Whoa Cheers guys

Thanks for this!

OK I am a hobbyist at the moment, but looking to a career change at some point don't know when, maybe when I can show that I am good enough.

As far as money goes I don't have a bottomless pit but can spread to mid range maybe the bottom half of the top range.
I was looking at getting components each month with what spare cash I have let over, this amount varies so I'll get what I can with what I've got.

I started looking at Maya and other 3D packages when I was looking for something to spice up my photography, blending CG & real in the same shot.
But as I looked more in to it I found things I didn't know, so wanting to find the answer, I started looking deeper and found myself getting immersed in the whole CG world...
And I like it!
I know I have a very long way to go with CG but I am looking forward to the experience.

As regard to my competence in the technical side of Linux I should be able to hold my own, as I have done system admin on Sun Microsytems network, in a old job. So as a result I know a few people who could help out if needed.

I actually haven't ruled out windows completely, just with past experiences, I am a bit dubious. So if windows proves to be the better choice of OS I would go with it.

I also like building PC's just like playing with them.
Maybe I should buy a ready built workstation and get a rattle to play with

Oh and just to point out Mac have some very good anti virus software available and with fewer virii written specifically for the mac, it's quite good protection. Sorry should have made that clearer.

Oh and on hard drives what are the new WD SATA300 velociraptors like?

Again thanks for all the posts, I think its great that you are taking the time to help me out.

Cheers

Chris