UNDER CONSTRUCTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Here is a computer that came right after the era of Windows 9x gloriousness in my time. This is my "ultimate" Windows XP build, designed for games and software centered around the whole Windows XP era, from 2001 and 'onward'. I say 'onward' because even after the end of support for the OS, it is still somewhat useful as at least a few programs developed today still work with it. Plus, given the specs that I threw at it, not only does it retain support for Windows XP, but it is powerful enough to squeeze in a few modern tasks, like remote connections to a modern machine. That, I think, is a testament to how beloved the OS was, and what ultimately became the reason why this computer ended up being the most actively used out of all of them.
Now, the idea for this machine is that I wanted to push it as far as possible, but to also retain the use of a native 3 1/2 inch floppy drive. And the ASRock series of motherboards are the only ones that came close, more specifically the 990FX Extreme4, the Z77 Fatal1ty Professional, and the Z77 Extreme6, the latter of which this computer currently houses and all of which I actually have. Now sure, there's also certain 4th Gen Intel boards that still have Windows XP support, but none that I've seen so far retain support for a native floppy drive. So in the end, the three ASRock boards were the closest that I can get, and I ultimately chose the Extreme6 for this build.
The back of the Core iX build
Now you may be wondering, modern tasks? On this machine? How? Well, as I've said, there are at least a few programs that are still being updated today that, so far, still work on Windows XP. For example, the latest version of PuTTY runs just fine, same with WinSCP, which I was surprised about. So that means I can do a remote connection via SSH for commands and file transfers respectively. Not only that, but TightVNC, despite using Version 2.8.8, still works with modern machines, which means I can VNC into my modern computers and do daily tasks from there when I'm too lazy to roll over to them physically.
The glass panel side of the Core iX build
Now obviously, the initial goal for this computer was to play Windows XP games from around the time the OS existed. Classics like DOOM 3, F.E.A.R, Flight Simulator 2004, and more. This is also the perfect machine to emulate other systems, like the Nintendo 64, Sony Playstation, and even the latest version of DOSBox, especially DOSBox-X, works just fine with it. This can also run source ports for other games, like GZDoom. Now while Windows XP support seems to have dropped when later revisions of version 4 came about, GZDoom 4.1.3 still runs just fine on it. And finally, as most of you may be intrigued about, this is the computer where I operate MUGEN on. Despite the bugs, which I think is entirely the program's fault, it actually runs just fine on it, even at higher resolutions.
Now, here's the last big thing that I use this computer for: Productivity. Yes, despite what modern Windows and Linux has to offer, I still use this machine for office use and production. Adobe Photoshop 10 is my go-to graphics design program for everything that I draw. For HTML, at least at the moment, Dreamweaver 9.0 is what I use, especially for building this very website you're viewing now. And as for office use, I still rely on Microsoft Office 2000. Believe it or not, older formats like .rtf can still be utilized rather well in the modern age, at least as of this writing. For example, even if I type up a document in Word 2000 as an .rtf, I can upload it to Google Drive and it'll recognize its contents just fine.
The inside of the Core iX build
So ultimately, not only is this my dream Windows XP PC, but it is also practically one of my daily drivers to this day. Whenever I wake up every morning, walk into my office, and want to do some basic computer tasks to start off with, this machine is usually the first thing I turn on and log into. About the only things that this computer would struggle on are video production and native web browsing, but for everything else, it's good enough for me to manage. Now sure, I could just use a modern Windows PC or even a Linux machine to do everything as far as productivity. But hey, as one wise man once said, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."