My advice on the ram issue is to get the absolute minimum from Apple, and upgrade elsewhere. Take a look at the ram slots and see if you can upgrade in stages (I went from 1>2>6Gb on my Mac Pro without having to throw anything away). For my set up, 1 was cramped, 2 was ok, and 6 is more than enough, so it really does depend on what you are doing with the machine. - Andy_R