CrystalMark Retro 2.0 🎉 Supports Windows 95/98 and revives classic PCs 💻
Crystal Dew World has launched A major update to its retro benchmarking tool for Windows. The revamped CrystalMark Retro 2.0.0 is available as freeware 🆓, and the main new feature is that its compatibility has been extended to include Windows 95/98/Me systems. Previously, it wasn't quite as retro, as compatibility only went up to Windows XP. As a bonus, the official benchmark comparison site crystalmarkdb.com/retro is also now available and fully operational 🎉.
According to the software's release notes, development of the key features that make CrystalMark Retro 2.0.0 such a significant release began a year ago. Version 1.0.0 was released on this day in 2024, but one user comment about the release appears to have been taken as a direct challenge. One user wrote: “You can't be kidding, supporting XP or later, you have to support Windows 98!” Since then, the developers have been hard at work on a significant update 🔧.
“I decided that Windows 95/NT 4.0 compatibility was necessary to call ourselves a true retro benchmark,” wrote Hiyohiyo, President and CEO of CrystalMark Inc., in the release notes. “It really took a whole year.”
Hiyohiyo also took the opportunity to thank users, testers, and other developers for their support in bringing CrystalMark Retro 2.0.0 to support Windows systems since the Windows 95 era. Hurdles such as removing the IE4 dependency, i386 support, and Windows NT 3.51 support (with a separate patch) were overcome along the way 🌟.
Benchmark nostalgia, even on Windows 11 💻
It would have been rude to report on CrystalMark Retro 2.0.0 and not try it out, so you can see my result above. My overall score looks pretty good for a laptop compared to some of the online comparator entrants. However, what pleased me most was the selection of 2D and 3D benchmarks filling the screen, reminding me of benchmarking programs of yesteryear like GEMBench on the Atari ST, or Speedometer 3.X on classic Mac OS. However, the 3D CPUs flying across the screen in CrystalMark Retro 2.0.0 were a bit more impressive 🚀.
More and more people are interested in acquiring, building, or maintaining retro PCs, if my YouTube streaming is any indication. So it's good that this updated benchmark can cover Windows 95/98/Me – Windows NT 3.51* /4.0 /2000/XP /Vista /7 /8 /10 /11 – Windows 2003 /2008 /2012 /2016 /2019 /2022 /2025 Server (*Patch needed for NT3.51).
In short, CrystalMark Retro 2.0 It represents a great advance for lovers of classic computing 💻✨, expanding its compatibility to systems as iconic as Windows 95, 98 and Me, as well as Windows Server and current versions. This release not only revives the nostalgia of traditional benchmarks 🕹️, with an interface and tests reminiscent of the golden age of computing, but also meets the real demand of the retro community, demonstrating the commitment of its developers.
With its free availability 🎁 and support for a wide variety of operating systems, CrystalMark Retro 2.0 It becomes an essential tool for those looking to evaluate and maintain their classic PCs 🖥️, as well as for those who want to relive the benchmarking experience in its purest and most authentic form 🔥.
