Decent build<$3000

[neoinarien]

Does Vista Ultimate support 4GB, is it 64 bit?

 

[b1gapl]

Does Vista Ultimate support 4GB, is it 64 bit?

There is an Ultimate 32-bit and 64-bit version.

 

[neoinarien]

Would it be better to go

duo core 3.0 ghz, 1333fsb, 4mb cache

or

quad core 2.4ghz, 1066fsb, 8mb cache

?

 

[b1gapl]

It would be better you go quad core, because the Q6600 is actually cheaper than that E6850.

 

[neoinarien]

I found a source that offers them at the same price.

Does that change the equation, or still stick with quad? What kind of performance differences can I expect from 2.4 quad vs. a 3.0 duo?

 

[b1gapl]

For one, the Q6600 will multi-task more. And it's future ready for games that will take advantage of more than two cores.

If they're the same price, it's a no brainer to go with the quad core.

 

[neoinarien]

In a SLI build, prob not needed since im not THAT hardcore (far from I'd imagine)?

In SLI, you have to match the exact card with the exact same card for the pairing to work, right?

Seems like you guys would recommend something like a NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB, EVGA, as being more than adequate for both now and the immediate future?

 

[b1gapl]

For SLI, you can use different brands, but the specs have to be identical.