Originally posted by: asinsh
...Will I see a substantial improvement on 32 bit windows XP running photoshop and games if I spring for a 64 bit board and 64 bit cpu?
You will see a noticable improvement over your current setup
...Why would a 64 bit processor and cpu be any faster than a 32 bit board and cpu running windows 32 bit o/s?)....
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The 64 bit extensions aren't the issue as much as the overall architecture. With an on-die memory controller, massive memory bandwidth and a much more efficient overall design, the A64 processor is able to seriously outperform the AXP in 32-bit applications. The plethora of exhaustive professional reviews available on the net plus millions of apocryphal testimonies (mine included) clearly demonstrate the performance improvement.
...should I hang onto my current 1 gb of 266 DDR or spring for all new 400 DDR. How substantial is the improvement from 266 to 400 (again for photoshop and games).
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You'll see a significant performance increase by moving up to an A64/PC3200 (or better) system. Not only will you nearly double your efective memory speed, but you'll be realizing a tremendous bandwidth and efficiency improvement. Photoshop will particularly benefit from this.
I'd say that you have many compelling reasons to upgrade.
One final note, if you're upgrading, don't skimp if you can. Go whole hog and get an NF4.pci-e system. The only thing you may wish to wait for would be widespread availability of the ultra chipset (that should be within a month or so). Also, consider moving up to a Raptor 10,000 RPM HDD if it's in your budget. It will make a very noticable difference in overall system performance.