Paul: Hi Scott, I am just getting into digital photograpy (don't worry, I am doing it as a hobby...i.e. taking pix on vacation, family, friends, my grand kids, etc...) and am looking for a good desktop or laptop. I read your comments and to be quite honest, it is a tough decision as to what to buy. I am also trying to figure out what photograpy software to buy in addtion. I just purchased a Nikon D90 with the 18-105mm kit lens, the 70-300mm vr lens, and the sb600 flash unit. Plus a few 8mg extreme III secure digital cards. I keep going back and forth between a laptop and desktop. I have a 4 year old Dell Laptop that I will be replacing. I've read so much and have asked some real technies and the truth is, everyone has their own opinion. The basics that I think I needs is a fast processor, at least 6gig of memory and at least a 750gigs of storage, a video card of at least one gigabyte and a good HD screen either 25 or 27 inches. I am leaning on getting another desktop since I can upgrade easier than a laptop but then I could get a laptop with the same configuration and add a screen, keyboard (don't like using the keyboard on a laptop) and a mouse. Your thoughts? Also, I am at a loss for what photograpy software to get. I know Nikon has there Nikon X2 (fuuny it came with the camera, but never had a chance to use it...it was trail version), I know Adobe has the Element 8 version and I also downloaded Picasa from Google. Any suggestions would greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time and reading this, Paul