ROFL...... not that this is going to make you feel much better, but i'm looking into a new laptop decent for basic video editing, and from what i've found so far, i'm looking at spending in the area of $1500-$2000 USD. but that's for a laptop, if you go desktop, you'll not have to spend quite as much. so the short of it is, it's probably cheaper to upgrade your current system than to get an entirely new one. see, there IS light at the end of the tunnel!