I need advice from people who have these top machines. I am upgrading my main machine. Should I get 
1- An Intel Quad process?
2 - Windows XP 64 or Vista 64?
3 - What is the best video card for Vue? I was thinking of a Quatro card? 

I already have 4 gig of memory on 2 -32 bit  systems, one Vista and one XP Pro, but I am tired of not being able to process scenery with plenty of trees, etc. The 4 gig should be enough, but it doesn't matter whether I use the XP Pro or Vista Ultimate. I like to work at least 2400 x 1800 at 300 dpi. Unless I am only using straignt scenery, it won't always process. 

Does 8 gig ram solve this problem?

Any comments would be great.

Thanks.

I'm using XP x64,Intel Q6600 Quad core, Nvidia(XFX) 8800 Ultra(768 on board ram) with 8g of system ram.

My machine is running like a sewing machine and very very stable.  I get no more OOM's with Vue & can jam pack a scene.  I have yet to go below 85% resources. There are still other bugs, but no more OOM's.

I only had 2 programs I couldn't install to x64.  One was an old KPT(version1) plug for PSP and Kodak Easy Share for my camera(which I don't need anyway).

The only app that has issues is Shade x64 version.  If Windows has an update I have to reinstall the video drivers - this is a known issue.

Anyway - I recommend XP x64.

Paula - I went through the same question a little while ago and the answer I came up with is .... none of the above.

My next machine will be a Powermac Pro.

I am just waiting for the money (and for the beginning of next year, time of the next likely upgrade to the Powermac line).

More to your questions, other will probably answer better than I would.

Also remember Vista SP 1 is coming in early 2008. It might be better to wait and plan for a beginning of the year upgrade anyway in case they upgrade their 64 bits version.

Agiel -

What are you using now?

If you are using a PC, why would you switch? All my software is for  a PC. I am unfamiliar with a Powermac Pro. Can you explain your choice.

Paula

I have a desktop PC (my main machine, P4 3.2Ghz, 3 Gb of memory) and a Powerbook laptop. I will make the switch because : - I spend most of my time on my laptop just... using the laptop :) - I spend my time on PC just upgrading, patching, fixing, tweaking and barely using it for what it is there for - I really don't like what I have seen of Vista so far - I love what I have seen (and used) in Mac OSX - I made a list of all of my software, and besides a few smaller utilities, it turns out everything I am using already comes with a mac version or offers a way to upgrade to mac now or in the near future - As for what doesn't exist for Mac, I am planning to either use windows XP with bootcamp (for games) or virtualization software for the smaller apps. So all in all, I didn't come up with any reason why I should not make the switch.

I'm running a quad AMD Opteron setup (2x dualcore chips) and it rocks. I suspect the Pentiums are sweet, too. I just avoid Intel products wherever possible for personal reasons.

I recommend XP Pro 64 because, if you're used to XP 32, it feels the same, only faster, and you already know how to tweak it to taste. Maybe you're comfortable with Vista, in which case you can disregard that statement. lol.

I've had no problems with the NVidia GeForce 7600 video card. One nice feature is you can add a second identical card and physically bridge them for multicore video processsing.

8 gigs ram should do the trick. That's what I use, and I've yet to even come close to gobbling it all up, even with gig-sized Vue files.

Good luck! You won't regret the expanded capability of a nice quadcore machine.

I've really appreciated everyone's feedback. 

I use both Ivista and XP Pro 32 bit. Does Vue prefer the 64 bit version of one over the other or has anyone experience with other apps? 

Also,  has anyone used a Quatro card? Now I use a GeForce 6800 (don't remember which one.)

Again, thanks everyone. This has really helped.

Paula - there is also the fact that I am in a slightly different situation.

My current machine has ran its course of upgrades - the next stop will be a change of motherboard since mine doesn't support PCI express, SATA and other more modern features. Which means also new video card and new hard drives.

I looked at a decent PC configuration for what I would like to have for the next few years and it brought me into the $3000 range. For that price, I could also get a nice Powermac configuration :)

I just recently upgraded also:
Quad Q6600, 8 Gig RAM, Nvidia 8600GT graphics [256Meg] with Vista Ultimate 64, pretty much like dlk30341's set up.
As he says I have no OOM messages and resources haven't dropped below 80% with BIG scenes!
Overall I'm really happy that I can actually work on a scene how I want which includes using Posers Shader tree and re=posing inside Vue!!

I have one issue which I haven't sorted yet and I'm not sure why it happens, but sometimes my tool tips don't show, in fact 95% of the time they don't, it's not a big problem unless I need to use something I don't use often!
I'm hoping to try a re-install this week as that's pretty much all I have left to try!

Paula & Agiel,

I also will be upgrading this fall & I've already spec'd and priced out my system:

Intel Q6600 (just waiting for prices on the new AMDs just to make sure)
Gigabyte or Asus P35 mid-grade motherboard
3 500Bg hard drives
ATI 1950Pro Graphics Card
8Gb Ram - quality brand
Windows XP64
Antec 182 Case
and other minor bits
Monitors, keyboard & other minor accesories from my old system.

