I have another post about my full motherboard situation so all I will ask here I what type of CPU to get for an AM2+ motherboard. I must be able to run Windows XP 32 for the hardware, so I am not sure if I can go beyond a dual core cpu. I am not sure if Windows 7's backwards compatability to XP; coupled with a quadcore cpu would allow me to utilize all 8 Gb of DDR2 RAM (4 Kingston 2 Gb sticks) while browsing the web and downloading. Then when in the studio mode, could the quad core swith to dual core mode and utilize the maximum 4 Gb of RAM to runmy old hardware in XP mode? If not, I will only use 4 Gb with a dual core and Win XP 32 to effectively use all my hardware (from the early 2000 era). I may also partition with Linux Open Suse for browsing. My budget will allow me around $160 or less. $200 may be doable if options just aren't there. Thank you ahead of time for any help.
Quad Core + Windows 7 64 Bit and Run In Compatibility Mode for Windows XP looks like what you want. Edit: What motherboard do you have so we can see which CPU's are supported? Edit 2: Provided your motherboard supports it...
if your using pro tools 7 and worried about compatibility with 64bit windows there is a patch available online which allows it to run fine. Ill find a link but i have used it and have no problems whatsoever Allows you to then run over 4gb of ram and use a lot more plugins without the latency issues or crashes. This is a video which has the right link for the file in (the guy also has the laggiest pc iv seen in a while)
XP 32bit will run with any AMD processor on an AM2+ board. I use it on an AM3+ board with a Phenom II x4. I tried Vista and can't get along with W7 and have a lot of old software that won't work with W7. For compatible processors check your motherboard make/model number and go to the manufacturer's website. Some boards are restricted by the tdp (power requirement) of the processor. XP 32bit was built for 512KB memory and can only use a max of 4GB memory. That includes graphics, BIOS and any other addressable memory. It will still use a pagefile on your hard drive.
