new workstation config - what do you think?

[flipside]

Hi,

I consider buying a new workstation, see config below. What do you guys think of it, any experience with some of the elements, or comments?

case SilentMaxx ST-11 Pro
600W (silent) ATX power supply [4-pin (+12V), 8-pin (+12V) and 24-pin]
MB Supermicro X7DAL-E, i5000X (ATX, PCI-X, PCI-e, Sound, LAN, SATA II, RAID)
2x Intel Xeon E5320 (S771, 4x1.86GHz, 8MB, 1066MHz FSB, Boxed)
Memory: 2x 2GB 667 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM (Fully Buffered DIMM)
Graphics card: Nvidia 7600GT
1x 120GB SATA II + 2x 300GB SATA II
Cardreader 16 in 1 + floppy
DVD RW: 2 * Samsung 182m black

What if I don't put a windows 64bit on it, will this slow down the system in any way? If I do use 64 bit windows, will I have problems with smaller programs or will a 32 bit version work on 64bit windows?

Thanks,

wouter

[RErender]

That should get some rendering done, the video card is a little under powered but maybe not too bad.

I'd go with XP64, for the most part only 32 bit apps that have really old installers and 16 bit apps won't run. The only other real issue is with old hardware like scanners , printers etc.

[unknown]

i have a dual 5140, i think it is, and havent got 64bit. to be honest, its still really really quick, twice as fast as my dual 3ghz old zeon next to it. i have one beef with xp 64, and thats compatabiltiy, most of the plugs i use are 32bit and old sdk, so im still runing max 8. Until TP and others are upgraded its too much of a pain to change!
i can still render massive scenes, and the only thing i could do with more memory for is Fume, but hey ho. as soon as plugins catch up, so will I.

I seem to remember that 64bit runs 32bit apps in an emulation way, so if you had max 8 32bit runnig on a 64bit system, it would be slower. Maybe someone can clarify this. This begs the question about other non 64bit apps, like after effects and photoshop?

[DaForce]

No, 32bit apps be basically the same on 64bit.
And 64bit is not necesarilly faster, its mainly that you can allocate more memory per process thats the BIG advantage.

[flipside]

That should get some rendering done, the video card is a little under powered but maybe not too bad.

I'd go with XP64, for the most part only 32 bit apps that have really old installers and 16 bit apps won't run. The only other real issue is with old hardware like scanners , printers etc.

is there a card that you would recommend? I don't wanna go for the really high end stuff as I think (and heard a few times here) that the cost isn't really justified.

All my hardware ranges from very new to 3 years old. I also use the usual software like max, vray, adobe & macromedia products, vegas, etc... But also vdub, hdrshop and other small tools, I'm afraid that I will run into problems with some of these.

I also heard that when installing something that isn't a signed certified windows thing, you can't continue it's installation (now you have a 'continue anyway' button). I get this warning all the time with allmost anything I try to install, so maybe that will cause problems too.