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A Smith Machine is a vertical lifting device limited only by it's levity of motion (it is literally up/down).
That said, yes, you do want one. However, you should think of how/why you want it.
To compare a Smith versus a standard bench is apples and oranges, depending on the setup of the Smith.
A standard weight bench (with weights and barbells, dumbells, ez curl bar, etc) allows for far greater diversion of lifting. A Smith machine, though, has a HUGE safety factor, though allowing for multiple exercises to be performed.
A short Smith machine list might include: Bench press, incline, flat and decline; Military press, both behind and frontal; Shrugs (front/back) and deltoid pull ups; And the recently divuldged one-arm row (damn you M&F mag).
My best advice, join a gym, if possible, that has both. Otherwise, almost anything you do on a standard weight bench, you could do with a Smith Machine (with a sep. bench) with a significant bit of additional safety.
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