[PD] Buying PCs for PD: Quantity or Quality

[Ian Smith-Heisters]

I'm going to be doing a PD bonanza next year as part of my thesis thingy. I was wondering about some general
guidelines for building up a network to do interactive sound and video. 

First off is quantity vs. quality. I could blow my budget on one modestly powerful PC or about 4 PIIIs given
current prices (that may be half a dozen PIIIs by the time I get around to buying). I know it's bad news to try
to run GEM and music whatnot on the same computer as it results in clicks, but if I go for quality over
quantity I'd still have two comps (my current one and the new one) so that wouldn't be an issue. Another
consideration for me would be projecting to multiple screens. I could have the one computer with one AGP card
and another PCI card. Would that let me project to 3/4 screens? Or would I be better off getting two boxes each
with a more mundane dual head video card? Basic question: pros and cons, quantity vs. quality.

Are there any other things y'all have found useful? Extra quiet fans? Small form factor?

Thanks a bunch
-Ian Smith-Heisters