AD Policies applied to a group of Computers - not an OU?

Hi-

Is it possible to query WinXP and Win7 machines and apply a specific AD Policy to those machines without creating/using an OU?

We are trying to find a way to organize our AD structure.

Some want to organize by Department(Example: Sales or Operations people) and some by Computer type - i.e. Win7(32/64bit) and WinXP.

Not sure how to do both since we need to install software on machines in a Department that require certain apps to be installed.

The applications(installed software) are related to people and their tasks - hence - a Department.

But, how can we do that with Computer Policies?

Make sense?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Thx.

-SP