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Dual operating systems 32- and 64-bit. Need advice on possible XP memory issues

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cranioscopical:
Here's a long one but I'd really appreciate some help from the hardware experts, please.

Two-part Problem:

* Principal system significantly screwed up (p/s shot, 2 HDD dead)
* Lack of time
Three-part Solution:

* Use backup system
* Commission local supplier to assemble replacement system
* Sort out dead system some fine day
New System spec:

* Storage: 4 x 500GB HDD SATA, 2 x Optical SATA
* Case: Antec 300 or 900, p/s Antec 850W
* Video: Dual DVI card (don't do serious video, don't do intensive media)
* Chip: Intel Quad QX 9450/R 45nm 12mb l2 cache,1333 fsb
* Mobo: ASUS P5E3 Premium/WiFi-AP @n http://ca.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=640&l4=0&model=2069&modelmenu=1
Only the chip and the (mobo are really relevant to my question.)

Other Background:

* Must use a Windows system -- it will be XP Pro. VISTA is not an option.
* Have some legacy stuff that might well run afoul of driver problems in a 64-bit Windows
* Want more that 3.25GB RAM available
So, conflicting objectives.  More RAM = 64-bit O/S = driver conflicts  >:(

Now, brilliantly, it has been suggested to me that a solution is to install a rack hard drive to swap
in and out to boot with different operating systems. Use 32-bit XP O/S when drivers dictate. Use
64-bit XP O/S to get some real work done.

Great!  But here FINALLY, is the nub of my question.
If I populate this mobo with 8GB DDR3 RAM, so that I can romp along in 64-bit XP Pro, will having
that much RAM in some way screw up the operation of 32-bit XP Pro?  Or will most of the RAM
simply be ignored by 32-bit XP -- can't use it, but does no harm?

Does anybody here know for sure, from personal experience?
(Try getting a straight answer from ASUS!)

My current ASUS mobo has 4GB DDR2 RAM, and XP 32-bit sees 3.25GB and just doesn't care about the
rest (nor do I).  ASUS itself recommends <3GB RAM for a 32-bit O/S. 

Thank you for the time you spent reading this!

mouser:
from my experience, more than 4gb is a great waste of money untill you have a serious planned use for this on some giant mathematical computation.

but to answer your question specifically, i dont think windows 32bit will care in the least, it just wont be able to see it.

having said that -- i have noticed that memory incompatibilities can lead to instability, so make sure you get matching sticks, etc.

f0dder:
Installing >= 4GB of RAM has "voodoo consequences" - it'll depend on a mix of chipset, installed peripherals (especially video cards tend to grab a lot of address space), operating system, and the phase of the moon. Should work just fine, but you can find yourself with anything from 2GB to 3.25GB of memory available for the 32bit O/S. Oh yeah, also depends on the "memory remap" feature of your BIOS (if it has it at all).

Driver compatibility problems shouldn't be THAT much of an issue, most stuff is sorted out - except for stuff like old scanners, old printers, and old webcams. YMMV.

Forget about rack harddrive, install a single small-but-fast drive (36gig raptor should be enough, 74gig raptor certainly would) for your "OS drive". Partition for the systems you'll need (32bit XP, 64bit XP, and possibly even 64bit Vista for testing), and use multiboot. Works like a charm if you install in the right order (which, iirc, would be XP32, XP64, Vista64). Use the rest of your drives in a safe RAID mode - remember that RAID5 makes you cry even harder when two drives fail at the same time.

850W PSU sounds overkill, your system will probably be below the 350W mark in total consumption. I've got a [email protected], 8gig ram, 2x74gig raptors, GF8800GT/512meg (POWERDRAINER!) and a single sata optical, and I draw like 230W fully loaded (iirc, will have to check notes to be sure). Doesn't hurt much with a bigger PSU, but iirc they're most efficient above some low-mark and beneath some high-mark; going below or above in power consumption means wasting energy. I probably waste energy with my 750W (or was it 700W? PSU.

Can't comment on the motherboard right now, it's a bit late and it's friday :) - but P5E3 sounds a bit old-ish for a new system, even if it's (judging from the "3") using DDR3 memory? (which is insanely expensive atm).

cranioscopical:
Thanks for those replies, gentlemen.

I'm thinking... ouch, it hurts to do that   :o


[Edit -- I've thunk]
It seems that what it boils down to is that it's anybody's guess what will happen with extra RAM in a board running 32-bit Windows. ASUS says don't do it, but they said that about my last mobo, too.

I'd be interested to know, in light of your comments re power supply, if you consider this case to be adequate.  It comes with a 550W p/s which makes it really quite inexpensive but its prime benefit for me is that it's relatively quiet.  My wife has one of the Sonata line and it's really good at holding down the racket.  (At the moment I'm sitting beside my old, full-tower, all-SCSI system which is a little like sitting in an aircraft hanger while someone winds up a Harrier jump-jet).

Antec Sonata Plus 550 case.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/500

I'm thinking of using a passively-cooled video card.

Locally I see KINGSTON MEMORY DDR3 4096MB (2X2048MB) $220 which doesn't seem bad... am I missing something?

     

f0dder:
PSU quality is a lot more important than quantity - as I stated above, you don't need a huge amount of wattage. But you want the voltages to be relatively stable... but hey, you say Antec, and their PSUs are pretty decent. Only other thing to say about PSUs is that the "modular" versions are nice, so you don't have insane cable clutter :)

Forget about passively-cooled video card, unless you can live with a low-end card. GPUs are really nasty these days, an actively cooled GF8800/GT has operating temperatures in the 70+ Celsius range. I've been contemplating whether I can fry bacon on mine.

Your DDR3 prices seem relatively low - then again, prices have dropped for the "slower" RAM. I could get 2x2gig corsair DDR3-1333 for ~$280. Then again, I could get 2x2gig corsair DDR2-800 for $140. I dunno how much performance you get by going DDR3, considering how efficient the core2 CPU cache is.

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