What's most needed for a Photoshop Box?

[xitshsif]

Here's my rig:
Core 2 Duo E6600
2GB Corsair DDR2-800
nVidia 7950GT 256MB
Gigabyte GA-965G-DS3
Seagate 320GB 7200.10


What would give the biggest improvement for photoshop usage?

 

[cmdrdredd]

Memory

I've seen some photoshop files that I couldn't open on a system with only 1.5GB. It gave an error. I work in the graphics and printing industry and sometimes get files I can't open (I can now at home cause I have 4GB).

 

[xitshsif]

Currently running XP-32bit. Is it worth the upgrade to Vista to get access to a full 4GB of memory?

EDIT: I don't trust XP-64bit

 

[inhuman]

As far as I know, XP (both 32 64 bit) supports up to 4 GB of memory, out of the box, so you should do ok with XP.

edit: Memory Limits for Windows Releases

The following table specifies the limits on physical memory.
Physical memory limits / 32-bit Windows / 64-bit Windows
Windows XP / 4 GB / 128 GB

From http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366778.aspx

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: inhuman
As far as I know, XP (both 32 64 bit) supports up to 4 GB of memory, out of the box, so you should do ok with XP.

Sort of. For 32-bit WinXP/2K/Vista, frequently the real maximum is between 3GB and 4GB somewhere, because many BIOSes/drivers will allocate hardware resources below the 4GB line.

64-bit XP/Vista (or the Server OSes) can access the full 4GB (and much more if you have it), although 32-bit programs are still limited in how much they can use.

 

[inhuman]

Sort of. For 32-bit WinXP/2K/Vista, frequently the real maximum is between 3GB and 4GB somewhere, because many BIOSes/drivers will allocate hardware resources below the 4GB line.

I found some articles on Windows support on how to enable 4 gb memory support if the system doesn't seem to recognize it, and also an article for memory that is recognized 256 mb less than complete 4 gb.

Btw, this is irrelevant but I just saw that there is a 256 mb physical memory limit on XP Starter Editions. How pathetic is that?

 

[Boyo]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: inhuman
As far as I know, XP (both 32 64 bit) supports up to 4 GB of memory, out of the box, so you should do ok with XP.

Sort of. For 32-bit WinXP/2K/Vista, frequently the real maximum is between 3GB and 4GB somewhere, because many BIOSes/drivers will allocate hardware resources below the 4GB line.

64-bit XP/Vista (or the Server OSes) can access the full 4GB (and much more if you have it), although 32-bit programs are still limited in how much they can use.

True. You need a 64 bit system to use more RAM. YOu will be limited with a 32 bit system to around 3GB.