Maybe I can help a bit:
I was shopping for a new computer. I wanted something with lots of real-time number-crunching ability. I was sort of settled on a 8 GB RAM commercial model at a little over a grand.
I brought my old computer for service to a store-front tech guy...and started talking about what I wanted in my new recording. He built me a custom stack using an intel DH67CL desktop mother board with a CORE i7 intel processor. If you use newer 64 bit recording software, this processor can supply 32 GB RAM. The unit has a firewire port, a sound-card, a CD burner,a bunch of USB 3 and SATA 6.0 GB ports....super fast transfer....and nothing else. With my old Sonar platform, I can use 4 GB of the available RAM in this thing. I have the ability to upgrade to 32 GB RAM just installing a new Sonar version. Something I want to do, soon.
I didn't have to spend money on all the bells and whistles that come with a consumer package. I got this unit for $100 less than I would have paid for a 'Dell, Best-Buy Special' stack limited to 8 GB.
If you get that kind of processing power, you avoid hiccups, increase speed when transferring files, applying effects, etc. Takes a second for what used to take me 5 minutes do accomplish...and it'll even faster when I upgrade to a 64 bit platform. A 2gig work platform stored in in an external hard drive will load in the 500 GB computer drive, using the SATA 6.0 port, in a blink. I'm working a lot faster....no time to get a cup of coffee while waiting to bounce to a track.
And you can record at higher resolutions...like 48/24 film-standard, and still print a hundred tracks. If you store clones of original tracks, apply separate fx tracks, etc, you can use a lot of tracks. But it's a better, safer way to work....with no efficiency-time-safety penalty when you load up.
Something to think about. Go custom. Go guts. Forget the crap you'll never use, associated with internet applications n' stuff you have to pay for if you go to Wallymart.