Better OS idea that would aide in NOT upgrading

[Beeblequix]

I was reading KraZy_SkitZy's latest thread:http://www.sysopt.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=121297.

He poses the question, why bother upgrading. It seems that every 6 months or so the pc industry moves so fast that we all seem compelled/compulsed to UPGRADE our parts. It's not very economical, and irritates a bunch of people who are constantly needing money to upgrade.

Then I thought to myself "why can an Xbox or PS/2 handle its **** so well vs a pc?" Then it hit me: we have way too much overhead in terms of the OS. I run Windows XP like many people do, and have used 9x previously. For most normal things it does pretty well. In fact, I like XP. Still, the OS itself needs way too much.

So I propose that we develop a Gamer OS. The OS must be able to handle the routine I/O of the hard drives, the CDROMS, and the Video output functions just like the XBox or other consoles. But it needs to be an ultraminimalist in terms of what it needs to run. You don't need to run your printer, scanner, antivirus, AOLsucks, whatever else while gaming. You just need memory addressing and much more efficient processes, like none.

If we had an OS that would still be able to run our Windows based games, but needed a meager 2 Meg to run in, we would not be so succeptable to compulsory upgrading and our rigs would have four times as much lifespan. Think of how the Xbox uses a simple Pentium III~700Mhz and Nvidia nforce-like video output. Now imagine your 1.4 Ghz T-bird and Geforce 2ti running on a similar Xbox like OS. Yeah, you're already running a setup which would be doublely extended in its life if it simply had a highly specific Gaming OS to liberate the rest of your rig. What do y'all think?

ßeeßle "M$ OSes are resource pigs" Qµix

[Logan2002]

I think that would be a great idea! XP alone eats tons of ram, and has so many programs running in the background.

I have tried shutting them down but after a few mins they just start right back up.

So I have to buy more ram so that my games can run more smoothly.

[Bizkitkid2001]

Whats the point of buying a gaming OS when all you can do is game with it? Why not just go ahead and buy an XBOX or PS2:rolleyes: All you are doing is changeing your computer into an XBOX.

Also another reason the XBOX and PS2 run better is because they are only running th games at 640*480 res and the textures are not as big.:t But with computer games most people run it at 1024*768 or more and the textures are much bigger giving it a much sharper look. If you ran your games at the setting the XBOX and PS2 do then your computer could run the game just as fast if not faster then the two consoles.:t ;)

[Bizkitkid2001]

Originally posted by Logan2002
I think that would be a great idea! XP alone eats tons of ram, and has so many programs running in the background.

I have tried shutting them down but after a few mins they just start right back up.

So I have to buy more ram so that my games can run more smoothly.


How much ram do you got?

With kazaa, edonkey, trillian, Norton Anti Virus, Weatherbug, seti, MBM5, DAP, and the sound mixture I still have 180mb out of 256mb free. During a game of quake III or UT it drops down to about 90mb free. I don't have any problems with XP eating my system resources?:confused:

[Optimus Prime]

Originally posted by Bizkitkid2001
Whats the point of buying a gaming OS when all you can do is game with it? Why not just go ahead and buy an XBOX or PS2:rolleyes: All you are doing is changeing your computer into an XBOX.

Also another reason the XBOX and PS2 run better is because they are only running th games at 640*480 res and the textures are not as big.:t But with computer games most people run it at 1024*768 or more and the textures are much bigger giving it a much sharper look. If you ran your games at the setting the XBOX and PS2 do then your computer could run the game just as fast if not faster then the two consoles.:t ;)

They run at like 320x240 actually, TV res. A gaming OS would be excellent, and if you wanted to do stuff like surf the net, you would just make a DUAL BOOT on a partitioned hard-drive.

Excellent idea Beeble.

[KraZy_SkitZy]

That is a great idea. The idea kinda reflects on DOS. Back when I was using my old 133, I would play a couple games that would have the option to play in DOS or Windows, and what I came to relize, is that games ran Significantly faster in DOS, at possibly 3-5x faster than in Windows. With that, maybe they could make a more "User Friendly" fool proof DOS, that "Maybe" looked prettier.... :p

[Cpl_Squirrel]

Here is the product of somebody who had the same idea...it's a minimalist windows shell replacement known as gameos (http://www.voodoofiles.com/3435) :)

Not that it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, but your thread reminded of this thing.

[Bizkitkid2001]

Originally posted by Optimus Prime


They run at like 320x240 actually, TV res. A gaming OS would be excellent, and if you wanted to do stuff like surf the net, you would just make a DUAL BOOT on a partitioned hard-drive.

Excellent idea Beeble.


Well it deepends. If you are useing an old TV with a coaxle cable RF modulator then yes you are only useing 320*240. But for some lucky individuals(:p ) You can go buy the HDTV exspansion pack cables from the store and play it on a 61" HDTV useing the higher res of the newer HDTV's.;) :p :D

[Logan2002]

I have over a gig of ram and believe me xp needs it when i play games.

I have checked my system while playing mohaa, 1942, and neverwinter, and some demos.

