I was able to successfully install Open Watcom C++ Version 1.7 in a WinXP bottle on the following machine:
Soyo SY-7ISA+ Intel i815 Motherboard
Intel Pentium III 866 MHz Processor
512 MB SDRAM
PNY Verto GeForce FX 5200 AGP 8x 256 MB DDR
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 PCI Sound Card (SB0220)
Samsung CD-RW/DVD Drive Model: TS-H492A/RSWN
Dual Boot openSUSE Linux 10.3/Windows XP Pro SP3
CodeWeavers CrossOver Games for Linux Version 7.1.2
I also had no trouble in starting all of the documentation help files and IDE utilities that were installed as menu entries in the bottle. I have not made an effort to compile a project. I have used the compiler for a couple of programs in Windows, but I am used to using the compiler from a command line rather than the IDE.
There are groups and individuals who have created source for the compiler for use in Linux as well as binaries for Linux, but some of these tend to be for previous versions of the compiler. Also, I am not sure that all of the documentation help is included in these third-party releases, so it is nice to know that they are available in their Windows incarnation in Wine/CrossOver.