I have the dell 1010 and 1018. Both run win 7, 8 and 8.1 very well. With 1g ram and a 5400rpm drive the 1010 boots to 8.1 in under 40 seconds from power up to a usable desktop. THE 1018 is just as good regardless of 1 or 2g memory. With an ssd, the 1018 is even faster. The 1g memory is only an issue when running apps. My problem is the 1010 only works right with a mechanical drive and slows down horribly with an ssd. See my posted question. It's absurd when people switch to Linux or a Mac because they won't take the time to learn Windows. The best operating system is the one you understand. All the popular ones are great. The only time you need to use XP is if there is less than 750megs of ram or slower than 1gig processor.
Disable your startup services in task manager. Disable nonessential services in msconfig. Remove unwanted programs in add remove programs. Shut off Windows defender. Don't use antivirus programs. Turn off all auto update checking in apps and windows. You'll have a screamer!