Originally Posted by kane

I just got the HP Pavilion g7. It has an AMD 3305 dual core processor, 4gb of ram, 17 inch screen and blu ray (not that you likely will need that) for $330. It works great for what I need, but the processor might be a little light for video editing.

However, you can get the quad core version for around $450 if you shop around.

Still, I think your best bet would be to go with a desktop. More power for less money. If you have the know how build it yourself so you can custom choose the parts.