Your motherboard will be key to how much RAM you can slot in. And you'll need Windows 7 Professional or above running x64.

I've never had a hard drive fail in 20 years (knock on wood), not even a portable one.

I got 24GB RAM a few months back and being able to press that render button knowing I'll never see the dreaded "out of memory" message was worth it alone - peace of mind at last.

And I love your attitude to the demise of your old PC, very Buddhist. All the best Acadia.