Software
  Home arrow Software arrow Win98SE vs WinXP
Dev Hardware Forums 
Computer Cases  
Computer Processors  
Computer Systems  
Digital Cameras  
Flat Panels  
Hardware Guides  
Hardware News  
Input Devices  
Memory  
Mobile Devices  
Motherboards  
Networking Hardware  
Opinions  
PC Cooling  
PC Gaming  
PC Speakers  
Peripherals  
Power Supply Units  
Software  
Sound Cards  
Storage Devices  
Tech Interviews  
User Experiences  
Video Cards  
Dedicated Servers  
Moblin 
JMSL Numerical Library 
IBM® developerWorks 
Sun Developer Network 
Weekly Newsletter
 
Developer Updates  
Free Website Content 
 RSS  Articles
 RSS  Forums
 RSS  All Feeds
Write For Us Get Paid 
Request Media Kit
Contact Us 
Site Map 
Privacy Policy 
Support 
 USERNAME
 
 PASSWORD
 
 
  >>> SIGN UP!  
  Lost Password? 
SOFTWARE

Win98SE vs WinXP
By: SPeeD
  • Search For More Articles!
  • Disclaimer
  • Author Terms
  • Rating: 4 stars4 stars4 stars4 stars4 stars / 41
    2003-10-01

    Table of Contents:

    Rate this Article: Poor Best 
      ADD THIS ARTICLE TO:
      Del.ici.ous Digg
      Blink Simpy
      Google Spurl
      Y! MyWeb Furl
    Email Me Similar Content When Posted
    Add Developer Shed Article Feed To Your Site
    Email Article To Friend
    Print Version Of Article
    PDF Version Of Article
     
     
    ADVERTISEMENT


    Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows XP has been on the market now long enough for most people to decide whether or not they want to install and use it on their systems. It's easily the smoothest, prettiest and most stable OS yet from Microsoft. But is it fast? Everyone is saying it is....but we are going to show you a quick comparison today to let you know just how much faster, if any, than XP is over Windows 98 Second Edition, from a Gamer/Overclocker's perspective. Not a long article indeed, yet a view of several different benchmarking programs that will compare the two operating systems head to head.

    Microsoft Windows 98SE vs WinXP

     

    Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows XP has been on the market now long enough for most people to decide whether or not they want to install and use it on their systems. It's easily the smoothest, prettiest and most stable OS yet from Microsoft. But is it fast? Everyone is saying it is....but we are going to show you a quick comparison today to let you know just how much faster, if any, than XP is over Windows 98 Second Edition, from a Gamer/Overclocker's perspective. Not a long article indeed, yet a view of several different benchmarking programs that will compare the two operating systems head to head.

    Test System:

    Windows 98 SE and Windows XP Professional, running on the following system:

    • AMD 1.4GHz Tbird CPU @1500MHz

    • MSI K7T266 Pro2-RU Motherboard

    • 256megs of Kingmax PC2400 DDR

    • Maxtor 40G 7200rpm HD

    • Visiontek GF3 Video Card

    Both versions of Windows freshly installed on Identically matched hard drives. nVidia Detonator 21.83 Drivers used for both systems, with default settings (no tweaks). Via 4.35 4in1's used for both. Both 98SE and XP were fully updated using Microsoft's Windows Update function. 98SE was installed using FAT32 and XP was installed using naitive NTFS.


     

    Benchmarks: Lets get right down to it and start of with some SiSoft Sandra Benchmarks. Theoretically, CPU, Multi-Media and Memory benchmarks should be the same. Lets take a look.

     

     

     

    Just as we suspected. Each OS running @1500MHz is pretty much neck and neck. Neither score negligibly above the other in both marks. Lets see what Multi-Media scores show us.


     

    Here we see Win98 winning in the raw Integer score, and XP wins Floating Point, which is to be expected as XP has more enhancements for newer chip technology such as MMX, 3DNow...etc. Memory scores below.


     

    Windows XP is pulling slightly ahead in both FPU and INT MMX scores, but not by much. Certainly not enough to get excited about, and as we suspected before, Win98 and XP are competitive given identical hardware. One thing I would like to mention though is that XP appears to handle memory leaks MUCH better than Win98. Upon consecutive runs of the SiSoft Memory Test, Win98SE scores drop lower and lower and lower with each additional test. While XP scores stay relatively the same no matter how many times they are run. In interesting note to say the least.

    Lets move on to 3DMark2000 and 2001 to see what type of differences we'll see with gaming and video benchmarks.

     

     

    Here we are seeing Windows 98SE as the clear winner. Even though nVidia drivers have been optimized for XP, 98 takes the crown in this category for both iterations of 3DMark. Lets see some Quake3 action next.


     

     

    Windows 98SE wins this competition as well. Showing more FPS in resolutions below 1600x1200. Our video card is the bottle neck at that resolution so CPU and/or OS will not affect that score, but again, Win98SE is more efficient in the 640x480 and 1024x768 resolutions.


    The next benchmark we have is AMD's very own N-Bench. This is the first time we are using this benchmarking program at OCA and will most likely incorporate it into our future reviews for benchmarking purposes. Lets see how the numbers stack up.

