New to AVCHD

I just bought a Canon HF100 and will be getting a new computer soon to handle the format. I will also need some video editing software. I want to record in HD, edit in HD and then burn 1080 to standard dvd to view on PS3 with little to no degradation and with good system / software performance and stability. I know this is a Premiere forum, but I am hoping to get honest answers to a few questions.



1. Are there big stability differences between Premiere 7, PowerDirector 7, Pinnacle Studio 12 or corel VideoStudio Pro X2?

2. I have read that all of these tools require lots of horsepower to avoid crashing, studdering, extreme slowness, etc. Do you recommend more horsepower than the following components?

i7-920 2.66GHz

4GB DDR3 SDRAM

640GB SATA (7200 rpm)

512MB ATI RADEON HD 4850

3. What have you found to be the advantages of Premiere 7 over the other options I provided?
New to AVCHD
You can't burn an AVCHD DVD using Premiere Elements. You would need to use something like Corel (formerly Ulead) DVD MovieFactory as well.
New to AVCHD
Thanks Peter. Any thoughts on the other questions?

I have read of some issues with PowerDirector and VideoStudio Pro X2. With PowerDirector there are some issues with the smart rendering of AVCHD not working... there again PE7 does not have this feature. VideoStudio Pro X2 has a bigger issue, and one reason I have not bought it, after a cut or transition with AVCHD you get a ''blip'' in the video playback... not good.



The i7-920 2.66GHz would be great for AVCHD, as you say the more horse power the better, but that processor will be fine.



Premiere Elements 7 has the advantage of more ''depth'' than the others, this comes about from the fact it is based on the Pro version. However, the others give you more glitsy effects.