The TSU3000 uses a blue backlight which makes for poor readability of the LCD screen. In contrast, the TSU3500 uses a white backlight which improves readability big time. That being said, I would not recommend the TSU3000 or TSU3500. In my opinion your best move would be to purchase a TSU7000. The TSU7000 can be had brand new for well under $600. One such site would be B&H Photo, Video, and Pro Audio for example. They sell the TSU7000 for $564.95 which is a great deal. Keep in mind that the TSU3000 and TSU3500 only have 4 megs of memory. This is a paltry amount of memory. Not worth the investment at this stage of the game. Even if you do plan on keeping your configuration file simple there will be no room for any real growth down the road. The TSU7000 on the other hand has 8 times the memory over the TSU3000/3500 at 32 megs. It also has a color LCD screen which is simply outstanding. It's easily worth the price difference over the TSU3000 and TSU3500, especially now that the prices on the TSU7000 have started to dip down substantially.