I'm about to switch from a single Mac setup to a 2 PC + 1 Mac setup. PC 1 will run Cubase for midi, audio and maybe the odd virtual instrument, PC 2 will host VEP and all my main virtual instruments (VSL, NI, Play (if it works), Spectrasonics etc etc) and the Mac will run Pro Tools as the audio monitor and mixdown recorder.
My question relates to the 2nd PC, running VEP. I've done some research and it looks like currently an i7 with Windows 7 Pro 64 bit is the best option. Quiet power supplies and chip cooling is pretty easy to work out, however it seems that 12GB RAM is about as big as most companies go, although I know you can also put in 24GB (but nothing in between?).
So actually my question should have been, will I actually be able to use 24GB if I put it in? I know you can only access 3GB in 32 bit, but 64 bit seems to let you use what you have. I'd also appreciate any thoughts about PC spec in general (for example, is it worth getting high speed RAM?), and any recommendations of people building them specifically for this purpose in the UK.
Thanks!