> The old computer is Windows XP and plays fine. It's a single core 3.4Ghz Pentium. The > newer PC is a dual core Pentium D 3.4Ghz with SATA and an SSD. I haven't thought if I > should go to Windows 7. I was thinking on boot times when I start the machine up. The > SSD would increase that I'm sure.
looking at this: http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/418/Intel_Pentium_4_650_vs_Intel_Pentium_D_945.html there doesn't seem to be much difference in the processors regarding mame performance. if you want to use the ssd hd I don't think u would be able to use xp as (I think) xp has trouble with ssd drives regarding efficient and 'proper' functioning of the ssd and its operating method/features (but there might be certain tweaks/fixes available for windows xp to solve the issues encountered when you try to get a ssd to work as it should)
a reasonable jump/upgrade for your current pc's would be a used dell OptiPlex desktop pc, running a core 2 duo of around 3ghz cpu speed.
for a very fast boot time a good option with any pc if using windows xp is to use a very lightweight 'stripped down' version which you might be able to find 'somewhere' on the net, called 'microXP' (or an alternative is called tinyXP, which is a little less stripped down than microXP).
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