Recommendations:

1) Pentium processor at least 2.4GHZ, 2.8 recommended.

2) RAM: 512MEG strongly recommended.

3) Harddrive: ATA 7200RPM with size capacity.
If you plan to do audio recording, consider two harddrives.

4) Video card: AGP at least 64MEGS.

5)XP professional if you are willing to pay more.

6) do not compromise on the monitor.

7) you will end up paying more than $500.