Jim-

I've dual booted W XP and W 8 for similar reasons. It was cool- especially the idea of it, but in the end it was probably more hassle than it was worth. Plus, shutting down to reboot into the other OS was a real pain- I was ALWAYS in a hurry and it ALWAYS took too long!! It can be DIY if you do enough research, though- Google is great at this sort of stuff. I think getting a second computer is a better solution, tho... Update the hardware along with the software and you'll be happier in the long run. Now you CAN seamlessly switch between OS's. 

good luck -jim