cheers guys,

Am going dual core on both PCs but I dont think I will need SLI for 2D needs. will consider a smaller RAID for startup to go with the larger file RAID - back up will be nightly to a server.
will go 2x1024Mb RAM to leave room for more.

howe bout this - get a matrox RT.X100 Xtreme Pro card and a cheapish TV and dual DVI graphics card and I will have 2 widescreens LCDs and a preview monitor for all those nasty colours and cut offs. I reckon this set up would perform better than just a matrox parhelia without the hardware acceleration. any thoughts?

Oh and Irishmark i'm in sunny tropical Dublin where the tanned legs go on for miles and the guinness is free to anyone still standing.