Is this required for full effect for 64 bit processing?

with the Amd Athlon 64 bit processor, do you have to have a motherboard with a 64 bit front side bus too? Or is it just 64 bit in the CPU?

There isn't a 64-bit FSB. To get full effect for the 64 bit cpu, you need software optimized for use on a 64 bit cpu, though you get an increase in regular software too.
http://www.hardwarezone.com/article...d=6&id=883&pg=1 is a big article about the chipsets available for amd's 64 bit cpus (nForce 150, not 250) which might help.

Ok thanks, but I have one more question regarding the subject. So the Front side bus remains at 32 bit and the only 64 bit stuff needed is the 64 bit processor and software and drivers that support it?

Okay, lets cover this a bit. Technically the 64 bit amd chips don't have a FSB, the memory controller is integrated into the core. The HyperTransport is the connection to the rest of the system, and it is 16 bits wide, running at 800Mhz, DDR'ed to an effective 1.6Ghz. The guy here does a better job explaining than I, maybe that will make things clearer.