Introduction

Windows XP = Xtra Performance

In building the perfect system for gaming, there are several factors that one must take into account: what type of CPU to use (AMD, Intel), what motherboard to get, how much memory is needed, and the list goes on. Gamers around the world build new systems packed with the latest and greatest hardware, install all of their previous software, and start gaming. There are some that take the other route however: upgrading their older systems with new video cards and more memory to meet the growing demands of new games. Whichever category you may fall into, there are a few factors you need to take into consideration before starting your gaming adventure.

One such example is your computer’s performance pre-game. In essence, how your computer is functioning before you click on the executable to start the game. For instance, do you have a lot of programs running in the background while your computer is idling? These programs are robbing your system of memory that could be allocated to your game instead, potentially giving you a few extra frames per second. But most people don’t know that these programs exist, assuming instead that their computer is running at full speed.

Also, what options did you pick when building your system? Did you upgrade to Windows XP from Windows 98 or Millenium or did you format and install a fresh copy of XP on your hard drive? Upgrading from older operating systems is not always the best option, especially when building a gaming system. A fresh copy of Windows XP is always the best solution PERIOD.

In this guide we plan on walking you through the full format and install method of setting up Windows XP Home or Pro on your system. Then we will discuss what options to pick and which ones not to pick, and we will give you all of the essential optimization tips once Windows XP has been loaded on your system. This step-by-step process can be used as a reference point when you want to install a fresh copy of Windows XP and want to make it gaming-ready. This guide will be linked to from now on in my optimization guides as a reference point for essential system optimization.