Since I'll be in the market for a new PC next year I'm wondering if they sell a MB that will handle more than 8-16GB of memory? Reason I'm asking is because it will very likely be the last computer I will buy for a very long time.....I'm looking at the price of a Phenon II X6 MB, and probably at a budget of around $300, starting out with about 4-8 GB of memory....

What you are describing (save for the proccessor) is pretty pricy at this time. The great thing about computers (which is also the bad thing) is the speed at which they improve. By next year what you want should be available quite reasonably. I've got the AMD 6 core Phenom II and it was already pretty reasonable.

Quote - What you are describing (save for the proccessor) is pretty pricy at this time. The great thing about computers (which is also the bad thing) is the speed at which they improve. By next year what you want should be available quite reasonably. I've got the AMD 6 core Phenom II and it was already pretty reasonable.

Yeah, that's why I am looking ahead. No matter what I choose, by the time I get down to putting it all together it should cost considerably less. Right now I've got a Phenom II x4 AM2+ 8 GB which hopefully I will be using as part of my network rendering even though I understand that the network will be rendering at or near my current speed(?)

The X6 is a good choice; I'd recommend making sure you get one of the AM3+ motherboards, though. That way you would be ready for one of the Bulldozer 8 core chips soon to be released. And the board would support any of the AM3 socket chips, from the Athlon II X4 up to the Phenom II X6. As long as its a full ATX form-factor, it should have 4 SIMM slots. Then it would be up to the memory controller on the processor as to how much RAM it will support.

The only motherboards I have seen that normally support more than 16 gigs of ram have been server boards, and they only support the Opteron series. But with the controller on the processor, and the larger array the AM3+ socket has, it may support more in the future. 

No Mobo for AMD, not counting servers, have more than 4 ram slots. If you went to an Intel cpu you could then get an 1366 Mobo with 6 ram slots. 24gb of DDR3 ram.

But from what I have seen so far with the new i7's sandybrigde or what ever they will call them, not yet released. The Mobo's are back to 4 slots again. The ones I've seen so far, but are quad channel.

So two options to go higher than 16gb RAM.

1. 1366 Mobo.

2. 8gb RAM sticks instead of 4gb ram sticks but it is going to cost for those 8 gb sticks.

So the current memory cap is set on 16 GB? Interesting....

Thanks for the info, at least now I know what I am more or less looking for..

Quote - No Mobo for AMD, not counting servers, have more than 4 ram slots. If you went to an Intel cpu you could then get an 1366 Mobo with 6 ram slots. 24gb of DDR3 ram.

But from what I have seen so far with the new i7's sandybrigde or what ever they will call them, not yet released. The Mobo's are back to 4 slots again. The ones I've seen so far, but are quad channel.

So two options to go higher than 16gb RAM.

1. 1366 Mobo.

2. 8gb RAM sticks instead of 4gb ram sticks but it is going to cost for those 8 gb sticks.

Yeah, I think the salesman I spoke with said that 4gb is currently at around $50. I am thinking of getting the most powerful combo I can, which includes a 1 TB hard drive and leaving it at that.. Not sure about the graphics though...that's a whole issue within itself.

Quote - Since I'll be in the market for a new PC next year I'm wondering if they sell a MB that will handle more than 8-16GB of memory? Reason I'm asking is because it will very likely be the last computer I will buy for a very long time.....I'm looking at the price of a Phenon II X6 MB, and probably at a budget of around $300, starting out with about 4-8 GB of memory....

I would recommend just saving up money and plan on spending more than $300.  $300 seems to be shooting for the bottom of the barrel especially since you are talking about buying a computer next year and the fact that you want this computer to last much longer tells me that you'll be spending more than $300 for a motherboard and memory.  There are motherboards today that support 24 GB. That are motherboards that are around the $380 - $400 range.

The thing I would be concern with is what the Processors the board supports and the type of RAM that it supports.  This will give you an idea of how how far you'll be able to upgrade the processor as well as the RAM. 

You can also check stores for refurbished deals that will allow you to buy complete PC that is more powerful than many of the new computers for much less. In my case I was able to buy a computer for cheaper than it would have been for me to buy a motherboard a new processor and new RAM sticks.  The total cost for my computer was about $800 but only because I purchased the extended warranty.  I think it was originally $650+  My processor is an i7 which cost around $300 back then.

Just look around and keep your eyes open.  Once the new tech comes out, you'll be able to find really good deals on some really good computers parts as well as complete computers.

I agree. Thanks for the input!

The hubby just bought a new 6core....it alone was 200 bucks...lol.

Laurie

The limit is also affected by the controlling chipset.  Galadriel has triple channel single slots with 4GB sticks.  I asked Alienware about replacing those with 8GB sticks;  the tech said that the chipset can only read 12GB.  They may have a 24GB board next year, though.

You'd probably need to look at workstation motherboards.  Cameron has triple channel RAM with four slots per channel;  filled with 8GB sticks, that's 96GB.

Dell has a midrange  Vostro and Optiplex workstation series which tops out at 24GB, if I remember correctly.  At the top of their food chain is the Precision workstation series with models numbers like T1600 through T7500.

Most of the AM3+ boards I have seen can do 32gb.

Quote - 4 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3 2133 (O.C.) / 1866 / 1600 / 1333 / 1066 Hz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel Memory Architecture

That's an average spec quote.  RAM type may vary a bit. So that's 4 x 8gb ram sticks.

The 1366 boards are 24gb with 6 slots but the new 1155 boards are 32gb with 4 slots, same as the am3+.

I was closely looking at the 1366 boards, but since I'm on a budget can't quite figure out how to obtain one and a processor.

