help choosing a motherboard

[tikal26]

Hey
I want to add more memory to my computer but the motherboard I have only allows me to put 4GB so now I think that my sister is getting my motherboard and I am getting a new one. I just need direction on what motherboard area availabel that allow me to put more that 6GB of memory so I can finally take advantage of 64 bit technology. I would really like to see how my rendering come in 64 bit tech. maybe someone has one that they can recommend
thanks for all of your replies

[WirelessMike]

Outside of dual-proc (EDIT ...and a couple server-centric /EDIT) mobos, I'm unaware of a mobo/cpu offering support for more than 4G of RAM. The latest Socket 939, SLI mobos I've looked at are made specifically for AMD's fastest 64-bit procs and support up to 4G RAM in dual channel. When I say AMD's fastest 64-bit procs, I'm referring to the sledgehammer core FX series.

Perhaps I'm simply uninformed or behind in my research... Exactly where have you read that 6G+ of memory is required to "take advantage of 64 bit technology"?

[tikal26]

I meant more than 4GB
and I read it here
http://www.blender3d.org/cms/Newsitem.620+M5027dcb6973.0.html
but I also read it in many places. I am not at my home computer but when I get home I'll post the links. I have not find a mother board that would handel more thatn 4GB of memory either.

[Dylanby]

Tyan's Opteron "Thunder" boards support up to 16, 32 or 64GB depending on the models. Hope you have lotsa mula.

[WildTangent]

I meant more than 4GB
and I read it here
http://www.blender3d.org/cms/Newsitem.620+M5027dcb6973.0.html
but I also read it in many places. I am not at my home computer but when I get home I'll post the links. I have not find a mother board that would handel more thatn 4GB of memory either.
i think what it means in this section:

With many operating systems and hardware moving to 64 bits, we're working on cleaning the code for full native support of 64 bits too. This is luckily not too much work, Blender already supported 64 bits in the 1998-2001 period.

Best feature of course will be addressing of more than 4 GB memory!
is that the best feature of 64 bit CPUs is that they can access more than 4GB. i hardly think you need more than 2 GB for really good rendering. im sure 1 GB would suffice. im afraid youve misread the info

-Wild

[WirelessMike]

I have also found a few Tyan mobos that support 8G+ RAM.

However...

I can't agree that 64-bit computing requires more than 4G RAM (or even the max most 64-bit mobos accomodate). Admittedly, I've only built 2 64-bit systems so far and am currently building a 3rd, and they've all been Athlon64, but my experience and my research tells me that 1 to 3 Gig of RAM is definitely sufficient for even most hardcore apps.

One of the sites I trust implicitly is Kyle Bennett's HardOCP.com.

I reference http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NTI0LDI= comparing AMD and Intel 64-bit procs with benchmarks on a variety of applications.

Note that the benchmarks are based on 64-bit systems with 1G RAM. I have seen many 64-bit test benchmarks featuring 1 to 2 Gig of RAM, which would lead me to believe that over 4G RAM is unneccessary to take full advantage of 64-bit computing.

However-- I will ALWAYS agree that more RAM is never a bad thing. If you can afford more than 4G, as well as the mobo and cpus to support it, by all means do it and I will truly envy both your machine and your resources!