Motherboards and Memory II

[woodworkerengineer]

I have decided to take the plunge and build my own system rather than trying to configure an off-the-shelf Dell or Gateway. In addition to home office use, the computer will be most heavily used in photographic editing (Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Silverfast AI Studio) and CAD (Autodesk Inventor). The computer will only rarely be used for gaming (if ever).

One of my principal objectives is to configure a flexible system with a high potential for future growth. Thus, a principal aim is to configure a system that will accommodate the ongoing hardware and software migration from 32-bit operating systems to 64-bit operating systems. I consequently am considering a high end processor and motherboard such as the Core 2 Duo E8400 and the Intel DX48BT2 motherboard (only supports DDR3 memory).

That said, my question is in regard to memory and the Vista operating system. I am planning on a system with 4 Gbytes of installed memory even though a 32 bit operating system will only allow me to use roughly 3 Gbytes. Notwithstanding this limitation, it is my understanding that the available memory will roughly double to about 7 Gbytes when the system is upgraded to a 64 bit system.

Is this a wise choice? Or should I only configure 2 Gbytes and add more memory when the upgrade to a 64 bit operating system occurs? (I’ll probably upgrade when Photoshop upgrades to a 64 bit version.)

Also, I’m also interested in any recommendations for processors and motherboards.

 

[o1die]

You're better off to build for value; paying top dollar for future proofing is a waste of good money. DDr3 has only a slight overall performance improvement, and you're paying 2-3 times the cost of ddr2. Intel will change socket designs next year for nehalem, and by then, maybe ddr3 prices will drop to a more acceptable level. Fry's had the q6600 for $180 a few days ago, and will likely sell it again for about the same sometime in the future. This cpu will do what you need it to, and many will run at 3.0 simply by changing the cpu fsb from 1066 to 1333 in the bios.

 

[xringx]

In my opinion, I would get the Q6600 (best bang for the buck and its quad core), ditch the mobo in favor of a x38 or even a P35 mobo that takes ddr2 memory as its very cheap now.

As for 64bit vs 32bit, if your buying an operating system, might as well go 64bit now....

 

[woodworkerengineer]

Thanks for the advice. As a consequence I have revised my planned motherboard to the Intel 975XBX2KR which is designed for ddr2 memory.

However, I don't see any advantage of the quad Q6600 over the Duo E8400 for my applications. The E8400 is faster and uses significantly less power.

 

[Mondoman]

For a single thread, yes, but presumably at least some of your apps (Photoshop perhaps?) are able to use multiple threads.