New system, couple ?s

Currently I have this:

P4 Prescott 3.0gHz
2GB PC3200 RAM
ATi X800XL 256MB AGP 8X

I just upgraded those components (well, they haven't arrived yet) to:

AMD 5600+ Dual Core
4GB DDR2 800 Kingston RAM
nVidia 7950GT PCIe 16x 512MB

Couple of questions...

1) When I get everything set up, do I need to reinstall Windows XP Home or is that just a myth? (this question is really what prompted me to start this thread in the software forum)

2) Will Windows XP Home recognize and utilize all 4GB of this RAM?

3) How much of a difference do you feel I will notice with the above upgrades?

 

you certainly SHOULD reinstall XP. You could manage to get the old install up and running on the new hardware, but thats just asking for tons of headaches and driver conflicts to deal with. Dont to it that way :cry

Windows should recognize the RAM, but often times reports it wrong, or you may have to tell windows how much you have.

As for performance, you should see a nice increase, but i dont think you will be utterly wowed if you're using 32 bit Windows, as you cant fully appreciate the power of a 64 bit processor without a 64 bit OS, which unfortunately dont have the best support at the moment, but get better by the week.

 

Damn I hate reinstalling. Let me ask this: when I am processing a DVD for recode (which takes nearly 100% CPU right now), will I notice a large increase because of the dual core?

If I have no driver conflicts or problems is the reinstall necessary?

Lastly, on the 64 bit Windows, when would you suggest upgrading? Can I just use the XP Pro 64bit or do I have to use Vista?

 

Would I be better off with x64 XP Pro or Vista? I really don't like the look of Vista so I was hoping to stay away from it.

Is there a version of Nero that supports 64 bit?

 

x64 xp/vista will utilize all 4 Gigs of ram, otherwise x32 xp/vista will only use 3ish gigs.

Dual core processing will help with recoding if, and only if, the program utilizes dual core cpus.

If you will be installing said HDD in another system, you could use sysprep before you remove the hard drive. Factory, audit, then reseal:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/b3e91012-8ffa-c04f-8350-d9a9dd241161.aspx

 

Vista itself is not 64 bit, correct? You need a 64 bit version, right?

I am not necessarily talking about the recording process per se, but rather the ability to run other programs simultaneously if that makes sense. I don't really have beef with the amount of time it takes now, just that I can't really use the computer while it's doing it.

 

Vista and xp have 32 and 64 bit versions, if that is what ye are asking.....

Both versions can run programs at the same time, if ye set the affinity to each individual core/cpu.

 

Which to go with then? And can you explain the last part about the affinity?

 

I'm leaning towards WinXP Pro X64...is that a mistake?

 

Just a quick question, but you DID get a new motherboard to go with all these upgrades, no?

 

Absolutely...