Help make correct HW choices for a new G4

[applet]

Folks,
Just a few clicks away from ordering a G4, 1.25, single,
512MB, 64MB ATI radeon, 80GB superdrive system...
off the apple store advertised system

A few questions before I say...."I Do".....Hoping until
death, do us part.

Please help me make the choice for the right configuration
of the system, for the following uses.

Home DVD

Mostly want to use the apple as a digital hub...
have 8mm tapes from 94 and now got a sony digital handycam
for video....want to covert it all to DVD's.
Will be going for an ipod (15GB)...
Have a canon powershot g1 and want to organize all the pics
from the zoom browser.

Want to go with the 512MB memory.....need more? less?
comments?

2nd DVD/CD drive.....does it serve any purpose..?

Let's say about 50 hours of recording.....Would the 60GB
hard drive be sufficient?

do i need the 128 MB nvidia card that is standard on the G4
advertised on the store system, ($1900+) or can i make to
with the 64MB radeon?

1 1.25GHz processor is sufficient for movie editing and
DVD, or is the dual processor utterly necessary?

Should I go with the apple monitor, (17 inch Studio) ...
really steep price.....want to buy it later....will the G4 work
with a normal crt monitor that i Have? wanted to shop around
for a good LCD? how important is the power/usb/digital connection? what is so great about apple monitors? aren't they
just OEM'ing? who makes apple's displays?

.MAC? is this useful? any catches? what is the real benefit
other than virus protection? does mcafee/norton offer similar
services for mac?

the apple protection? will i be using the $249? or is apple
h/w really great that i would never need to use it? does this
cover dead pixels on monitors etc? will apple replace under
warranty?

Thanks!
Help me make the switch.


__________________
Wonder what newton would have asked, if he had seen the apple mac

 

[MarksEvilTwin]

Removed

 

[Sun Baked]

Why would you get the single processor G4, custom build a dual?

Power Mac G4 $1,599.00
ATI Radeon 9000 Combo Drive Dual 1.25GHz 80GB HD 256MB SDRAM

With a Superdrive it's $200 more for the G4.

Then the low-end G5 is $200 more than that.

---

Use the CRT you have and add memory and drives as $'s permit.

If you have a bunch of old PCI cards or need OS 9, the G4's still a good bet.

If you don't have and legacy PCI cards or don't need OS 9 bootability, look at the G5.

---

For video editing the G5 is going to be a better machine, since you can move more data around inside the machine (ie more GB/s).

Though any RAID you add will need to be outside the box.

 

[applet]

Thanks for your tips folks.
Looks like I will go with the 160GB, single proc (still)
512MB and the nvidia 128bits card.

I will wait on the support and take the .mac

thanks a bunch.

applet.

ps:
Is there any reseller who can offer more than a few $
compared to the apple online store....why does one bother
with the resellers?