The lostest ram usages was about 100megs, while the highest was 400megs.

When i had only 256 in mohaa i had all sorts of slowdown....xp eats rescources.

even now i have about 770megs free.
that means if i play 1942 it leaves about 200-300megs free.

[Logan2002]

Another thing a gaming os would be better becasue you cannot upgrade the xbox.....you have to buy another console....but if lets people had two os's windows and a gaming os you could switch between the two.


I think it is a good idea.

[Bizkitkid2001]

You can upgrade an xbox. There are web sites all over the net that tell you how. You can add a bigger hard drive, faster cpu, and there are so many mod chips that you can install into the XBOX to where it will read any cd format. It will also allow you to run windows on it(even though there is a way to do it without the chip, and linux too):t I am thinking abou getting The Matrix mod chip for the XBOX so I can use CD-R instead of CD-RW disc(which burn much slower) to put all of my MP3's on it.

[Bizkitkid2001]

Originally posted by Logan2002
I have over a gig of ram and believe me xp needs it when i play games.

I have checked my system while playing mohaa, 1942, and neverwinter, and some demos.

The lostest ram usages was about 100megs, while the highest was 400megs.

When i had only 256 in mohaa i had all sorts of slowdown....xp eats rescources.

even now i have about 770megs free.
that means if i play 1942 it leaves about 200-300megs free.


I don't know why but my system runs great under XP with only 320mb of RAM(I know I said 256mb before but I forgot I had added another stick) and I don't get slow downs in MOHAA.

But then again my system seems to run DOOMIII just as fast as Pentium 4 2.2ghz and athlon XP's with GeForce4ti. :rolleyes:

[Logan2002]

WOW did not know that about the xbox.

Maybe this console will be arround for a long time??

[xenomorph69]

How bout yer OS be based on Linux Kernel? make the O/S Opensource. Get lots of contributions that way and maybe if it caught on more companies mayt make games for Linux.

[Beeblequix]

You know xenomorph69, I thought about exactly that--the Linux Lite Gamer OS. Except 99% of PC based games are already in Windows format. I personally have no problem with M$ OSes having this kind of supremacy. I also have nothing against the open source OSes.

But what you're mentioning would be recounted as a paradigm shift the likes of which no of us have ever seen. In order to accomplish a total change for programmers from Windows platform to Linux you'd have to make it worth their while. They'd need to be compensated equally. It matters to them if their product sells 66000 copies vs 660000 copies. So while Linux is touted to be extremely stable it's not going to become the OS of choice for gamers. Unless.....

...if a new kernel of Linux could be structured to allow full throttle gaming using windows based software we'd be in business. That way the gamers would have their supremo-stable OS, streamlined for exclusive use with PC gaming while at the same time losing all the useless processes and expensive overhead inherent in Windows systems we might have something.

IMHO, DOS was the best and most stable OS. I still use it on some systems. It's only real limitation was the 1Meg ceiling. How about we rewrite DOS for DX/OpenGL compatability but give it a 4GB memory ceiling? No more of this Protected mode, Real mode, and virtual real mode bs. No more expanded memory, nor extended memory. We'll call it Mainlined Memory. GUI? Bah. My Atari 800 DOS had no GUI. We had a little AUTOEXEC.EXE program on each 5.25" floppy telling us the directory structure.

'nother idea: write a simple little program -sic- that would
1) examine your hardware
2) optimize your hardware for gaming
3) write itself a new set of drivers for useful components

I'm sure the HAL 9000 could have handled doing that. But HAL probably needed more memory than we use as of now. me getting sleepy....

ß.Qµix

[BargainBin]

Yes I like the idea.

My old Pentium 90 printed a Paint document on the Lexmark using Windows 98 in 5 minutes. The same Pentium printed the same Paint document on the same Lexmark using reformatted HD w/ Windows 95 in 1 minute 15 seconds. Ever since then, I've been a believer that the bigger, better Microsoft operating systems are just bigger, bloated parasites hogging all that newer, faster hardware potential and suffocating it.

DOS ran games great, but had obvious drawbacks. I think you're on to something. Develop a leaner, dedicated gaming platform on the PC.

Hope you can get someone to really do it.

[ALS]

Hey Guys,

For the gaming Windows 98 is the best. Windows 2000 Pro is most stable for Office and Games, but has a problem with 3d Graphics and OpenGL. Windows XP should do fine though. Never put Windows ME it suck. Has a bad support in DirectX.

I am using Windows 2000 Pro Updated wiht Service Pack 3. It is giving me a great performance.


