Wallycat: I was in your spot this spring/summer and ended up with the 800 instead of the 500. It was a decision based on reading comments on GW from folks who said they liked having the controls on the stainless strip instead of on the glass surface. I've come to understand why. If you have one of those smart phones with a touch screen, you'll understand. If your fingers are wet - or, it seems to me, too dry (if that makes sense) -- there isn't enough spark to communicate with the touch pad on the ceramic surface. Finger condition, though, makes no difference to selections made on the stainless strip. (With the 800, you still use the touch screen to select the burners you'll use.) Maybe I'm just rationalizing my decision, but I think that for something I use every day, it was worth the extra price for the selections on the strip. As to the boost issue, I just tried this experiment, I have a 36", so the two 7" burners on the left share power. I put one of the 7" burners on boost and then turned on the other 7" one. Turning on the second burner resulted in the cooktop automatically moving the first burner's cook level from boost to "9." I was able to put both burners on "9." In day-to-day cooking, though, I've not found the boost situation to be a problem. Probably because I haven't needed to use boost on two "shared" burners at the same time. Usually if I need boost on two, it's the large center burner + one of the side burners. So there's not been a sharing issue. Oh, yes, keep your eyes out for Bosch promos. The company seems to cycle at $300 off promo on cooktops with regularity.

Can't help you with another brand, but I know from my own research hat both the Bosch 500 and 800 will work. Just read another thread where we 500 oven users discussed our experiences, and all were overwhelmingly positive. It is actually one of the larger interior 30" mainstream wall ovens out there. For a small up charge, you can get a gliding rack and (I think) still be under the 800 price. Still, if you don't like the looks of it, perhaps the 800 series would suit your needs without breaking the bank. I found that manufactures by and large do not test compatibility with other brands, so although mixing and matching may work, you may be taking a risk from a warranty perspective. In the end, we went with all Bosch and have been happy, but of course, ymmv.

I believe the clearance under the cooktop will be primarily cooktop dependent, not oven dependent? You will get much better responses on such a technical topic over at the Appliance Forum. They know everything. Good luck.

Yes, I understand the other zones can be used for smaller cookware. I'm just trying to get an idea of what can still be used on the largest zone if all the other burners are occupied. Thanks!