Final specs on new workstation! need help

[ghsu3d]

ok im pretty solid on this cirten spec:
-tyan thunder k7x
-dual amd mpx 2000+
-4 gig of ddr ram
-2 westren digital 120 gig 8mg buffer hard drives
-wildcat 3 6210 from 3dlabs
all for about 5000USD

ok now here are my questions,
1)does anyone have reviews or uses a thunder k7x MB if so what do u think of its preformance
2)32 bit softwere only use up to 2 gig of ram right? well if i buy 4 gigs of ddr ram does that mean that maya will use 2 gigs of ddr ram that will be twice as fast or only 1 gig of ddr ram
3)does anyone see any problems with this setup that are spesfic to maya?

thanks in advance
GHSU3D

ps:
i can be emailed at GHSU3D@hotmail.com

[1000101-]

Maya might only use a 2 gig chunk of RAM; but then; if you have maya open and photoshop open and maybe deep paint3d open
you could feasibly have need for the other 2 gb. So I'd say stick with the 4gb.
Since your going with ATA133 drives; i'd say step down to a tyan tiger MPX board spent 50 bux for a network card; and you can save about 300 dollars. (personally I hate tyan and would go with gigabyte or asus or MSI or anyone else) The board is just as fast; supports AGP Pro; and its less expensive.

[keyframetampa]

I would recommend Asus board over Tyan.
http://www.asus.com.tw/mb/socketa/a7m266-d/overview.htm

It is a much better board compared to Tyan. Same performance as MSI (http://www.msi.com.tw/products/server/server_board/6501.htm). Failing to get that, Gigabyte board is still better than Tyan (http://networking.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Products_ServerBoard_Spec.asp?ProductID=25)

To be able to use 4GB DDR, you must use the ECC version. Otherwise those board max out with 3GB of PC2100.

I hope that helps.

[1000101-]

I tend to agree; I hate tyan; had several problems with several of their boards and they were about as helpful as driving a nail through my braincase.