     

     

    Keeping with the trend, it looks as if Win98SE dominates slightly in N-Bench scores. Showing a higher total score as well as higher average frames per second. Ok, lets finish this off with Dronezmark.


     

     

    Quite a different benchmark than most. DronezMark shows you the minimum, maximum, and average frames per second which is really quite informative, as opposed to a simple score. Dronez utilizes nVidia's nFiniteFX engine and is also highly tuned for Intel's P4 processor. With this, we see Windows XP's performance above that of 98SE in Maximum fps as well as average. 98 ends up higher in minimum fps.


    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.

     

     


    DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware.

    More Software Articles
    More By SPeeD


    Recommended by Dev Hardware

     

    IBM® developerWorks developerWorks - FREE Tools!


    Build Forge Express demo: Enabling software delivery excellence for small and midsized businesses

    This demonstration gives you an overview of IBM® Rational® Build Forge Express Edition, a global offering that provides a framework to automate and execute software processes. Rational Build Forge provides a software assembly line that can support all of your tools, technologies, and platforms so you can achieve a repeatable, reliable, and traceable build and release process.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Best practices for software analysis: An introduction to the IBM Rational Software Analyzer application

    This whitepaper presents the benefits of successfully introducing static analysis into your organization using IBM Rational Software Analyzer. Additionally, it identifies some common pitfalls that can hinder the effective use of static analysis tooling as well as presents 10 simple strategies designed to help you quickly realize the value of static analysis using Rational Software Analyzer.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Did you say mainframe? e-kit

    Learn how you can extend modern application lifecycle management to IBM System z through the IBM Rational Software Delivery Platform (SDP). The Did you say mainframe? e-kit includes podcasts, webcasts, tutorials, white and red papers, demos, and articles designed to help ease the challenges of modernizing your enterprise. This complimentary kit for mainframe developers is a practical, how-to guide for making the most of an existing development environment, including the skills and infrastructure already in place at an established enterprise.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Download a free trial of WebSphere Business Modeler Advanced V6.1.1

    Visit IBM developerWorks to download a free trial version of WebSphere Business Modeler Advanced V6.1.1, IBM’s premier business process modeling and analysis tool for business users that offers process modeling, simulation, and analysis capabilities. IBM WebSphere Business Modeler helps you visualize, understand, and document business processes for continuous improvement.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Download the free Web Application Security eKit

    Discover how IBM Rational AppScan Standard Edition can help you detext vulnerabilities in your web applications in the Web Application Security eKit. IBM Rational AppScan is a leading suite of automated web application security solutions that scan and test for common Web application vulnerabilities. The new Web Application Security eKit provides you with valuable resources, including white papers, demos, and additional information on the benefits of testing your Web applications.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Project and Portfolio Management Executive Resource Kit

    Portfolio Management is about effectively managing portfolio value by aligning portfolio investments with business goals. This complimentary e-kit provides a collection of materials that can help you understand how IBM Rational enables and automates best practices for improved governance and clear visibility into portfolio and project performance across the entire IT project lifecycle.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Rational Build Forge Express eKit

    Rational Build Forge Express Edition is an automation framework that packages the latest enterprise-grade technologies into a reliable, flexible and robust configuration designed and priced specifically for small to midsize businesses. The new Rational Build Forge Express eKit provides you with valuable resources – including a case study, podcast, demo, and articles – to help you increase staff productivity, compress development cycles and deliver better software, fast.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Rational Talks to You:Per Kroll on Rational Method Composer Plug-in customization

    Join this Rational Talks to You teleconference on December 11 at 1:00 pm ET to get tips on building your own plugins with Rational Method Composer. Get your questions answered!
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! The dirty dozen: preventing common application-level hack attacks

    As organizations have grown increasingly dependent on online software, the risk of malicious attacks has also become far more serious. Fortunately, well-governed organizations can protect their Web applications by injecting vulnerability assessments and ethical hacks into their software development and delivery processes. This paper describes 12 of the most common hacker attacks and provides basic rules that you can follow to help create more hack-resistant Web applications.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Understanding Web application security challenges

    As businesses grow increasingly dependent upon Web applications, these complex entities grow more difficult to secure. Most companies equip their Web sites with firewalls, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), and network and host security, but the majority of attacks are on applications themselves – and these technologies cannot prevent them. This paper explains what you can do to help protect your organization, and it discusses an approach for improving your organization’s Web application security.
    FREE! Go There Now!



    All FREE IBM® developerWorks Tools!

    SOFTWARE ARTICLES

    - Applications from Hard Drive to Internet
    - Video Editing Software for 08
    - The World of Freeware
    - The World Browsing Championship, Round 2
    - The Ultimate Troubleshooter v3.62
    - Apple Boot Camp
    - Replay Music
    - WinTasks Pro 5 Review
    - SuSE Linux 9.1 Review
    - Bringing Yourself Up to Speed with AAC, MP3,...
    - Mandrake Linux 10: The Future Looks Good
    - Athlon 64 and Windows XP 64 Bit Edition
    - DVD to DivX Guide
    - Win98SE vs WinXP
    - Windows XP






    © 2003-2008 by Developer Shed. All rights reserved. DS Cluster 2 hosted by Hostway