Thanks destro75, really helps. I think I got the impression from Microsoft that their new 64bit OS can address upto 16 GIGs and the Dell Workstation can be purchased with 16 GIGS...I can't afford that but it does leave room for the future heavy apps programers love to build. So I have been looking at this Dell Precision Workstation 670 with these specs: Fastest 64-bit Intel XeonTM processors available including new 3.0, 3.2, 3.4, 3.6GHz with 2MB L2 cache in addition to current 2.8, 3.0, and 3.2GHz processors with 1M L2 cache. Comprehensive operating support for Microsoft Windows XP Professional. Balanced 800 MHz front side bus with up to 16GB of high-speed Dual Channel DDR2 400MHz ECC SDRAM memory, Open GL certified workstation-class PCI Express graphics (NVIDIA Quadro FX 3400 (PCIe x16 card, 256MB)), and Serial ATA. There is also a similar one the Alienware makes but both are beyond my budget so I am trying to figure out what to cut out and what to keep. My head hurts because this should be easier and well, fun.