Here is a large part of why I don't like 3E any longer, and 4E for that matter.
You start out at level one with 1,000 pounds of stuff (HP, skills, feats/powers, etc...)
By level 5 you have 3,000 pounds of stuff, by level 10 you have 12,000 pounds of stuff, by level 20 you have 50,000 pounds of stuff.
As a player, that is almost manageable, especially if you use Excel sheets or other electronic "aids".
As a DM you are dealing, by 20th level, not only 50,000 pounds of stuff times your number of players, but your also dealing with 50,000 pounds of stuff times your NPC's and any monsters you "advance". So as the DM you get seriously over loaded.
So now I play RPG's where we start with 10 to 50 pounds of stuff, so I am only dealing with 15,000 pounds of stuff per PC, NPC, and monster by 20th level.