Yorkfield, 64-32 bit, OEM or Retail, Vista

[jkohm]

I am building my first system based on a Intel Q9300. It will be a general purpose system used to manage and play my 10,000 mp3 music titles, scan many old photos, organize and edit 10 years of digital photos, web surfing, function as a media center pc, word processing, excel, etc. I'm retired so I don't have time for gaming. I hope to use existing hardware and software from my aged XP systems My biggest need is to convert many many hours of old movies (of line film to digital) 20 years of VHS stuff, family genealogy, photos and then create DVDs for my kids and grand kids while using the system for my above needs.

I want this system to last, be upgradeable (maybe DDR3 when the gouging stops), and I'm not restricted by budget. I'm not into wasting money to have the latest and greatest but want bang for my buck. I'm also able to upgrade software when real multi processing improvements are implemented.

Questions- What OS should I use? My impression is a 64 bit OS can use more than 3gb of memory which is important but may restrict what software and hardware (printers, scanners, cameras etc.) I can use. Is this true, any way to find out what will or won't work? I would prefer to go with new technology ie Vista. Should I start with 32bit then upgrade when 64 bit is more widely used? OEM or Retail?

 

[Aberforth]

Go for Vista Home Premium 64 bit, since your PC is new I am 90% sure all new devices will have 64bit drivers.

Buy retail version of Vista because OEM license does not allow you to do extensive upgrades (like changing more than 7 devices or motherboard)- it usually involves convincing tech support that you are not installing it on a new PC. Why take a chance? Get retail version and you have unlimited transfers.

Edit:

This is a bit off-topic but if you really want an upgradable futuristic system then go for Foxconn motherboard which supports both DDR2 and DDR3, you can later upgrade to DDR3 when the prices are down.

 

[jkohm]

I'm thinking of using the ASUS P5KC which can use DD2 or DDR3 but only has two slots ($140), or the ASUS P5K DELUXE/WIFI-AP ($200) with four slots (8gb) of fast DDR2 only and pass on future DDR3 upgrade. Or cheap DDR2 only MB that supports Q9450 (if one exists) and throw out MB when I go to DDR3.

What does every one think? Any advantages or disadvantage or other options? I'm tired of waiting.