DonDon-
that Hitachi at Lowe's should suit your purposes just fine. It will cut 45 degrees, you don't need a compound to cut 45's. I think 12" saws are much overrated. There is so much runout (blade wobble) in them, it is sometimes a guessing game on where to align the blade with your cut mark, it is a guess really. I've used a lot of 12" saws on job sites and it seems to be common among all brands. I've got a Hitachi 8 1/2" sliding compound miter saw that is 22 years old and sees use almost daily, and I would not trade it for anything (this is where the guys who own the 12" ers give me funny looks and act like I don't know what I'm talking about). It's as accurate as the day I bought it. The only thing it can't do that the bigger ones can, is cut a 4x4, which I can do just fine with a circular saw and a Swanson Speed Square. Good 12" blades are going to cost you a lot more money also. When it comes to tools you get what you pay for,However if you are just doing outside projects, and not going to be building fine furniture that saw will do you fine.