Peace out:)

[$1500-P4 gamer]

The Xbox is a castraited PC. End of story. Why buy a xbox if you got a pc, they have the same games. Pc's have MORE upgrades and games are more widespread gnere wise. More options, more upgrades, bigger specs, and can do more than game. Hmmm, xbox is the best concel but face it. Its for people who are either too dumb to run a pc or cant afford one. After buying every concel released since the Nintendo Im done withem. I mean in a year or so they are worthless. And in 3 dead most times. Sure the ps lived long. But the game graphics SUCKED compared to the dreamcast and other offerings. So if it does last long your still wanting somthing with more power. It all is the same. I want better faster cooler games. Well pc's got that all. plus you got more controler options. Mods and countless other advantages over any concel. WHY run windows on a xbox if you got a pc-cant figure that one out myself. But each to his own I guess.:rolleyes:
The ONLY reason concels outlive their hardware speced time is because they optimize the game code, its complied in c++ to run faster so its already in machine lang. and no interperter like most pc games. The only reason we have to upgrade pc's all the time is cause programing time $ more than our hardware so they make US bight the bullet and spend the $. This is also why concel games hang around the $50.00 or more mark longer than pc games. No more concels for me, I had enuff of them....:t

[Bizkitkid2001]

Originally posted by $1500-P4 gamer
The Xbox is a castraited PC. End of story. Why buy a xbox if you got a pc, they have the same games. Pc's have MORE upgrades and games are more widespread gnere wise. More options, more upgrades, bigger specs, and can do more than game. Hmmm, xbox is the best concel but face it. Its for people who are either too dumb to run a pc or cant afford one.


Exuse me?:confused: You saying people that own an XBOX are Idiots?:mad: I happen to own an XBOX but am I a retarted computer illiterate cheapo??!!:confused: :mad: NO!:mad:


And the xbox has a lot of games that are not on the Computer:rolleyes:

[$1500-P4 gamer]

"You saying people that own an XBOX are Idiots? I happen to own an XBOX but am I a retarted computer illiterate cheapo??!! NO!"

NO dont put words in my mouth. I was refering to running widows or linux on a xbox. The only reason would be if you cant afford a pc. And sorry but MOST the games arent exclusivly liscensed to XBOX. Besides Im a first person shooter type myself, those always will and always have sucked on concel. the pc is def. better at that no question. Another example any of the WarCraft games which I love. All games of that gnere SUCK on concel. Using a a gamepad over a mouse and keyboard, if you do that then I guess Dumb would apply. But I doubt you do. Never thought or said you were stupid. Take it easy man.:p

[Bizkitkid2001]

They need to come out with a keyboard and optical mouse for the xbox. You are right first person shooting really suck on the console:p

[Optimus Prime]

Originally posted by $1500-P4 gamer
The Xbox is a castraited PC. End of story. Why buy a xbox if you got a pc, they have the same games. Pc's have MORE upgrades and games are more widespread gnere wise. More options, more upgrades, bigger specs, and can do more than game. Hmmm, xbox is the best concel but face it. Its for people who are either too dumb to run a pc or cant afford one. After buying every concel released since the Nintendo Im done withem. I mean in a year or so they are worthless. And in 3 dead most times. Sure the ps lived long. But the game graphics SUCKED compared to the dreamcast and other offerings. So if it does last long your still wanting somthing with more power. It all is the same. I want better faster cooler games. Well pc's got that all. plus you got more controler options. Mods and countless other advantages over any concel. WHY run windows on a xbox if you got a pc-cant figure that one out myself. But each to his own I guess.:rolleyes:
The ONLY reason concels outlive their hardware speced time is because they optimize the game code, its complied in c++ to run faster so its already in machine lang. and no interperter like most pc games. The only reason we have to upgrade pc's all the time is cause programing time $ more than our hardware so they make US bight the bullet and spend the $. This is also why concel games hang around the $50.00 or more mark longer than pc games. No more concels for me, I had enuff of them....:t

you said it mate.

FPS games suck on consoles
RTS games suck on consoles
TBS games suck on consoles
Driving Games suck on consoles (my own preference)

[SpaceBz]

So that leaves them with two things: Platformers and 3rd person adventure games. X-Box has few of both of those. And they wonder why it doesn't sell in Japan...

[$1500-P4 gamer]

"And they wonder why it doesn't sell in Japan..."

Yeah, really....
:D

[Optimus Prime]

most console games are made for the constant caffiene population, like my brother.

their mainstream of products are action games, just plain out, all guns a'blazin, mayhem, which is good once in a while, if its done correctly, like Serious Sam (man that game is good), but there are some bad games on consoles, like that new CONTRA game that got released.

[KraZy_SkitZy]

Originally posted by ALS
Hey Guys,

Never put Windows ME it suck. Has a bad support in DirectX.




Peace out:)

Windows ME, is GREAT! I like it way more than 98 SE, it fixed many issues my PC was happening on my old PC, and increased performance. :r

[Bizkitkid2001]

I think consoles are best for racing and sports games:t

[$1500-P4 gamer]

Originally posted by Bizkitkid2001
I think consoles are best for racing and sports games:t
I agree with that.:t

[NJEnviroguy]

Originally posted by Bizkitkid2001
I think consoles are best for racing and sports games:t

Yurp. Got Madden 2003 for my PC and I'm still trying to make the transition from PS. Madden '98 was bad ****. I got the PC and have the PS2 downstairs. The Metal Gear, SSX tricky are all awesome on PS2. Its a nice release from the PC every now and then.