Windows 2003 or Windows 2008 based on my server specs & needs...

Hello,
I have a network of 13 workstation clients (WinXP SP-2 PRO) and a server with the following specs:
Intel Pentium 4 640 (Prescott Hyper-Threading) 3.2GHZ FSB800MHZ 2MB L2 Cache (Not multi-core CPU!!)
DDR 2GB 400MHZ Dual Channel (PC3200 200MHZ)
300GB HD
ATI Radeon X330/X550/X1050

I want to setup a Domain and so I have to choose from the following two operating systems to install in this server:
Windows 2003 Standard R2 DSP License
Windows 2008 Standard Sngl OLP NL GOVT (Government License)

From my previous experiences, I know that Windows 2003 will work perfectly on the above setup:

Windows 2003 Requirements
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/w.../bb430827.aspx

But the Windows 2008 government license is far better than the Windows 2003 DSP which can only be used for one PC/Server. (It gets tied to the motherboard & CPU, where as government license can be carried to the next server in case I buy a new one in the future)

I checked the Windows 2008 system requirements and it should work fine on my server:
Windows 2008 Requirements
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/wind.../cc196364.aspx

But I know that these requirements by Microsoft are never accurate and since I have never actually seen it in action I can’t judge how well it would work on my specific server. (My CPU is not Multi-core)
The services I’m interested in installing are: Active Directory / Domain Controller (With 13 Domain users), DNS service, DHCP service (The Server will give Internet to the Domain PCs via the DSL/Router) & File Sharing service. (Possibly even setting up a VPN tunnel via the DSL / Router in the future to connect to another workgroup via the Internet)

So based on my setup and needs, how well would I expect Windows 2008 Standard to work on my server? I would rather avoid upgrading the hardware at the moment, but I don’t want a slow/jerky server & Domain either!
Should I get Windows 2003 Standard R2 instead?

Any suggestions will be highly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

I checked this Windows 2008 Server Hardware Compatibility list:
http://blogs.msdn.com/nickmac/archiv...-2008-x64.aspx
http://www.windowsservercatalog.com/...PGS=25&ready=0

How ever, my Server mother board: “ABIT AG8 Motherboard”
I can't even find it in the compatibility list?!

I checked the ABIT Driver site and there are no Windows 2008 Server drivers available by ABIT!
http://www.abit.com.tw/page/en/downl...ET_TYPE=LGA775

Does this mean that it will not work at all with Windows 2008 Server?
Will the current Windows 2003 Server drivers work with Windows 2008 Server?

Is this a home server? If so how can you get a GOVT? If its not a home server then why not just get a propper server from HP or Dell?

server 2k8 uses the same code base as vista - so if it works with vista , there is a pretty good chance that it'll work with 2k8.

you could alwasy just install the core version of 2k8 if those are the only services you want to run.

you can use it free for 30 days. Give it a go first.

and you where doing so well untill you mentioned getting an illegal copy of windows....