If you have a used Hammer available for a reasonable price you can buy it and sell it in 6 months for the same price if it doesn't meet your needs. I suspect it will be fine.
FWIW, I just ordered an 8.5' MiniMax CU300 combo machine today, but that was to meet my needs.
If I was primarily making cutting boards I would think that an 8' slider would get in the way a lot, unless you are starting with 8 foot stock. In which case, like Jim said, you can make glue line ready rips on the long slider with appropriate clamps/stops... and that could save you a lot of time.