FYI on DirectX versus OpenGL: Although DirectX is faster on some hardware/software combinations it's not a big factor unless you're trying to pump out 120 fps of Quake/Doom/Halflife/Unreal. DirectX is a major league PITA to work with. OpenGL is cross platform, DirectX isn't. OpenGL is supported on Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. There is a new OpenGL 2.0 standard coming that will incorporate a lot of new capabilities and features, see www.opengl.org for details. It is no coincidence that it is being pushed by groups such as ATI and NVidia and that NVidia and ATI are assimilating "rendering" software and hardware technologies. They are looking to take their graphics to the next level so that my teenagers will blow their( = my ) money on the next generation of games.