Hi Everyone!

I am in need of some assistance. I dabble in editing and color grading – and I would love to dabble at home. So I want to buy a new computer.
I’m a university student and not entirely rich, so I was thinking about buying an assemble-it-yourself desktop computer - thus avoiding the price that comes with a famous brand.

So here is the grand question: I have got around 20.000 danish kroner (around 4200 American dollars) to spend. Would it be possible for me to buy a computer on which I could do HD editing and grading in Avid and compositing/blue-screen-work/what-have-you in AfterEffects (often very heavy plug-in work), without feeling like Ishmael walking in the desert?

…

If you think it’s possible, I would love some pointers. What CPU? How much memory should I go for? What about the speed of the hard drive? And is there any particular graphics card, I would do well to go for?

Though I am a bit of a nerd, I have always had a hard time with the hardware issues…

I would appreciate any kind of expert help and insights in figuring this out...

Thank you ...