What is your budget? Do you have an editor preference? How much video?
Check my rigs. Both were editors. BUT the dually is better suited for some NLEs and not others.
1) Camera - if you can afford a 3CCD camera, please get it. That is an argument in itself. Sony vs Canon vs JVC vs Panasonic at the low pro end ($2000 - $8000). Sony is better low light, Canon has great stuff and the new XL2 does 24p (important if you want to do 'film' on video), and Panasonics 24p cameras are the standard. JVC has the HD10, which is really the first consumer HDV camera. Sony just announced the HFX1 3CCD 1080i camera and I have lust in my heart.
2) Intel vs AMD - AMD is making inroads. Intel still has a slight lead for encoding. AMD may be faster doing other functions. What you get really depends on what the non-linear editor (NLE) suite you use recommends. I would ignore 64-bit compatibility for the moment as there are no major announcements for support of a 64-bit NLE. Also, if you get some funky Cine device, you may not be able to get a driver. If you decide you like Final Cut Pro, you are getting a Mac (period).
3) NLE is a preference thing for some. I use Pinnacle Liquid Edition. There is also Adobe Premier, Sony Vegas, Avid Xpress, and more. Each have their own strengths and weaknesses. The discussion of which is best can get like a AMD vs Intel / nVidia vs ATI discussion. Liquid 6.0 is going to be HDV 4:2:0 capable out of the box (the commercial version will have a 4:2:2 add-on). HDV will tax 3.6GHz Intel systems including the dual Xeon systems. Same deal for 250 Opterons.
4) HD space - How much video? DV is around 13GB/Hour. I have a 10-12 1 hr tape project. My 400GB volume is almost full with that and some other small projects. I use RAID0, but that is to make big volumes. I suppose it does add some speed, but it would probably be 10-15% at best. If you plan on doing lots of video, start big. Also, it is best to have OS on a physical volume, video on another volume, and potentially, rendering on a third volume. Depends on the software. A plan for 80GB, 250GB, and possibly another 100GB is not a bad idea. But it depends on what you want to do and with what.
5) 'Video' - Just as a side note, Pinnacle likes ATI. Pinnacle also uses the GPU via DirectX to render many of their newer effects. So, if you go with Liquid, or, to a lesser degree, Studio 9, a 9600XT, 9700, 9800, or X800 card will kick butt. Other NLEs do not so benefit. An AIW works, but Pinnacle is rather gun-shy about them. If you need AV capture, get a Canopus or Pinnacle Moviebox DV or the Liquid Pro series. If you don't go Pinnacle, get the Canopus. Matrox has their own, but I do not use it or no anyone who does. No reference point.
Get the Pioneer 108 (or the NEC 3500).
