Studio Quality System Advice

We're looking into getting a studio set up, but no one i know has a Mac, which is what we thought we'd go for.
So i have no idea what we'd need, spex-wise.
any advice on what is the minimum & recommended Mac specs for studio recording?
also, how would a PC measure up to a Mac in that respect. -- since a PC is alot cheaper, will it make an obvious difference?
someone suggested we get one of the new ipod minis, but frankly it looked a bit small and weak. --not to mention the hard drive size.

Hello Styx,

First of all, I do not know what kind of studio you are referring to. I have to assume that you are looking into a sound studio rather than a video (editing) studio judging by your name. I hope I am making that correctly...

And I will also assume that you are looking into the recording (computer system) system first because you will be doing your mastering and mixing in the computer system as well. With this given ideas here it goes:

I personally do not believe that "a particular machine will be the best for the job" routine. If it's a music studio I would rather research on the sound card (input hardware) first and then decide on the computer system to match that sound card. Otherwise, you are recording no better than 16bit with 64 wave tables that every one is advertising.

Once you have your sound card, you might want to draw your attention to choosing the right speaker system to play back your sound. When you are editing your music and you "think" you are hearing things, chances are it's probably due to poor quality of your sound system. Choose carefully to fit your computer system. Some speakers have unshielded magnets that will destroy your monitor if it's set too close, you know what I mean?

Lastly, have what editing/recording software you want to go with. Pick a company that's been around for very long time. It'll set you back more money then you anticipated but it's worth the money when it comes to support and some free upgrades later on. **

**I want to take this time to place my thoughts on PCs. With latest advancement of HT technology by intel, it's actually cheaper and easier to multi-task with just one CPU. This means, your software might be tricked into thinking that there are two processors and it'll behave better than thinking that there is only one. HT technology is only available through intel Pentium, and I believe 3.06MHz or above speed.

Few hardware suggestions: (this was years ago so use it as a reference)
JBL 4208 sound system
Alesis RA-100
Behringer MX series external 8 channel mixer

Good luck.