I'm just not quite ready to assemble a really decent editing machine but have a p4 with 3.0 gig processor and only 1 gig of ram and an external 300 gig usb2 drive. It runs pp1.0 and encore2 fine but I'm moving to hdv (canon xh-a1) and planning the upgrade to pp2. My hunch is that if I put a couple more gig of ram in the machine pp2 will operate ok with hdv, maybe not with a smooth preview, but OK. I want to wait a bit to let the quad machines settle before investing.

Just wondering if anyone has a "barely adequate" processor like this editing hdv. Is the $300 for more ram just a total waste of money?

It will help significantly to increase memory from 1 to 2 GB, but your best bet is to add at least 2 internal hard disks. Use the external one only for backup but not for editing.

Yes Brad, you will be able to edit HDV. I have an even older AMD 1.6 GHz with 2 gigs of RAM and it works, I wouldn't say fine because it's slow, but other than that it's OK. You may want to capture using a third party software though... this is what I do.

I am also sitting around and waiting before doing the jump, since I have no real HD projects anyway... just trying to learn.

Yes Brad, you will be able to edit HDV. I have an even older AMD 1.6 GHz with 2 gigs of RAM and it works,
Thanks for the info ... that's a relief.

I'm trying to upgrade a bit at a time, learning as I go. I'm afraid that doing the whole thing at once would stop everything for a month while I figured out a new work flow and what I installed upside down and backwards.