pinklet, dammit, i just made a mess on my keyboard!!! finally they release upgrades for machines that really need them. anyway, about my dual 1.25 -- while it was a rev1 and still boots in OS9, you can't use SMP in OS9, so for Carrara I would stick to X. Depending on how fast the G3 is when/if I upgrade it, I'm thinking about using it to model scenes while my dualie renders. As far as the e-mac is concerned, yes the price and power of it is tempting, but the lack of dual monitor support relegates it to a render box. and if that is all you use it for, you're probably better off with an original imac, since 3D makes the G4 useless. overall, it has never been cost effective to upgrade processors. you would get a much better deal buying any of the quick silver macs than you would spending it on an upgrade for a beige box. that being said, i'm still gonna have to get that Ghz G4 - (when i checked it was priced at $599), but look at the fans on that thing!!! i'll bet it will rival the noise of my dual1.25. Maybe the G3800 is a better idea after all. hmmm. -scott