Hardware + Software Database Relationship Help

I have been working on revising our department H+S database. I am working on setting up a master "workstation" database which would have relationships with others like "CPU", "employee", "monitor", "software", etc. It's a pretty big undertaking for me considering the most I've ever done with Filemaker is update the old one, never having to build one from scratch using relationships, portals, elaborate scripts. On to the first of my questions.

I've somewhat completed a "CPU" database listing the base configurations of all the CPUs we have on the floor. i.e. a G4 QuickSilver representing one record would list all possible options within each of its text fields (Hard Drive field listing "30, 40, 60") based on its specs. Say 4 of our 20 workstations are QuickSilvers, but their configs vary (1 has a 40gig drive, another 60gig).

What I would like to build is a lookup/relationship in the master "workstation" database, that, depending on what CPU is selected for the workstation record (in this case QuickSilver), it will provide the proper value list within its i.e. Hard Drive field (If I select QuickSilver, I would only want the pop-up to display the items from the related field in the CPU:QuickSilver record. Is this possible?

My other problem is that, in the "CPU" database, fields with multiple options are set up like so:

Hard Drive: "40 @ 5400, 60 @7200, 80 @7200"

This is a text field with the options listed together. If I managed to build a relation with the master "workstation" database, it wouldn't be able to decipher the 3 options as separate and hence use them as a proper value list. How would I set up this kind of field so it could be understood? I've heard references to portals and repeating fields, but I'm not sure how they work.

[ December 06, 2001: Message edited by: kcjones76 ]