Stellarium looks pretty (mostly), although not as pretty as Sky Safari. CDC is very functional....but that's great for remote control.
The bottom line is that none of this is neurosurgery....I mean, look at all this lot that have mastered it
It's just a learning curve. The slippery slope never seems to end, but a lot of satisfaction can be had from deliberately not spending much money
It all depends what you want from the hobby.
If you do a good drift alignment then you're exposures will only be limited by your periodic error. There's a lot to be had within that timescale, whatever it is. Then there's guiding....I chose a netbook, cheap, low power consumption, does the job just as well as any...