The computer specs are as follows:
-8Core (dual Quad core Intel Xeon E5335 processors)
-8Gigs of ECC Ram on a server motherboard.
-2x 512mb Nvidia Quadro FX 4500 with SLI (1 Gig Graphics power)
-Windows xp 64 (Which really kicks butt now with Maxwell's latest v1.6 Update)
Each rendering took about 22HRs to reach SL17 but that's because I was rendering 2 at a time.
I was in your shoes about a year and a bit ago. Stick with it and you'll get there.
Regards
Chris