upgrading from 001 to a mix system....advice please!

[MR]

Hello all -

I have been using 001 on a g4/450 for a couple of years, and I was thinking of upgrading to a mix system (since they have become relatively affordable).

I generally work with 16-24 tracks of audio (no midi) and I have been using RTAS plug-ins such as Kind of Loud Realverb, Bomb Factory compressors and some digiracks stuff.

My current system can only run one Realverb and one LA-2A with one digiracks delay and a couple of Digiracks eq's and compressors before it gives out. This sucks!

I am on a tight budget, and, while I do have some paying clients in my studio, it is not my main source of income.

I have a couple of questions that I need some expert advice on:

1. If I upgrade to a mix core, will I be getting any more processing power than my current set-up, or do I need to go with a mixplus to notice a significant increase?

2. Would it make more sense to just upgrade my CPU (to a Sonnet 1.2) and save $2000?

3. Should I just hold out and wait until I can afford an HD system (rather than drop as much as $5000 on a potentially obsolete system)?

Any advice and all opinions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike

[Robocop]

just keep your computer and get hd1 or hd2. your box will run hd great. it will only be a little more money and well worth it. plus, if you do it soon, you could get the massive pack.