Quote - Last October, I built a new PC with parts specifically chosen for the primary task of rendering 3D art.  Is there any point in my continuing to use it for that purpose, or has the divide between the tech and community support widened too much to bother anymore?  I have much more enjoyable interests to spend my free time on that don't give me headaches.

My suggestion is you treat 3D technology like you treat PC hardware, in a few years time it will be superseded and redundant but you haven't lost the ability to make a new PC its just the hardware will have changed.