I tend to buy stripped out PCs, mod the cases, then throw in all the high end hardware I want so my opinion may not be much help but here goes...I'd opted for a bigger HD - say 100 gigs if you can afford it. I have a 40 Gig that is nearly full and I just bought the machine last July. The 3D apps really eat up space. I also have 60 Gigs in one of my other machines (all games and mp3s). I've long been at the point of stripping software off that one to make more room. Bigger is truly better! :)