I agree with most of your summary, John, but a 64-bit computer supporting more than 8GB RAM shouldn't be expensive. My current machine is 64-bit, supports 16GB RAM. The motherboard, triple-core processor, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD and a DVD writer came to £285. The rest of the components, excluding the monitor, were less than £200.

And I've never seen more than 55% RAM used, even when I'm running Filemaker Pro in my virtual XP alongside the 8 or 10 application open in Linux. I know recent versions of Windows are memory hogs, but 8GB should be enough for anything except serious video work.

Phil