Both Carrara and RDS are great software. (although I prefer Carrara) The interface for Carrara will be more intuitive if since you've been using P and B. If you're just going to be producing content for P or B then the RDS package can be obtained a little cheaper than Carrara. However, if you're going to render final images from the program then Carrara is a good choice. It has a better faster renderer. However, when Adobe finally finishes the paperwork, Carrara will be a supported continued product. RDS will not. Both programs have their quirks. RDS has some that I got used to so when I transitioned to C it was frustrating to learn different ones. However, starting from square one either one would be fine. I learned all the ways possible to crash RDS. I'm still learning them (and avoiding them) in Carrara. Regarding Carrara, from what I've read in this forum, some people have pretty solid performance from either Mac or PC platforms. But there are others that have more 'issues' than others. Either way, you'll have some new imaging/content creation 'doors' opened to you. Mark