What OS to use on this machine: XP, 7, dual boot both?
Hi, I have this 2014 laptop sitting unused - Asus K46CB. One time it became a dedicated Minecraft server, but that did not last long. It came with Win 8 and as of now it has Win 10. Also definitely needs a few hardware maintenances as both batteries (internal CMOS and external) are dead, and the cooler probably as well (I did change thermal paste a couple of times along the years but that has not solved the overheating problem).
After those changes I'm thinking about downgrading the OS to play old games. It also has a CD reader and I happen to have a few CD games still that do not run on modern machines and I'd like to revisit. It does not need to go online, as other games I can always download on my desktop and transfer via USB drive, so I'm not concerned about security updates, only on compatibility.
What would be recommended: XP, 7, both? I have no experience with dual boot, if possible would like some directions here as well.
Also, if not retro gaming, what else can I use it for? I don't need a server for anything and can't think of other uses.
Core i73537U 2GHz - 2 cores 4 threads
6GB DDR3 800MHz memory - dual channel 2GB and 4GB sticks
GeForce GT 740M 2GB dedicated video memory
1TB HDD
20GB SSD (came with Win 8 pre installed here for fast boot)