Point taken on the mobo.

I spoke to a friend of a friend of mine who works for a computer shop assembling machines. He mentioned that there hasn't been one AMD64 machine that doesn't run hot. A few have overheated on him as well. He also mentioned that the fan is extremely loud.

The Radeon 9800 Pro is already $300. The x800 will start at $575!! Ouch!

I need a decent video card that will make using Maya less painless than my 7000 series Radeon.

Thanks for the comments. This will help as I investigate components for my new beast.

Unfortunately. Money is not "no object" for me.