There will be different opinions on this one.
my setup is this,
P4 dual 3.2
2gb DDR2 ram
Foxconn MB with Intel945 chipset
500w PSU
1x 80gb SATA2 HDD Win xp pro
2x 200gb SATA stripe raid capture HDD
1x 200gb SATA2 rendered files HDD
1x 200gb SATA2 export HDD
Realtime output from Canopus realtime card
If you are looking for realtime output it is advisable to go for an Intel system. AMD chipsets have compatibility issues with many PCI based realtime video solutions, but the introduction of PCI-x means that this has all but disappeared, but currently the only PCI-x card I know of is the canopus edius NX, but I'm sure matrox will have one soon if not already.
Realtime preview can be supplied from matrox display cards, they also provide dual monitor output, but they don't help with the rendering of effects.
If you are going to work in software mode then AMD dual core should give better hour by hour performance as they have much faster onboard memory controllers.
Intel chips will give slightly quicker render/export times as they have faster clockspeed and ghz rules in this area.
I use both Intel and AMD and the one thing that is for sure is that video is hard work for any computer, go for the most powerful parts you can afford even if you have to make do with cheaper case, keyboard and mouse, maybe only 2 HDDs as parts like this are cheaper and easy to upgrade later when the bank balance has recovered some.
Do your own research in to parts as unbiased advice just does not exsist in computer land, mac lovers only recommend macs, intel lovers only recommend intel, AMD lovers AMD.
I hope this helps rather than leaving you with more questions.  | 
Linear Mode
