Dave, woah! I just heard about a new version of Windows XP that’s coming out of Microsoft next week called “Windows XP Professional x64 Edition”? What’s the scoop with that, and how do I know if I need to pay for the upgrade?

My pal Patrick Crispen over at the superb Internet Tourbus actually just covered this question in their usual exhaustive detail, and with permission, I’m reprinting their material here too.

Over the next few weeks your favorite media outlets are going to tell you about a new version of Windows XP — “Windows XP Professional x64 Edition”–that is faster and more efficient, supports up to 128 *gigabytes* of RAM [250 to 500 times more RAM than most XP users currently have], and even lets you run two single or multicore processors at the same time.

This new version of Windows is a godsend for anyone who…