Project Chimera - The Intergenerational Computer

Introduction

Project Chimera is an attempt to build and maintain a single computer system capable of running both Windows XP era software and games as well as modern Windows applications, in their native environments, without virtualization or emulation.

To achieve this, extensive research was done in order to identify the most suitable hardware components that fulfilled the criteria of: compatibility and maximized performance. This research ultimately culminated in a system with the following specifications.

System Specifications

Operating System: Windows XP, 7, 10
Case: Corsair Graphite 780T - Yellow
Power Supply: Corsair HX1500i 1500W
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Black Edition
Processor: Intel Xeon E5-1680 v2
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 4x8GB 2133MHz CL10
Graphics Card: 2x EVGA GeForce Titan X Hybrid 24GB (Maxwell)
Audio Device: Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional
Storage Devices:
  • 2x Seagate Ironwolf 2TB 5400rpm HDD
  • 3x Samsung 870 EVO 2TB SSD
  • WD Black AN1500 2TB NVMe RAID AIC

Backstory

To be continued...