I use the following
Corel Video Studio pro x2 , Windows7 ultimate (64bit), Asus p5n-e sli mainboard, 2 x 2gb matched corsair ddr2 ram, 2 x 1gb XFX nvidea 8600gt cards in SLI mode ( would prefer Nvidea Quadro if reviews are true) Core 2duo 2.66 (6750) 160gb 7200 sata 2 system drive wit 2 x 320gb 7200 sata 2 for storage.
Put the swap file on the storage drive you use least & make it twice the size of your RAM.
Put your working folder on the other storage drive & disable write behind caching on this drive.
This works well for me, even on big projects such as weddings with loads of rendering involved.
On average a 1 hour dvd takes about 2hrs 20 mins to complete.
I use JVC hdd cameras which have their own file extension (.TOD) Video studio is the only programme I have found that handles these files well without converting them to another format.
This system also works well in vista and XP.
Hope this helps, Bye