The upgrade price is about CAD$2000 or about the same in US $.  While I can build the system myself, I'll have a local shop build it for me because they can then warranty the parts and the assembly (about $50).  Last thing you want to find after you bolted the system together is that the ram or something else is bad and then go through the RMA process.

You could buy from Dell,  HP or others, but then you can't have the system customized the way you want it, and you can pay quite a bit for it.

I'm not a gamer, but I do quite a bit of modeling using AutoCAD, CAiCE, Civil 3D and various 3D app software (Amapi, Hexagon, little of Poser).

Agiel, I think you may be exaggerating a bit about the propensity of Windows updates.  I update about once a month and it takes only a few minutes.  However, preference is the main thing - If you prefer Mac OSX then that is the thing for you.

Paula,  I would not recommend the Quatro nor the FireGL graphics cards for VUE or general usage.  The reason they cost so much is because they have optimised drivers for professional applications like AutoCAD, Solidworks and so on.  You can get the same performance in VUE from consumer cards using the same GPUs the Quatro or FireGL cards contain for about 1/2 of the price.  Nvidia or ATI - your preference.  I'm getting good OpenGL performance from my ATI 9800 Pro, and others rave about the OpenGL performance on their Nvidia GPUs.

Please don't take the above in a bad way, I'm just trying to add to the discussion.
Cheers...

Have to agree with Surveyman about the video card. It's not as big a factor for Vue as it might be for dedicated gaming or Hi-Def video editing.
 
Also, you might even find it worthwhile to sacrifice 2 gigs of ram (start with 6 instead of 8) and go for the absolutely fastest processors you can afford.

Not sure whether you can sacrifice 2Gb of ram, as motherboards have only 4 ram slots so you have to buy two 2x2Gb kits to fill up all 4 slots.  Wish the new motherboards had 8 slots like the motherboards from the days of DOS.  (Yes - you could go for a server board - and toss all frugality out the window.)

The Intel Q6700 is almost double the price of Q6600.  You'd be better off investing a few bucks in a better cooling solution and do a mild overclock to get the same performance as the Q6700.  For VUE, best to go for stability when you have a choice between speed or stability.

Right now, the best "bang for the buck" is the Intel Q6600.  Wait a few months, and things will change (as always).

@surveyman

I got a Gigabyte GA-P35C-DSR3 and I love it FYI.

 "The Intel Q6700 is almost double the price of Q6600.  You'd be better off investing a few bucks in a better cooling solution and do a mild overclock to get the same performance as the Q6700.  For VUE, best to go for stability when you have a choice between speed or stability".

  With  Q6700, the CPU multiplier is unlocked, meaning you can increase it. Non extreme chips, like the Q6600, are multiplier locked, meaning you can only decrease the stock multiplier, and not increase it. Increasing the multiplier can be desirable in that it offers an almost effortless overclock, and your RAM isn't affected(Meaning more stability with Q6700). You're also not bound by your motherboard's ability to run a higher base frequency (commonly referred to as a frontside bus, or fsb).
The prices are down for both any way....[

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7293](http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7293)

dlk30341:
I am leaning toward the Gigabyte as it still has a parallel port.  CAiCE (www.caice.com) needs to run with a parallel port dongle.  I could exchange it for a UBS one, and probably will do so in the future, but I like backward compatibility (call me strange).

dsr207:
I believe that you may be confusing the Q6700 with the QX6700.  Q6700 is a regular CPU, multiplier locked, while the QX6700 was the extreme unlocked, which Intel stopped selling when the QX6850 was released.  In any event, I don't think that you cannot buy any Intel Extreme CPU for less than US$999 retail.

On another note:
Instead of the Intel Q6600, it may actually be cheaper to order the Intel XEON 3220 - same CPU but qualified by intel as a XEON, meaning it has been verified by Intel as being of higher quality.

In my neck of the woods, the Intel Q600 is selling for about CAD$328 while the XEON 3220 is selling for $309.  Go figure.

http://www.ncix.com/search/?q=xeon+3220&minprice=Min.+Price&maxprice=Max.+Price
http://www.ncix.com/search/?q=intel+q6600&minprice=Min.+Price&maxprice=Max.+Price

Paula - sorry if I hijacked your thread.   ;-P

What about waiting  the new generation of intel coming soon (45 nano chip building)?
I would choose the best OS for using the more memory Ram i can instal But the answer is not as evident as it could be (XP 64 pro,Vista 64....)

Surveyman...Yes I did have the 2 confused( 1 beer too many)...What's funny is that I have Qx6700... Water cooled and running at 3.967 GHZ...

Surveyman -

You didn't hijack the thread. In fact, I am glad for the information. Thanks. And, again, I appreciate all the information everyone has contributed.