CsokibacsiHUN
Member
Joined: 24 Jan 2026
Age: 24
Posts: 14
Location: Hungary, Great Plains - Stormcorner
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 Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2026 10:33 pm Post subject: "Black Knight" - an x64 build |
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Greetings Everyone!
I have never done a proper introduction on this forum so I had the idea to get it right but also include my results of creating a "retro" rig.
My name is Czoki. IT field was always a close hobby to me but my real passion is history, swimming and learning languages (yeah, weird combo  )
About a year ago I decided to build a Windows XP machine from my previous PC's parts (from 2011-2012). The journey started off as a fun little project until I realized how many software I was interested in trying out are only compatible with XP or earlier Windows versions. Later these treasures of digital history became parts of my regular working pipeline (ofc next to my regular W10 rig). I tried VMs but they never gave the same results as real hardware. So came the long research.
Without going into too much details I finally gave XP 64-bit a try and oh boy it was a great choice. I found drivers and got hand on several extra equipment which made this system a thrill to use.
I would like to present you the "Black Knight" - inspired by the Scooby-Doo character 
Specs are the following:
-Intel Core i7-2600k 3.4GHz
-Samsung 840 PRO 128GB SSD - Intel RST AHCI enabled
-HGST Mobile HDD 500GB 7200rpm
-TSSTcorp CD/DVD Writer SH-S183A
-Samsung Floppy Drive with FLOPPY to USB card
-Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro
-Asus VC239 1920x1080 60Hz
-IntelliMouse Explorer USB
Images were taken with a Sony DSC-V3.
 This last picture demonstrates how OTVDM has restored backwards compatibility to x64 bit XP. Max 5.1 Update was compiled in a 16-bit installer. Thanks to the work of otya 64-bit XP has become just as compatible as it's 32-bit counter part.
For closure, the 64-bit version of XP was long neglected because of being too demanding for it's time and not supported by early drivers. Not to mention the arrival of Vista. But as of nowdays if somebody would consider building a XP rig I highly recommend 64-bit. Several modern and still well maintained applications run on it without problems or with compatibility mode.
Altough a bit limited I found this rig to be almost as useful as the modern ones. And on the production side I had a much better time working on it. The software front is much stronger on the XP side.
Cheers! 
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| Turbók Imre wrote: | | Easy rider Brother! Easy rider! |
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