Coolest throwback: This is how an overpowered Windows XP build looks like in 2024!

Windows XP has been retired for a while now, but it seems that some users are still using the legacy system.

This isn’t as uncommon as we thought, and it seems that many of these users are running Windows XP on relatively modern hardware that can handle newer operating systems.

Although it’s not supported anymore, some users are still running Windows XP

Recently there was a discussion on the Windows XP subreddit where one user showcased its PC running Windows XP.

What comes as a surprise is that Windows XP SP3 32-bit is running on relatively modern hardware, which includes an ASUS P8Z68-V PRO motherboard and Intel Core i7 2600K.

The device also has AMD Radeon HD 7970 GPU and 16GB of DDR3 memory.

Users were surprised to see that a 32-bit version was able to handle 16GB of RAM, but that was achieved via a hack.

You need the PAE hack to enable accessing RAM beyond the 4GB in 32 bit.

Many were surprised that this user was using a 32-bit version, which is unheard of in the current year. The reason for this is probably a compatibility issue that Windows XP 64-bit had:

 Win xp 64 was and is still very incompatible with most software of its era, the x86 compatibility later was.. Not too good to say the least. If you want to do gaming for example, xp 32 is a must 

He’s not the only one who is still running Windows XP, as other users joined the discussion and shared their configurations:

lol and i thought my build was overkill…

core 2 quad and a 750ti

Another user reported running Windows XP on an AMD CPU with the following configuration:

Just built a XP x64 rig with an FX 8350 @ 4.812Ghz, on an Asus ROG Crosshair V Formula Z, 16GB DDR3 @ 2400, GTX 980 Ti (modded drivers), and a SSD RAID 0 array. With native SATA III & USB 3, It’s very snappy.

The question remains, why would someone run Windows XP in the current year? According to some, it’s for hardware testing:

FX-6100, Radeon HD 7950, 16GB. It’s got a removable SATA drive bay, so I use it for more than just XP. Swap out the drive for whatever I need/want to run. Also use it to test random hardware. Old enough to support XP, new enough to still support modern OSes and hardware.

Others claim that this configuration is perfect for retro gaming:

Bit of overkill but lots of great choices here for XP gaming. The HD7970 is still supported in XP, will laugh at any XP game, and is cheap on the secondary market. No XP game needs more than 2 cores AFAIK, so a CPU with good single-core is what you want

As you can see, there are still users that use Windows XP, and while it’s possible to run Windows XP, it’s not recommended for various reasons.

Milan Stanojevic

Windows Toubleshooting Expert

Milan has been enthusiastic about technology ever since his childhood days, and this led him to take interest in all PC-related technologies. He’s a PC enthusiast and he spends most of his time learning about computers and technology.
Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s one of the Troubleshooting experts in our worldwide team, specializing in Windows errors & software issues.