Recomendations for a new Video Editing Machine

[raphen]

Hi there. I am starting to look around for a new computer mostly for Video Editing, Audio editing graphic arts like illustrator and flash and some light gaming. I currently have AMD Anthlon xp ~1ghz, 1gb ram, and Radeon X1050 Series video card. The computer is almost 8 years old. HDD are failing and read/write speeds are slowin' down a lot. Anyway I was thinking a Mac would do me good. The multi-touch pad is pretty cool and it will do everything I need, but with a hefty price tag. I have had training with Final Cut Pro so that is why I am leaning on the Mac side, but my pocketbook might not be able to handle the load . I know the computers these days are capable of cross platform etc. Idealy I want to triple boot... ArcMap in windows, normal operation in linux (ubuntu or something), and Final Cut and Adobe suite on the Mac side. Although I am not a huge fan of Arcmap and know that GRASS for linux is available.
Anyway I have a lot to choose from I know but looking for some narrowing down advice. Here are some questions.... I know there are a lot of different opinions too so please try to stick with the questions. My budget can not exceed $800.
What brands to stay away from? (like back in the day sony computers sucked balls for editing because of all its crappy ass proprietary drivers wouldn't work with any other software or cameras.)
For video editing which is most important processor, RAM, video card or HDD read write speed?
Are there special video editing keyboards out there or is that where those macro keyboards would work?
Would solid state hard drive be worth it or wait a few more years?

[turk690]

I'm not sure what $800 can buy but it won't be a Mac. That said, Intel X58 mainboard, Core i7 processor, 6GB of DDR3 RAM (at least), nVidia Quadro FXxxxx, Windows 7 64bit professional or ultimate (must, not optional), OCZ Vertex SSD 256GB boot drive (yes, SSDs have quite arrived and fit with the scheme of Windows 7), 2TB HDD capture/file drive. Oh, and a 23" LED-backlit LCD monitor 1920x1080 or 1200

[raphen]

Thank you for the input turk. I will be looking into these recommendations. What would be comparable on the AMD side?

[turk690]

I'm not as well versed on the AMD side. From what I gather AMD processors are Ok when you throw some tasks at them, but sometimes run into compatibility issues when you start doing heavy-hitting stuff, like editing video. I don't know, it's probably only me or this was the case before and it's actually Ok now. AMD seems to be the in thing with the gaming crowd. But video NLE has a bit different demands compared with gaming, like using a workstation graphics card (like nVidia Quadro) as opposed to gaming cards (GTE460?). FWIW, Apple Macs use the same Intel processors now as PCs and some rave about using their Final Cut Pros on them. That should say something.
That said I have nothing against brands as well but all the PCs I've used ever I built myself. To seriously do video you either build it yourself or shell out bucks for some 3rd-party customizers to do a workstation 4 u. A few have indeed bought an off-shelf HP or Dell with high-end specs and tweaked it to do video NLE, but they're expensive and filled w bloatware you sometimes can't delete or uninstall.

[jagabo]

You don't need a nVidia Quadro for HD editing. Just used drivers hacked to use any nVidia card with h.264 decoding.

[turk690]

I'm using a Quadro FX580 now, which is not officially one of those Quadros that can use Premiere Pro CS5's mercury engine. Would there be any such hacked drivers that will do it?

[jagabo]

I don't keep up with the details -- but I believe so. The restrictions are just a marketing gimmick. A way to charge you several hundred dollars more for the drivers.