If you are careful with your hardware selection, #3 is totally doable.  For example my work PC (Xeon E5-1650, nVidia Quadro K2000) has had absolutely no compatibility or stability issues.  I had the exact opposite experience trying to install Linux on my macbook pro.  I have heard good things about the Dell XPS (the one that comes in a &#x27;developer&#x27; edition).<p>You also might try virtualization. With paravirtualized drivers, and VT-x support in the CPU, you run at near native speeds, and it is all very stable.