[R] Ideal Computer and Software (A bit off topic)

[KKThird@Yahoo.Com]

Hello everyone.

This question might be a bit off topic, but I thought
that (a) there couldn't be a better group to address
my questions and (b) that others might find it useful
too; It also might start an interesting discussion
thread.  

I use R often for simulation purposes (which generally
involve a lot of for() loops) and for most of my
general work. I will be purchasing a new computing
system soon, and I'm wondering the best way to go. I'm
a Windows user now, and from what I know and have read
about Linux, it is what I should be using (or possibly
a Unix machine). I'm not wedded to a Windows system
and I'm willing to put in the time to learn Linux if
it would truly be beneficial. Is it the case that
Linux offers so much more than Windows that it is
definitely worth the switch?

For the hardware issue, is it generally better to run
R on a server and then connect to the server or on a
stand alone computer (Obviously the performance would
be related to the specific hardware, but if the
hardware was essentially equal, would there be any
advantage to either?). 

What seems to be better for using R on, an Intel, AMD,
Unix, or Mac (which I suppose is now a Unix)
processor? In terms of speed, again given the
analogous hardware, is there an advantage to one of
these? 

Does it make sense to get a 64 bit AMD processor, or
is that just an overkill? Would R even make use of the
64 bit processing power?

I'm very interested on any thoughts people have on
this. I'm a big user of computers, but I'm not overly
knowledgeable about their inner workings. 

Thanks and have a nice day,
Ken