You're not going to get much past the spash screen until you add at least another 256Mb to that thing. The proc is ok, the drive is a little thin for when you start to do full-res animation, but that's a ways down the road. You didn't post enough info about your video card to make a guess, but it sounds a little light too. I prefer 2000 Pro to XP, but that's purely a personal choice. The Maya qualification list is a good place to start shopping, but only if you have a fair amount of money to spend.