Thanks John.

I appreciate the feedback.  I'll make a point to investigate AMD & Gimp.
:-)

Can any of you speak to my questions about sound cards?  Do any of you know
(would you mind imparting knowledge) anything about DVD recording?

Cheers,

---==> Chris

PS>  The reason I'm not "rolling my own" is because (beyond the fact that
I'm a klutz with hardware) I'd like to be able to call someone if/when parts
start failing on me.  I've been burned by the DIY approach before (hello
broken hard drive; hello broken cd-r/w drive!).  Did I mention that I'm a
klutz?  ;-)

PPS>  I'm not satisfied by Unix because there are simply too many arcane
things for me to remember when all I want to do at home is point & click.  I
have used Unix on & off at work for several years, but frankly, I prefer
Windows or Mac.  I just wish Apple would keep up with the rest of the
industry hardware and price-wise.  Sigh.  They've always had good software,
and they look damn sharp, but I hate paying more for software just because
it's running on an Apple box.  It's also the case that lots of good stuff
just isn't made to run on Apple boxes.