When do you need a dedicated server?

My sites are getting bigger, and I am taking on more projects, and Im just not sure when the time will be that I have to get away from shared hosting on hostgator,

I have heard quite a bit of stories about host gator canceling accounts for using too many resources

HG will suspend your account if it uses to many resources usually CPU but you're also limited as to how many nodes (files) you have on any one account.

I'd move to a decent VPS or Dedicated server as soon as you can afford it as it has a lot of advantages.

You (depending on spec) get a faster page load, it's yours to abuse as you see fit and you can install any script you like (you still need to check TOS though). You get root access it's easy to add different IP's and a lot of other cool stuff.

The biggest advantage though is you don't wake up in the morning and find 20 sites down because you've been suspended

I use Storm on demand (Liquid web) not the cheapest but support is the best I've ever had and you can scale / upgrade your server on the fly and you pay by the day so if your demand goes down you can downgrade again and save money.

Sometimes you do get what you pay for.

Host goter is the best hosting software. I am also using to this software.
Really it is helpful.