I'd get this: A P4 PC with 2GB RAM and a terabyte of drive space Poser (ver. 5 when it's released) 3ds Max or Cinema 4d A big-@$$ monitor (19" or up!) A ton of ready-made stuff from Daz the Renderosity Marketplace. A good video editing app A good library of special fx and textures And a really nice, expensive dinner for your spouse/mate - once you get started, they'll be wondering where the heck you are... ;) --silver