If you're a beginner, I wouldn't invest in a longarm yet. It's a huge monetary (and space) investment and, from what I've read on the homequiltingsystems group at
http://groups.yahoo.com, it's a good idea to spend a whole year researching longarms before deciding on the one for you.
When you talk about a tabletop, do you mean the George?
Most of us quilt on our regular domestic sewing machines. It's best for most people to start there.