cpu help

what would be best for an audio workstation dual 800fsb xeons or a single AMD 64, ive read so many articles on cpus i dont have a clue which ones are best no one seems to have a solid opinion on xeons,

i dont think i can afford opterons becouse from what i have seen the cpus are alot more expesive and so are the motherboards,

basically i want pci-e and pci-x or more than 4 pci slots, ram type doesnt make much difference to me,

and prity much anything is better than the computer i use at the moment its under powered for audio
its only a
2700 xp
with 1.5gb ram
an epox motherboard
and a raptor
the raptors the only bit i will be using again as it made the biggest differenve to the pc its in now :)

I would say to do some research on the audio software you intend to use to see if it supports dual-processing.

most of Steinberg's softwares support dual processing and i believe sonar does

so far this seems like the best motherboard http://www.tyan.com/products/html/thunderi7525.html
rather expensive but full of features

Personally I've just got an NCCH-DL, good value for money imo (still £170, but alot less than most dual Xeon boards). For me the options were the Asus NCCH-DL, Iwill DH800 or DN800, the Iwills are generally regarded as better boards but cost over £100 more ...... try asking over @ 2cpu forums, thats generally my first check for anything regarding dual systems.

As for cpu's 2x 1.6Ghz lv Xeons are generally regarded as the best value for money option as they are pretty much guarenteed to overclock to 3Ghz+, apart from that good stepping 2.4's are the ones to go for, a bit more expensive, but easier to find and can do upto 3.6Ghz, alot cheaper and cooler then Noconas.

I should get 3.2Ghz at least out of my 2.4 M0 Xeons, but 3.6Ghz would be nicer ;)