Hi, Tony.

Thanks for the tip. I will look into the systemd's framework to see what process is hogging the system and try to solve it there. I sure hope systemd is at such a stage in its development to offer some parameters for delayed service startups. Though that kinda beats its whole "run-everything-at-once" phylosophy. I might just be experiencing some expected side-effects which I have not seen before.
I would just hate it going back to the "slackware"-like solutions, putting stuff inside rc.local. I'll give systemd a fighting chance this time .
As far as the hw goes, It runs good enough once things settle down. I'm in no hurry to go shopping yet.