide support in Windows NT4. Thus most Glide compatible games work (e.g. Unreal engines, Quake engines).

Any 16 bit related code like DOS programs are run in a Virtual DOS machine (NTVDM). It supports 486 code. Direct hardware calls are not possible.

Windows 98

Windows 98 SE with HimemX

Best all-in-one operating system for DOS and Win9x gaming. Basically a much more refined continuation of Windows 95. Good DOS compatibility either by DOS window or rebooting into DOS. Emulates USB mouses and gamepads in DOS window as well. Has numerous features that Win95 got only with the OSR releases and which weren't present in its original release, such as support for P6 (Pentium Pro and up), FAT32, selection of IRQs, AGP, UDMA, USB and MMX.

Furthermore, SSE and multiple monitor support is exclusive for Windows 98 and up. Windows 98 supports up to 512 MB RAM without tweaking, with tweaking up to 1 GB and beyond. Practical limit can be reached at about 1150MB using third party memory manager, like HimemX v3.32.

3rd party USB mass storage drivers, namely nusb24 and later nusb33e, are only available for Windows 98 SE due to its newer USB stack, so this revision is by far preferable. 3rd party drivers are also available for ADSL connectivity (raspppoe).

Windows 2000

A continuation of NT4 and the final OS from the NT line without a version targeted at home users/consumers. In similar fashion to the relation between 95 and NT4, 2000 is more stable than 98, although several graphics cards manufacturers initially had problems providing drivers with the same performance as under 98. Win2000 Professional supports up to two processors, Windows2000 Server up to four, with no differentiation between physical processors and individual cores on a multi-core CPU.

In some ways, this version of Windows is a transition to a much more home-oriented Windows XP. The RTM version includes DirectX 7 and will run a lot more games than Windows NT4 ever could. However, in terms of retro gaming there is no competition between it and Win98.

Windows ME

Released after Windows 2000, this is the last OS in the Win9x line. It lacks pure DOS mode (cannot reboot into DOS), which is a serious downside for those retro gaming enthusiasts who are looking for a combo DOS/Windows gaming machine.

Two major features Windows ME has over earlier Win9x builds are:

• USB Stack taken from Windows 2000, complete with USB mass storage drivers right out of the box. Third party drivers no longer needed.
• Networking stack taken from Windows 2000. This gives extra security and compatibility for newer networks.

Without the need to carry around pure DOS, some minor updates have been applied, which resulted in faster boot times and better compatibility with period hardware.

Just like Windows 98, the Millennium Edition officially supports only up to 512 MB RAM. Furthermore, tweaking it to work with more than 512MB RAM may not work at all. Numerous reviews as well as user experience feedback deemed ME to be the worst Windows ever made, while in fact it's just a plain old Win98 with some of the long-awaited updates. This is suspected to be Microsoft's own marketing effort to stop ME from growing too big less than a year prior to Windows XP release.

The aftermath for this is a poor recognition of this OS even by modern retro PC community, disregarding that in most games and tests it runs as fast and reliable as Windows 98/98SE, if not slightly better.

Windows XP

Last OS from Microsoft so far to support game ports, MPU-401 ports, the IPX protocol, out of the box MIDI device selection and EAX 3D sound hardware acceleration through the DirectSound HAL. Generally good Win9x game compatibility.

DOS programs are run in the NT Virtual DOS Machine (NTVDM). Basic Sound Blaster 2.0 and MPU-401 support can be enabled by adding SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 P330 T3 to the autoexec.nt file. The virtual resources do not have to represent real hardware resources. The NTVDM emulation uses the default windows multimedia devices. Direct hardware access from within NTVDM is not possible.

Windows XP introduced the recognition of Intel's Hyper-threading simultaneous multithreading technique. Furthermore, it differentiates between actual physical processors with their own socket and multiple cores on one CPU. WinXP Home Edition supports one physical processor, WinXP Professional two; both support up to 32 cores without Hyper-threading, 16 with it. The somewhat exotic Windows XP x64, which is essentially a relabelled Server 2003 x64, supports up to 64 and 32 cores, respectively.

Windows 10

It is the last Windows version to have a 32-bit version. The OS has changed significantly with each update. During the late cycle of this OS, graphics card drivers have improved, resulting in a better legacy compatibility with games and other 3D applications. It also fixed many DWM related bugs present in the earlier versions. Just like Windows 8 and 8.1, it doesn't allow the desktop to be set to 16-bit or 256 color mode but allows applications to use it. Several game compatibility tools for restoring EAX, A3D, table fog, paletted textures, original WinMM were developed during this era, which resulted in a huge compatibility improvement with old applications.

Microsoft Direct3D Mono (Ramp) Emulation as well as Direct3D Retained Mode support was broken in Windows 10, resulting in those applications to run poorly or with major bugs after the installation of the 'd3drm.dll' file. Intel graphics drivers since the 12th Generation Intel CPUs don't support Direct3D9 anymore and rely on a mapping layer named D3D9On12.

External Links

• Unofficial Win98 SE service pack with several tweaks and fixes