Great discussion, I got $20 for a nickels worth :)

My only concern about the build route is that I did it once before, back in the Poser 3 days, and it was simply not worth the money, the zooped up compaq I bought afterwards worked just as well if not better, BUT, I will check around for a reputable custom computer store that speaks my language,[English :) ] and seems pretty stable,    They all want the money UP front, and now a days that could simply go right into his back rent, and all I end up with is a paper promise and a sore butt, when I show up at an empty shop one day. One store I was fixing on,  gave me a quote just before Thanks Giving... IT closed down just after he gave me his best prices, about 1,500 for what you guys are proposing and around 900 for the Dell or HP discussed here.
Rough guesstimats of course.

thanks again big KISS and HUG :)