I consider myself intermediate linux enthusiast. And i am comfotable with the shell.

I have been doiing some reading and I believe that a qualified linux machine could out render on a mass basis. But when you are just constructing and color and texturing i dont believe speed is as important as accuracy.

There is a concept of purpose built machine that are only used for a specialized phase of a project and it seems to make sense.

That is why I am not ready to count out Linux.

But I will probably start with a quad 600 with a Windows 7 as my first Maya computer.

I am starting to believe pure visual artists arent interested in Linux if it is to complicated to set up.

I am not as visually artistic as the average user and am more programming oriented but I love Maya and everything I see about it.