I'm looking at buying each component separately anyways....unless there's a really good deal on the horizon.

Would anyone consider buying something off ebay? Just wondering....

Goto pricewatch.com and check the cpu mobo bundles. You can find some good deals that way, and most of the vendors involved have optioned bundles, where you can swap components around for a higher or lower cost.

Wait as long as you can. Both the AMD Bulldozer and the new Intel sandybridge/2011 mobo will be out. Amd around next week or so from the latest I've read. And the new intels not long after that. Then the prices of everything below that will drop even more.

AS an example. Right now I can get an Asus Sabertooth 990FX/ Phenom II X6 1100T BE combo for around $380. That will drop a good $50 as soon as the new stuff is released. More by the new year. That will be the same for both AMD and Intel.

Also the longer you wait the more real info will be available as real users start buying and posting.

Quote - Wait as long as you can. Both the AMD Bulldozer and the new Intel sandybridge/2011 mobo will be out. Amd around next week or so from the latest I've read. And the new intels not long after that. Then the prices of everything below that will drop even more.

AS an example. Right now I can get an Asus Sabertooth 990FX/ Phenom II X6 1100T BE combo for around $380. That will drop a good $50 as soon as the new stuff is released. More by the new year. That will be the same for both AMD and Intel.

Also the longer you wait the more real info will be available as real users start buying and posting.

That's true. I am just looking at prices and budgets right now. Is there any news on newer memory technology? What's coming next beyond DDR3?

It will be quad channel in the new intel 2011 Mobo's

Also talk of PCI-E 3 with the new intels.

:huh:

I guess I'm stepping into overclock language...something I never mastered... :tongue1:

OK the simple way to understand. It's the way the ram works with each other. AMD Mobo's are dual channel ram . The intel 1155 is dual channel ram. The 1366 is tri channel. The not yet released 2011 will be quad channel ram.

PCI-E is your GPU slot or other things. Mainly as GPU. Right now we are using PCI-E 2 but it is rumoured that the new 2011 mobos will be able to have PCI-E 3. That would be the next generation of GPU's.

All it means is a bit more efficient speed in ram and GPU use. But I don't think that the average user would notice it much. 

I'm looking at my mb and video specs right now. I thought I had a crossfire card with the Geoforce 210, but I guess not. Also, the mb can handle 16 GB after all, which makes me wonder if I've got all slots filled or maybe two of my memory modules are bad. Weird....

Thanks for the info...:)

Your card is an nvidia. So it's cant be a crossfire. Crossfire is ATI or now known as AMD GPU's. NVIDIA are SLI. But I don't think you can do that with the 210.

Depends on what ram sticks you have. Do you have 4gb sticks installed or do you have the common 2gb sticks. Which would only give you 8gb total with all working correctly.

My Workstations can do 16gb also but they are ddr2 ram and 4gb sticks cost an arm and a leg. So I only have 8gb installed. It's not worth buying bigger ram. It's better to just put that money to a new up to date, kinda, workstation. The bigger faster ram is cheeper that the old.

I'm going to have to pull my case out...but I swear I had 4gb sticks...in there.

Oh definately not going to be adding more ram...there's no need to at this point :rolleyes:

there are motherboards that will alow 48 Gb ram

found this out when i whent to dell's web site and wounted to see how much my dream workstation would coast

Have a screen shot of it stass in my gallery the  name of the pic is

(Workstation needed wishes)   

 know the price is alarming but some people in the commits said they could biuld it for afew houndred  dollors but never let us in on how they do that. 

I'll take a look 722. I was looking at the workstations a couple of years ago, but the keypoint for me is QUIET! Right now I don't know which fan in my system is the loudest. I've got a front and back fan, a side fan, cpu and the power supply fan of course. I forgot the brand of power supply I have, but I believe it's a 750 watt ps. I'd even lead towards a smaller format mb if that were a possibility, but I am sure it's not considering my needs/expectations.

I'm currently gathering parts for a mini-tower system, and this AM3+ MB will accomodate 32 GB, and it's inexpensive as well...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157275

I'm leaning towards this one, but I'm hoping to find a deal on an X6 before I purchase it-the FX's are supposed to come out the 15th, so I'm thinking there might be a clearance sale soon...

Quote - I'm currently gathering parts for a mini-tower system, and this AM3+ MB will accomodate 32 GB, and it's inexpensive as well...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157275

I'm leaning towards this one, but I'm hoping to find a deal on an X6 before I purchase it-the FX's are supposed to come out the 15th, so I'm thinking there might be a clearance sale soon...

Looks good I want to stay with my 1TB HD, though most likely will add another 1 TB on there.

What are the thoughts on onboard video? I've had mixed reactions myself with them. I realize that often people will trade it out and add their own card, and that often the card itself will be close to the cost of a fully loaded system. Since I am after a quiet and cool system I was wondering how the noise/heat level would be affected?

I bought a 1GB Radeon 5570 card-it should be adequate for PP 2012, which needs 256 shaders for full OpenGL viewport features.  This is the one I got, but since I don't yet have the MB or processor, I can't yet comment on its performance...  

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131342

Quote - I bought a 1GB Radeon 5570 card-it should be adequate for PP 2012, which needs 256 shaders for full OpenGL viewport features.  This is the one I got, but since I don't yet have the MB or processor, I can't yet comment on its performance...  

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131342

DDR3 :scared: !!!!!!!!!

Inspired_Art. Your 210 is DDR3 also.

My 260 is DDR3 but my 460 2gb is DDR5.

Oooooh! :tongue1: