Well, thanks for all the help, LuxXeon.

I don't want to be a pest, because you've helped immensely so far; but, it occurred to me today--there's really no big emphasis on buying new, recent equipment here. So, what if i were to find an older device that would fit the specs/architecture of my current PC--keeping in mind I still should find out about OpenCL/CUDA? This machine is, after all, only 5 years old and I'm sure there's plenty of used equipment floating around on eBay. (yeah, I know, ya pays your money & ya takes your chances.) Anyway, you've given me a load of knowledge I didn't have 2 weeks ago.