I have a 14" cold cut chop saw (Ironton from Northern $199 on special). So far (after about 5 months) it is the best thing since sliced bread. Nothing too heavy yet, mainly 1/8-3/16 flat stock and angle, lots of tubing. Blade is still "fresh". Goes through steel like butter, especially compared to my old Makita 14" abrasive. Main thing is the cold cut saw requires almost no cleanup vs an abrasive cut. Huge time saver.
Drawback- blades go for $90 each, vs 4 for $18 for Dewalt 14" abrasive disks/blades.
Only real drawback, the steel metal shards/shavings that come off that carbide blade are SHARP. They get in everything. They embed in the soles of boots/shoes, and get tracked around, and the first bare foot that hits them, tweezer time. I made it a week before I hit Home depot and grabbed a magnetic sweeper for $30. Life saver. No matter how much you sweep with a regular broom, the amount of stuff that magnet picks up is surprising.
Aluminum gets cut with my trusty Hitachi miter saw. Wood, aluminum, it don't care.