Recommendation on how much RAM on 8-core to run Parallels & XP?

Hi
I ordered my 8-core with 1Gb of RAM planning to expand it by buying an additional 2GB through Crucial...(cheaper than through Apple)
1. Would 3GB of RAM be enough to concurrently run OSX+apps and Parallels with XP with a negligible speed impact
2. While I am at it... is there a better/cheaper place to buy additional RAM from than Crucial? I've read somewhere that not all vendors had enough quality memory boards to support the 8-core... is that true?

Lloyd Chambers has done some memory benchtests of 8-core and linked form Barefeats article. There is also an entire article
http
on the subject of Mac Pro memory.
Can't go wrong with Crucial, but I use more than 2GB and found 4GB was what I needed, and I don't even run any heavy apps. Symmetrical balance of 4 x 1GB is a good way to make use of the quad channel 256-bit performance and recommended for some apps.
Dig these articles and links:
http://diglloyd.com/diglloyd/free/MacPro/
http://www.geekpatrol.ca/2006/12/eight-core-mac-pro-benchmarks/
http://diglloyd.com/diglloyd/free/MacPro/memory.html
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304492
http://www.barefeats.com/octopro3.html

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